What’s Driving Brazen Retail Theft and What Should We Do About It?

In this era of dramatic videos of smash and grab robberies going viral and drug stores locking up many of their shelves, retail theft is getting a lot of attention. Police departments are making fewer arrests and solving fewer property crimes. Are shoplifting and “smash and grabs” really on the rise, or are we just noticing them more? Either way there is a growing movement to crack down on thieves and reform sentencing laws. A proposed ballot initiative would roll back portions Prop. 47, a California law that reduced prison sentences for petty crimes including shoplifting.  We’ll examine the complicated relationship between retail theft, law enforcement and threat of punishment, and what it means for you.