Source: New York Post
“New York City has seen a 12% drop in shoplifting, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday — crediting the double-digit dip on Albany’s retail theft crackdown passed last year. Speaking on a street corner in Harlem, the governor touted the 12% year-on-year drop in retail theft cases in the Big Apple, and a 5% drop statewide, following a surge of such incidents hitting New York in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. … Hochul and the state Legislature included several measures to crack down on the retail theft wave in last year’s sprawling state budget package. The provisions included legal tweaks meant to boost the seriousness of cases against repeat offenders and organized retail theft rings, such as allowing prosecutors to combine the values of goods stolen from multiple stores to slap heavier charges on defendants.” (08/26/25)