Business
Boston saw a 55% increase in shoplifting reports between the first half of 2019 and that same period in 2024.
At the end of September, the Boston Police Department arrested nine suspects on the same day for alleged shoplifting and larceny as part of a Safe Shopping Task Force initiative.
Launched at the beginning of 2024, the initiative — which involves the police, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and retail partners — aims to hold shoplifters accountable after hearing about complaints of a rise in shoplifting and larceny in the city.
To what degree shoplifting is an increasingly significant problem for retailers in the city isn’t entirely clear — there are arguments about the accuracy of recent data, due to possible reporting discrepancies and increased tracking efforts. Regardless, it’s something both store owners and employees are definitely concerned about.
And in particular, they point to a change in the so-called “felony threshold” that they say might be further encouraging would-be shoplifters to risk getting caught.
Reporting discrepancies?
Shoplifting occurs most frequently in Boston’s major retail destinations, such as Downtown Crossing, South Bay shopping center in Dorchester, Newbury Street and the Prudential and Copley malls.
Data from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), a national nonpartisan think tank, shows that shoplifting has increased in Boston by 27% from the first half of 2023 to the same period this year. In addition, from the first half of 2019 to the same period in 2024, shoplifting is 55% higher.
“Our members’ experience is in line with what those numbers are showing, if not even more so,” said Ryan Kearney, the general counsel for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
Kearney believes the reported figures are a conservative estimate of what is happening in the stores, pointing to to discrepancies in store policies, such as not reporting low-level offenses to the police.
On the flip side, Ernesto Lopez, a senior research specialist at CCJ, explains that the data showing increased shoplifting could also be due to increased reporting or detection, rather than more offenses.
It’s true that certain new security measures, like locking up goods and limiting self-checkout, could be acting as a deterrent. But other efforts that aim at keeping better track of stock and detecting incidents of shoplifting faster could actually be inflating numbers, Lopez said, turning up incidents that had previously gone unnoticed.
Law changes
In addition, in 2018, lawmakers raised the threshold for larceny from $250 to $1,200. Below that amount is considered shoplifting, a misdemeanor, resulting in a maximum one-year jail sentence or a fine of up to $300. That’s a far cry from a felony larceny, which can lead to a five-year jail sentence or a fine of up to $25,000.
According to data from the CCJ, the law did not change the rate of shoplifting.
However, Kearney of the Retailers Association says he has heard from prosecutors, investigators, and stores who all mention anecdotes of trying to apprehend somebody who says, “I’m below my limit.” What they mean by that is the felony threshold.
“’You’re not supposed to be arresting me, and the prosecutors are not supposed to be prosecuting me for this crime,’” Kearney said. “That’s a problem.”
It has given people a “license to go ahead and steal up to that $1,200 amount without facing any accountability or repercussions,” said Kearney. “That’s obviously an issue for our membership.”
However, Lopez said that when there’s more enforcement and prosecution, such as through a task force, retailers may report more, knowing that more resources will be allocated to this issue.
The Boston Police Commissioner first proposed creating a task force in January 2023, and it was implemented at the beginning of this year. The CCJ data shows a spike following the announcement of the task force.
“It could artificially look like shoplifting is increasing,” Lopez said. “And it still may be. We can’t say definitely.”
Shoplifting turns violent
James Borghesani, the chief of communications for the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, says the DA believes shoplifting is on the rise and worries it is turning violent.
One recent incident included an alleged shoplifter threatening an employee with a hypodermic needle. Others, Borghesani said, involved knives.
“It is something we have heard very loud and clear that some employees feel unsafe in the workplace,” said Borghesani.
Data doesn’t show such events to be common — less than 2% of reported shoplifting incidents nationwide involve assault or vandalism, Lopez notes — but that doesn’t mean employees aren’t on edge.
“Bottom line, nobody wants to go to work and feel either threatened or feel uncomfortable,” said Kearney. “That’s exactly what happens, whether it’s a shoplifting or larceny that turns into violence, or it’s the shoplifting or larceny itself — it’s a crime, and people that are working in these stores should not be subjected to that type of activity.”
Kearney said the new laws raising the threshold have also led to “more repeat offenders and more sophisticated criminals. ”
Borghesani says the D.A.’s office is focused on the small number of people who drive the largest percentage of shoplifting and larceny crimes in the region.
Kearney said thieves tend to target larger, big-box stores because they think they can afford it or it’s a victimless crime.
“But that’s not necessarily the case,” Kearney said. “Those costs are borne by those retailers and get passed down to all of us.”
Macy’s, a major tenant in Downtown Crossing and South Bay shopping centers in Dorchester, has deployed an Asset Protection team to protect the store’s assets, people, merchandise and brand. The team collaborates with security and law enforcement.
Additionally, TJ Maxx, which has locations throughout the city, says it is working to support a safe store environment by including policies, training, procedures and technology.
“We hope that this combination will help us de-escalate incidents, deter crime, and demonstrate to our Associates and customers that we take safety in our stores seriously,” TJX Companies said in a statement.
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Beth Treffeisen