The city of Los Angeles, California, just took the dubious honor of being the Council on Criminal Justice’s 2023 leader for the biggest jump in shoplifting, leading with a whopping 109 percent increase this year. That far outpaced the runner-up, Dallas, which saw “only” a 73 percent spike in shoplifting this year.
As background, the Council on Criminal Justice is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank that aims to help policy makers develop smarter solutions to criminal justice issues by examining the underlying facts and data surrounding crime and criminal justice in America.
It just released “Shoplifting Trends: What You Need to Know,” its November of 2023 report on shoplifting spikes over the past year, in which it reported on which cities have seen the biggest leaps in shoplifting and which have seen decreases.
Noting the huge leap in shoplifting since 2019, the non-profit’s report noted, “New York (64%) and Los Angeles (61%) had the largest increases in reported shoplifting among the study cities from mid-year 2019 to mid-year 2023. St. Petersburg (-78%) and St. Paul (-65%) had the largest decreases.”
Then, noting the massive leap in Los Angeles since just 2022, the report claimed, “Comparing the most recent trends, from the first halves of 2022 and 2023, Los Angeles (109%) and Dallas (73%) experienced the largest increases among the study cities; San Francisco (-35%) and Seattle (-31%) saw the largest decreases.”
The report also noted that shoplifters have gotten more violent, saying, “The proportion of reported shoplifting incidents that involved an assault or other crime rose 9% from 2019 to 2021 but constitutes a small share (less than 2%) of overall shoplifting events. Store assaults were 7% lower in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022 but were 8% higher for the same period compared to 2019.”
The situation in Los Angeles has gotten so bad that polling shows District Attorney George Gascón will lose 48 percent to 23 percent to Eric Siddall, a career Los Angeles prosecutor, in the March primary race for the DA office.
Siddall, commenting on the need for better law enforcement and law enforcement from the DA’s office in his campaign pitch on his campaign website, says, “The People of Los Angeles need a reliable partner in the DA’s office.”
Continuing, Siddall’s pitch notes, “As your District Attorney, I’ll work to improve our system of justice for all people and all communities. Under my leadership, we will collaborate with county leaders to address homelessness; and prioritize mental health, real housing solutions, drug diversion and addiction services. And, I’ll make it clear to any and all criminals that the George Gascón party is over.”
Then Sidall notes, “Too many working families, seniors, women, young people and marginalized communities are living in fear for their safety. Gun violence is rampant. We are facing a homelessness crisis. And the morale among frontline prosecutors and police alike — the people we depend on to keep us all safe — is at a historic low.”
Concluding, he argues that the Los Angeles public no longer trusts the DA’s office thanks to DA George Gascón and that he would restore that trust, saying, “The time for real change – actually fighting crime and restoring the public trust with the DA’s office – is now.“
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