Small Handful Of People Responsible For Large Percentage Of Shoplifting Crimes in NYC
Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
New York City's definition of insanity is arresting and releasing the same criminals over and over and expecting different results.
According to NYC Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, nearly one third of the city's shoplifting arrests last year involved just 327 people. Collectively, those same 327 people were arrested, released and rearrested more than 6,000 times.
That's more than 18 arrests per person. In a single year.
Bleeding hearts like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will tell you those thieves are simply desperate, impoverished citizens stealing necessities, like food and medical supplies.
In February 2022, AOC demonized police for targeting shoplifters in the Bronx.
"It’s much easier to frame people who steal baby formula and medicine as monsters to be jailed than acknowledge our politics and economic priorities create conditions where people steal baby formula to survive," she tweeted.
AOC and leftists like her live in a fantasy land where criminals are martyrs and police action is always unfair.
But here in the real world, we look at the facts.
Law enforcement in NYC have warned about the proliferation of organized shoplifting rings. People make a living grabbing armfuls of popular goods — like baby formula — to sell on the street and to turn a black-market profit.
And it's not just those necessary-to-survive items, either.
Last year, 41 people were indicted in New York City in connection with a theft ring. They stole beauty products and luxury goods in order to sell them online.
They stole designer items like Jimmy Choo shoes, Gucci handbags and Oscar de la Renta clothing. Thieves also nabbed eye creams, hair serums and products by companies like Revlon, Burt's Bees and Vichy.
These criminals aren't exactly the victims AOC would have you believe.
A surge in shoplifting is occurring in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Committing crimes is getting easier and easier in New York.
And that's thanks to a new state bail law that allows these repeat offenders to avoid jail time.
Over the past five years, shoplifting complaints nearly doubled — peaking near 64,000 in 2022. And only about 34% resulted in arrests, compared with 60 percent in 2017.
So while politicians politic, store owners face constant fear of "smash and grab" thefts and crime rings. But there's not a thing they can do about it.
And it's not just thieves you have to worry about. Liberal prosecutors are going easy on violent criminals, too. Like the guy who only got four years for pushing a 60-year-old man onto the Subway tracks in Harlem.
It's tough to even go for a jog without the fear of being assaulted by some guy with an extensive criminal record.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
There is no accountability — for the criminals or for the lawmakers. And it's the law-abiding citizens who suffer the consequences.
The Big Apple is rotten. The literal definition of insanity.
No wonder everyone is moving.