Gov. Kathy Hochul is looking to take a bite out of retail crime, in part by forming a task force to coordinate efforts.
Let me save the future task force members some time here: Crack down on shoplifters by stopping them in the act and hitting them with stiffer penalties.
That would be a good place to start.
No, that’s no over-simplifying things. It really is as easy as that: punish those who commit crimes. It’s not rocket science.
How did New York get so backward that we don’t even know how to attack crime when crime is staring us in the face?
Shoplifting is one of those crimes and it basically goes unpunished. Not just in New York, but in California and other places as well.
Mostly Democratic places, that is. Cities and states that have allowed what may have been a genuine desire for social justice to run amok to the point that criminals face little to no consequences for their crimes anymore.
And we’re not talking about draconian, unfair or cruel and unusual punishments. We’re talking about any punishment at all. Sometimes not even a slap on the wrist.
Criminals don’t fear arrest the way they used to. They know that even if they are brought in by the police, they’ll probably be set free without bail. Chances are slim that they’ll ever see the inside of a jail cell.
Where is the disincentive in that?
Merchants also know this all too well. They’ve seen their shelves emptied by crooks who simply stroll into a store, take what they want and walk out. Or, in more extreme cases, gangs of criminals smash the front windows in order to get their hands on the goods, everything from groceries and household products to electronics and pricey jewelry.
And nobody does a thing to stop it. Because thanks to bail reform efforts, Raise the Age laws and other soft-on-crime initiatives, the criminal justice system is stacked in favor of the criminals, including hard-core recidivists, and against crime victims.
Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, of course, and…
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