Furious Big Apple business owners are tearing state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to shreds over his refusal to beef up penalties for violent shoplifters, with some raging, “It’s open season on retail workers.”
Heastie (D-Bronx) sparked widespread outrage last week when he shut down Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to toughen sentences for the criminals, bizarrely declaring, “I just don’t believe raising penalties is ever a deterrent on crime.”
“How do you deter crime except by penalty?” said an enraged Nelson Eusebio, who heads the National Supermarket Association and Coalition to Save our Supermarkets, to The Post on Monday.
“Our workers are on the front line dealing with shoplifters and criminals,” Eusebio said. “It’s open season on retail workers in the city.”
“Nobody wants to deal with it,” the employee said of the criminal violence, which has led the store “to lock up even the low-price products because of the quantity” of what’s taken during rampages.
“They’re not taking one or two [items], they’re taking the whole shelf,” the worker said.
The Lexington Avenue store is now closing in May, although a rep for the chain did not mention the violent theft or other shoplifting as the reason, according to the local Patch outlet.
But the employee told The Post that workers their dark joke, “Now the items get locked up, and the people don’t.”
Eusebio, who reps 600 supermarkets in…
Read more@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
If harsher penalties aren't the answer to shoplifting, what initiatives could better address the root causes of the crime?
@9L95G7Z2mos2MO
There needs to be better education for everyone, which would allow them to value making enough money rather than having to steal from others.
@9L95DMJ2mos2MO
By allowing people their basic needs, medicine, and other items, people may not feel the need to steal other items.
@9L956G22mos2MO
I think that there should be medium harsh offenses for the first offense, then get harsher.
@9L93VLP2mos2MO
if they shoplift basic everyday necessities, the government should fund and subsidize the lower classes to reduce the shoplifting rate.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Do you think increasing penalties for shoplifting would effectively deter the crime, or are there better solutions?
@9L9TZDT2mos2MO
I think increasing penalties for shoplifting will deter more petty theft and kleptomaniacs, but I think that if somebody wants to commit a crime a penalty will not deter them.
@9L974FNRepublican2mos2MO
bigger punishment less people do it
@9L95JLZ2mos2MO
I think limiting shoplifting won't drop crime rates, rather people efforts should be spent on something else.
@9L95FQ22mos2MO
I believe it would help reduce shoplifting.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Should the protection of retail workers be a priority in creating laws about shoplifting, even if it means stricter sentences for offenders?
@9L97DPD2mos2MO
I think they should make laws to protect retail workers and to make the offender's sentences worse for them.
@9L96PXQ2mos2MO
You have to look at the background and reasoning behind every action. Like say if the shoplifter was flat broke and had 3 kids to feed then everyone could see why he was trying to steal the bags of chips.
@9L96BRL2mos2MO
i think the only way to get shoplifitng to end is to create a bigger fear around it, its not too hard to get away with shoplifting now because of the lack of penalties.
@9L95SB72mos2MO
I think the protection of retail workers should be prioritized
@F3deralistJoshPatriot2mos2MO
Violence together with shoplifting is clearly a big step beyond the shoplifting of the old days. Back then, shoplifters quietly and surreptitiously took items placed out for sale, hid the stolen items, then walked out of the store with the booty. Violent destruction of store property, and injurious attacks upon store employees are an entirely new shoplifting phenomenon. Is this new phase going to be permitted to continue? All necessary criminal laws have been in place for years. Legal prosecution and for real bail requirements are necessary now.
@EqualityOtterRepublican2mos2MO
You're describing one aspect of Project Chaos, a long-term plan to destabilize the United States and bring it under the heel of the Globalist/Marxist group. In this case we have unrestrained violence and theft, which is intended to have the following results:
1) Calls for extreme "law and order" resulting in de facto suspension of the Constitution in favor of martial law, with soldiers in the streets, bags being checked, etc. This is already happening in some subway stations.
2) Destruction of the middle class, in this case small business owners and franchisees. Yes, these store… Read more
@LuminousRightsForward2mos2MO
Yes it raises more to the level of a violent robbery and needs to be treated as such. Not the same a pocketing a small item and getting away with it.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Is it fair for businesses to bear the financial burden of shoplifting, or should the government take more responsibility?
@9L9BRWNRepublican2mos2MO
Businesses should not have to suffer the consequences of shoplifting. The thiefts need to pay or be fined.
@MindfulBuzzardUnity2mos2MO
A few weeks ago, I was staying in the city. I had forgotten to pack toothpaste so I went downstairs to a CVS. And there was the toothpaste--toothpaste--locked under glass. Toothpaste.
@D1plom4tLouTranshumanist2mos2MO
Soon all that stuff will be in vending machines protected with bulletproof glass.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@KnowledgeLeahRepublican2mos2MO
How long before the majority of the stores shutter and leave? No business will want to replace these retail stores that flee the massive crime. If businesses can only rack up losses, there is no incentive to serve the New York market, where the criminals rule. New York is evolving into a dystopian nightmare.
@V0terRaccoonLibertarian2mos2MO
This can be fixed by the governor today!
She could say she is giving up her taxpayer funded security detail (reassigned to fight crime) , parade of SUVs, helicopter, big free house, will take mass transit and will require every other state employee to do the same.
She can declare a state of emergency and this time use it to help honest taxpayers (no covid lock down and insane penalty for anyone challenging it)
Her state of emergency can suspended bail reform, keep all criminals in jail, round up every criminal with open warrants, stop harassing honest cops, require anyone assaulting or hurting anyone to be held without posting 175 million bail and etc.
Implement equal justice for all not just her enemies.
@KoalaStellaRepublican2mos2MO
I don’t own a store in NYC but if I did and didn’t want to sell, I wouldn’t be calling the police when my store gets robbed.
I’d be handling it all myself.
Clean up and disposal.
@GenerousThirdPartyDemocrat2mos2MO
My opinion? There is a quid pro quo 💰arrangement💰 of sorts to make sure the scales stay tilted in favor of career criminals. These shoplifting rings represent big bucks. Where's a forensic audit of a politician's finances when you need it? And if true, it wouldn't be an isolated instance: politicians all have a "for sale" sign on them now, and that's a bipartisan reality.
@ForsakenPeacockMountain2mos2MO
This experiment in decriminalization, defunding of police and lack of prosecuting crime has failed miserably. The only thing that will fix it is returning to the policies that were removed.
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