Chamber Hosts “Fighting Back on Rising Crime” Discussion
Reposted from the Staten Island Advance / Luke Peteley, lpeteley@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Law enforcement officials, politicians and business executives alike joined together recently for a roundtable discussion on the threat of retail crime facing Staten Island.
The event was held Friday afternoon at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce office in New Springville and included the likes of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda Baran, and Tom Wickham, the senior vice president for state and local policy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
By the time the assembly concluded, an array of topics were covered ranging from threats against retail employees to possible legislative solutions.
THE PROBLEM
As the session got underway, Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) took charge in addressing the concern of skyrocketing shoplifting. According to Malliotakis, New York City has seen a 64% surge in shoplifting over the past four years, more than any other city in the nation.
Additionally, there have been more than 93,000 incidents of petit larceny, 29% greater than there were in November of 2021, Malliotakis said. In New York, petit larceny, also referred to as petty theft, is the theft of property totaling less than $1,000.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is reporting that as much as $100 billion has been lost to general crime in the nation within the past year, according to a document from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“Here in New York, we’ve seen $4.4 billion that retailers have lost as a result of retail theft,” Malliotakis said. “One of the things that brings us back to the bail law in New York is that around one third of all shoplifting arrests in NYC last year involved just 327 people who were collectively arrested and re-arrested more than 6,000 times.”
ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL
Wickham shared information that painted the crisis on a national level not limited to just the city.
“I’ve been on the phone with Wichita, Kansas, which is at a 34% increase in retail theft,” Wickham said. “Utah, the state of Utah, $1 billion lost to retail theft. This is a national issue and it’s affecting both our small businesses and our largest members. Small businesses report over 50% of them have seen an increase in theft in their stores.”
While these numbers continue to climb, so too does violence in these cases; a factor that contributed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce declaring retail crime a national crisis.
While there has been some progress on the national level combatting particular online marketplaces, more work needs to be done, Wickham said. Wickham noted that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would support Malliotakis’ proposed bill, the “Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act.”
The act aims to increase transparency by requiring prosecutors to share key arrest, release and conviction data, including cases of larceny.
“(The bill) will give us the data that we need to really see what’s going on with the lack of prosecution, and who are those trouble prosecutors, the ones that are repeatedly allowing individuals to be released back on the street despite extensive criminal histories,” Malliotakis said.
ON A LOCAL LEVEL
Staten Island has felt the effect of retail crime, particularly the threat of violence, according to local business leaders.
“I’ve been here many years and I’ve never seen the response from the business community that I’ve seen in the last couple of years, in terms of them not feeling safe, not feeling secure,” Baran said. “Retail theft is one thing, it’s impacting the big box stores more so than the smaller stores, but it is impacting small stores. What we’re hearing on the ground is that the small mom and pops, there’s a lot of crime. There are people coming in, there are robberies, there are assaults, and they are very concerned about the welfare of their employees.”
Baran noted that businesses are faced with a dilemma in questioning whether they want to continue despite feeling unsafe.
Jerry Amerosi, president of Gerald Peters Inc., a jewelry store, seconded the notion of violence intimidating employees. Regardless of time with the business, employees do not want to return to work the day following a violent crime.
“I’ve never seen this (level of retail crime),” Amerosi said. “I’m itching here because I want to get back to my store just to have another set of eyes, and it’s not getting better.”
During the discussion, the conversation turned to the rise in young individuals committing such crimes and the lack of accountability in such cases. It’s an issue that Malliotakis credited to the “Raise the Age” legislation. Under “Raise the Age,” New York changed the age where an individual can be prosecuted as an adult in criminal cases to 18 years old, previously 16.
“Young kids are seeing that there’s no consequences, so they think that they can get away, and quite frankly they are getting away because of ‘Raise the Age,’” Malliotakis said.
NYPD INITIATIVES
Chief Ebony Washington, the executive officer for Patrol Borough Staten Island, said that as a lifelong Staten Islander she has seen the increases in crime.
In delving into details, Washington noted that many of the targeted businesses of retail theft were those big box stores in and around the Staten Island Mall and Empire Outlets. Additionally, she said that the NYPD’s holiday plan, which entails officers stationed at busy shopping areas, will remain in effect until at least the middle of January.
Washington says that arrests are up 46% for retail theft. This time last year, there were 1,220 petit larceny complaints, and this year there have been 1,727, according to Washington.
“Myself, and the executives here on Staten Island are committed to ensuring everyone feels safe,” Washington said.
She encouraged small businesses to conduct a crime prevention survey to make sure merchants know to train employees and abide by tips aimed at preventing burglaries.
Washington confirmed that the NYPD has seen the issue with youths and the lack of consequences. However, Washington says there has not been a notable indication of widespread organized retail theft so much as there have been individual cases.
As far as state legislation goes, both Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore) and state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn) look to propose measures aimed at alleviating these ailments.
Scarcella-Spanton’s Senate Bill 5479 would elevate assaults on retail workers to the Class D felony of assault in the second degree.
Reilly’s hopeful legislation takes aim at youth violence and looks to make the possession of a loaded firearm if you are a 16- or 17-year-old a case that could go to the youth part of Criminal Court.
FOLLOW UP WITH STATE
There was a shared sentiment that there should be a follow up with state legislators by the various boroughs’ chambers of commerce members to emphasize the issues facing business owners in New York City.
The hope is that by encountering these community members directly, state legislators will begin to comprehend the issue at hand.
“The bottom line is we are identifying the solutions. Now we need the state legislature to take action,” Malliotakis said.
“I’m glad we have bipartisan representation here from common sense representatives that understand we can’t continue like this,” Malliotakis added. “But how do we get them the support from the business community, by the residents, to effectuate change? It’s by doing events like this.”