Pennsylvania is ranked #5 on Forbes’ list of U.S. states most affected by retail theft.
In August 2024, five people were charged in Dauphin County for their alleged involvement in a retail theft ring that spanned nine counties throughout Southeastern and south-central Pennsylvania. According to Attorney General Michele Henry, the gang targeted over-the-counter medications and other health and beauty products from major retailers including Giant, Weis Markets, and Wegmans in forty documented incidents from February through May 2024. The total value of stolen goods was estimated to be more than $71,000. Only three of the five gang members are in custody, and the other two have not yet been apprehended.
“These thefts not only impact businesses but also harm our communities by affecting the availability of essential products,” said Attorney General Henry.
Also, earlier this summer there was a string of arrests in connection to grab-and-go thefts in Philadelphia’s Center City and Montgomery County. The crime ring targeted at least twenty high-end stores, specifically Lululemon stores, rushing in with trash bags and loading them up with expensive merchandise in minutes. Police alleged that the ringleader, 19-year-old Janiyah Robinson, recruited a 9-year-old to assist in the thefts. Philadelphia Police Inspector Ray Evers said, “It’s absolutely unbelievable that this adult would use a 9-year-old to commit a crime. At least two times we have her on video entering a store with a trash bag and loading up. It’s absolutely a disgrace.” The group has stolen roughly $75,000 worth of merchandise since they began the tufts around November 2023.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that retail crime costs businesses in Pennsylvania over $7.7 billion in lost product costs, higher insurance, increased price of goods, and unrealized wages and accounts for over $1.2 billion in lost tax revenue.
According to the Retail Industry Leaders Association and Buy Safe America Coalition, national retail crime results in $125.7 billion in lost economic activity and 658,375 fewer jobs. In Forbes Advisor’s retail theft 2024 statistics, Pennsylvania is ranked #5 on its list of states most impacted by retail theft and ranked #11 on its list of business closures per state due to retail theft.
According to state data, retail theft in Pennsylvania increased by 30% from 2021 to 2022. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said retail thefts skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, going from around 7,800 in 2020 to nearly 13,000 in 2022. Philadelphia police reported they investigated more than 14,000 incidents of retail theft in 2022, an increase of more than 52%.
To combat this uptick in theft, in 2023 State Senator David Argall introduced legislation to establish a Deputy Attorney General within the Attorney General’s Office whose job it is to oversee a team of prosecutors who will be geographically placed throughout Pennsylvania to prosecute retail theft (SB596). It also changes penalties for people who commit retail theft. The bill received bipartisan support and passed in December 2023, and it was signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro. Senator Argall told ABC Action News Philadelphia, “I think the goal is to just let people know that if they commit these kinds of crimes, they’re going to get prosecuted.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania opposed SB596, claiming that it relies on “failed tough on crime policies” and that the retail industry has exaggerated their claims of organized shoplifting and retail thefts. “If enacted, SB 596 would exacerbate these existing racial and economic disparities, putting more people behind bars for longer”, the organization said in an official statement.
Pennsylvania has seen small businesses and chain stores close over the last few years due to the spike in retail theft. In April 2024, six Philadelphia Family Dollar stores closed, claiming to have struggled with the effects of inflation on low-income shoppers’ wallets, as well as increased shoplifting that hurt their bottom line.
