Retail theft down slightly, NYC officials don’t know what caused the drop

There were nearly 500 fewer sticky shoppers in the city last month, though police officials weren’t aware on Friday, leading to a welcome drop amid an unprecedented surge.

“This is the first time I can remember that we are seeing a decrease in shoplifting in February,” said NYPD Chief Mike Lipetri.

Police registered 4,276 shoplifting complaints last month, up from 4,757 a year earlier, according to Lipetri, who joined Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Phil Banks during his new weekly public forum.

The drop of just over 10% can only be explained by the “combined efforts” of business, police and district attorneys.

The head of the NYPD’s crime-fighting police declined to answer the question of whether cops were making more arrests for shoplifting.

The Big Apple has seen a historic rise in shoplifting complaints over the past few years.

There were over 63,000 retail theft complaints filed in 2022, up 45% from just over 43,000 complaints in 2021. In 2019, there were just under 38,000.

It’s so bad in Midtown that the 34th Street Partnership hired their own K-9 units to keep the thieves at bay.

Earlier this week, department head Jeff Maddry urged business owners to force buyers remove their masks to identify as “entry conditions”.

“We need our businesses to be proactive and do their due diligence,” the executive said, adding, “We need to make sure people identify themselves.”

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who hosted a small private meeting with reporters on crime statistics at the same time as Banks’ forum, noted increased patrols in business districts.

However, it was unclear if these deployments were new or part of last year’s retail crime strategy.

Business owners in the city have been waiting for Mayor Adams’ plan to steal from retail after hosting an idea session with district attorneys, New York AG and business leaders late last year.

“We’re going to be releasing any day now,” Banks said on Friday — almost three months after the retail summit.

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