Philadelphia deploys new strategies against retail theft
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Law enforcement officials are deploying new methods to combat rising retail theft across Philadelphia.
Why it matters: Philadelphia retail thefts are up roughly 33% this year from the same period in 2023 — a trend police say is driven by previous lax enforcement and an increase in stores reporting thefts.
State of play: Police are sending more officers to parts of the city most plagued by retail thefts, dedicating more detectives to dismantling organized retail theft rings and cracking down on individuals with multiple offenses.
- Earlier this year, the District Attorney's Office created a retail theft task force and changed a policy so that thefts under $500 are no longer prosecuted as lower-level offenses.
In recent weeks, authorities arrested several people involved in organized theft rings in Philly and Cherry Hill.
- The Philly group targeted high-end stores and allegedly enlisted young kids to steal the merchandise.
Stunning stat: Two dozen people were responsible for 69% of the more than 2,200 retail thefts in Center City in the fall of 2022, per police.
By the numbers: Philadelphia police's retail-theft arrests increased 67% this year compared with the same point in 2023, inspector Raymond Evers tells Axios.
- Police say currently about 100-150 people repeatedly commit retail crimes in the city.
The latest: The Police Department has proposed posting mug shots online of people arrested for retail theft, and other details about their case, to deter would-be offenders, Evers says.
- "We're not going to tolerate retail theft no matter what it is," Evers says.
Zoom out: Bensalem police launched a similar program this year. They keep an online updated list of people arrested for retail theft, which is viewed by about 20,000 people a month.
- They've also deployed drones to search for retail suspects and posted signs at businesses warning people they'll be prosecuted for shoplifting.
- Police have solved 9% more retail theft cases this year, public safety director William McVey tells Axios.
What they're saying: McVey says more retail thefts are turning violent as individuals increasingly carry weapons and fight with loss-prevention staff when caught.
- A security guard was stabbed to death at the Macy's in Center City last year after confronting a man attempting to steal from the store, police say.
But the Defender Association of Philadelphia is raising concerns about the police's proposed strategy.
- Andrew Pappas, head of the association's municipal court pre-trial unit, tells Axios that publishing people's photos and details about their cases is "incredibly stigmatizing, incredibly damaging" and doesn't address root causes of retail theft.
- Many people charged with retail thefts are struggling with homelessness, addiction and mental health issues.
- "It's something that will follow these people forever, even once they have beaten their addiction and gotten back to a healthy place," Pappas says.
The big picture: Pennsylvania retailers lost nearly $3 billion in revenue to theft in 2022, per Capital One Financial.
- Evers estimates that Philadelphia stores lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year.
Zoom in: The Macy's and Nordstrom Rack in Center City are two of the city's most-targeted retail stores, per Axios' Jared Whalen's analysis of police retail theft data between 2017 and May of this year.
- Rittenhouse Square (5,590) and Washington Square West (3,790) had the most reported retail thefts of any neighborhood over this period.
- Other hard-hit areas include Tacony, Rhawnhurst and Wissinoming in Northeast Philly; Girard Estates in South Philly; and the Riverfront neighborhood along the Delaware River, including Penn's Landing.
Between the lines: Retailers have started locking up merchandise, installing security gates and AI-equipped cameras, hiring off-duty cops, and using receipt scanners and license plate recognition to catch thieves.
- Evers says Macy's has a strict policy for reporting retail thefts, which likely explains why the store logged the most cases over that period.
The intrigue: Philly police have encouraged stores to join a group messaging app that lets them immediately share details about retail thefts with police officers working their neighborhoods.
- The new messaging system, meant to supplement 911, has been a "game-changer," Evers says.
What we're watching: Evers expects retail theft to level off in the next year or so as the department continues "chipping away" at the problem.