Quote:Target, Home Depot and other retailers announced last week they are taking big hits to their profits because of “double-digit” increases in theft nationwide.

That’s after hiking prices on consumers. When the guy next to you loads a bag with whatever merchandise isn’t locked up and walks out without paying, keep in mind you’re paying for his stolen stuff.

Stores are fleeing New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, cities that soft-on-crime mayors and district attorneys have made shoplifters’ paradises.

NPR reporter Sandhya Dirks says taking necessities without paying shouldn’t be considered a crime.

Ridiculous. Most poor people don’t steal. It’s an insult to claim they do.

But organized thievery is increasingly the problem.

Thieves go into drugstores carrying calculators to be sure the value of the items they’re loading into their bags doesn’t exceed what the law defines as a misdemeanor — $1,000 or less in New York and most states.

A felony risks jail time, and shoplifters will put items back on the shelf to avoid that.
They can return the next day for another haul.

They’re gaming the law and stealing goods to resell them, not because they’re hungry or need diapers for a baby.
In New York City, nearly one third of shoplifting incidents that led to arrests last year were committed by the same 327 people — professional thieves — who were taken into custody a total of 6,000 times.

But they’re still on the streets. “We have individuals that have been arrested over 30 times just this year,” reports NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri.