$110 billion annually in shoplifting? Not really a problem, sez some social justice college professor . . .

Photo above - abandoned, empty supermarket. If you are the last person to leave, would you please turn off the lights?

Do you shoplift for a living? If so, Alex Vitale – founder of the “Social Justice Project” at Brooklyn college - has your back. Professor Vitale says we're getting all worked up over nothing. That despite what we see in the news, shoplifting is normal human behavior, and should be decriminalized. See link at bottom.

First of all, I want to apologize for introducing the economic theories of some New York sociology professor into this forum. You'd expect someone with a PhD in wishful thinking to be clueless, and Alex Vitale does not disappoint on that score. But to be fair, the professor IS simply trying to make a buck hawking his latest book, “The End of Policing”. He's FOR less policing, not against it, in case you couldn't guess. But I'm sure Professor Vitale does NOT want you to shoplift his book. Perhaps you should buy it online through Amazon, and check your front stoop on delivery day and get to it before any porch pirates do. Better yet, purchase and read his book online, to avoid contributing to shoplifting - which shouldn't even be a crime in the first place. Physical bookstores are so 20th century, anyway.

How much is $110 billion in shoplifting (excluding Amazon porch pirates)? About $1,000 for each American family - in higher prices to cover the cost of goods stolen. Whoa . . . when you put it that way, maybe shoplifting actually IS a problem. That's jacking up my grocery bill A LOT, professor!

Professor Vitale began his career in 1990 lobbying for the decriminalization of homelessness, graffiti, drug use, and prostitution. Buidling on his success in these areas, he's now advocating legalized retail theft. I have a question at this point, Professor: do you personally live in a building covered by graffiti, surrounded by meth/fentanyl users in tents, and streetwalkers 24/7? Be honest . . .

I'm guessing Professor Vitale's apartment looks pretty normal. If it is something out of a dystopian horror movie, I apologize - but I doubt that. If someone lives in a safe place, it's always easier to tell everyone else to suck it up. What's the adage? . . . “A conservative is a liberal who just got mugged!” (originator – mayor Frank Rizzo). Evidently $1,000 a year in higher prices due to shoplifting is okay, as long as nobody gets mugged. Wait . . . can we be sure the shoplifters aren't also muggers? Or street level drug dealers? Do shoplifters have a moral code, and confine themselves to pocketing cold medicine, liquor, and jumbo frozen shrimp?

Okay snowflakes – you've waited patiently for my outrageous snark, and here it is: Why are things like steak, shrimp, liquor, iPhones, Nikes, and meth precursors the main targets of shoplifters? Are we to conclude that the Food Stamp program is falling short of basic human needs? Maybe if we implement universal basic income, people will stop shoplifting, dealing drugs, and muggings? Okay – I had to get that one out of my system - let's continue.

Professor Vitale evidently doesn't think that store closures – creating food deserts in urban areas – will be a problem for residents who live there. Maybe if we stop arresting shoplifters, we should also make it illegal for those stores to flee, or go bankrupt? If they do go bankrupt, maybe the government should build a grocery store of its own there? Chicago has a new program to experiment with this - city run supermarkets. Because, you know, the city of Chicago is doing so well with public schools, affordable housing, and crime that they have extra resources to try their luck at milk, eggs, and bread . . . ?

I wish Chicago good luck with their grocery store adventure - honestly. I only ask that the Mayor and City Council contact Professor Vitale before they have their grand opening. Ask the professor if he wants the city to look the other way if shelves are stripped bare by decriminalized shoplifters. If that starts to happen, then store prices paid by anyone NOT shoplifting are going to need a re-think.

I'm just sayin' . . .

What America’s shoplifting panic is really about | CNN Business

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SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

I think the point of the professor's thesis is that criminalising activity which stems from poverty and structural inequality in society does little but reinforce conservative prejudice. Unless you subscribe to the belief that homelessness, drug addiction and petty theft are "lifestyle choices", locking poor people up for these offences makes little sense.

And the idea that homelessness/'vagrancy' is a criminal act should be consigned to the 19th century where it belongs.

How about the private sector has a go at running the public education system in struggling localities (as opposed to just creaming off the easy bits)?

Docdon23 · M

@SunshineGirl Thank you for this reply--I could not agree more...and all this in a society that worships multi-billionaires who pay very little in taxes and have so much money they cannot buy enough vacation homes...and yet we cannot raise the minimum wage because it will hurt businesses..

Convivial · 26-30, F

@SunshineGirl what you say is true, to the parts you covered... But what is also true is the organised crime rings that steal as a job... Compared to the electronics stolen and the loaves of bread, I think I know where the majority of the costs are

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SunshineGirl the activity isn't being criminalized because poor people engage in it. everyone who shoplifts, carjacks, or deals drugs should get equal justice under the law. when governments release suburban white teens to the custody of their parents for shoplifting, but jail inner city shoplifters - THAT would be discrimination.

onewithshoes · 26-30, F

@SunshineGirl
This professor must be a total nincompoop. Civilization depends on safe commerce.
Legalising shoplifting would soom render any sort of commerce impossible, and bring about a total collapse of civilization.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@onewithshoes Decriminalising is not the same as legalising. And actually he didn't explicitly propose either in the article. His point was that current media focus on shoplifting may be unsupported by evidence and is being used by certain interested parties to frustrate criminal justice reforms (such as removing certain non-violent offences from the criminal justice sphere on the grounds that mandatory sentencing can be disproportionate and counter-productive).

I would say that trust in civil society is the basis of civilisation (including the trust on which commercial transactions are based). That trust can most easily be eroded by perceptions of unfairness in the judicial system.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SunshineGirl yet the professor offers ZERO evidence himself to refute the constant press coverage of california shoplifting, smash and grab, armed carjackings . . .

There IS no practical difference between legalizing and decriminalization. you don't go to jail in either case.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@SusanInFlorida Yes, I noticed that. He is a sociologist rather than an economist . .

Crimes involving violence usually do require prison sentences. For non-violent offenders who do not necessarily need to be removed from society, prison serves no objective beyond the desire for retribution. And it is a very expensive way of achieving that, which often impacts on family (hence it being disproportionate to the actual offence). Other forms of justice exist.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SunshineGirl i'm not saying shoplifters MUST go to jail. I'm saying they must be arrested if caught/detained. either by store security or legitimate police. At least they should get a written citation. If they came to steal and left their ID at home, THEN they can go to the station and be processed against mug shots/fingerprints of wanted felons.