by Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN
November 17, 2023

New York — 

“Shoplifting in Great Department Stores.” “The Shoplifting Profession.” “No Mercy to Shoplifters.” These headlines could be from articles today. But they’re from the early 1900s. While shoplifting has seemingly never been a bigger problem than it is now, shoplifting has long captured the public’s attention. Anxiety over shoplifting is an enduring phenomenon and is often a stand-in for larger concerns of cultural, economic or political changes.

… Laws and policies designed to deter crime by focusing mainly on increasing the severity of punishments are ineffective, according to the Department of Justice. “Research shows clearly that the chance of being caught is a vastly more effective deterrent than even draconian punishment.” Additionally, there is no evidence linking bail reform to increases in crime.

“If punishment was the key to public safety, we’d be the safest country in the world,” said Jeffrey Butts, the director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “You get more public safety by working on underlying problems.”

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