An apparent uptick in crime at retail locations in Philadelphia has been blamed for multiple convenience stores and other outlets shutting their doors over the past few years. The trend turned deadly during the heart of the holiday season when a Macy’s security guard was stabbed to death in December after he ejected a man accused of stealing some hats.
Critics of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, including some on City Council, have questioned the DA’s consistency in prosecuting such retail crimes.
“To me, it feels as if there’s not the level of prosecution and support that the citizens of Philadelphia need coming out of your office,” Councilmember Cindy Bass said at a hearing last spring.
This week, Krasner announced the creation of the city’s first organized retail and house theft task force, which will work under his office’s economics crime division.
The task force aims to protect businesses and residential areas from theft and will begin its work over the next week. “We’re moving as quickly as we can, so we can be as effective as quickly as we can,” DA Larry Krasner said Monday.
The new retail theft policy focuses on three areas:
- Fencing – or the sale or receipt of stolen goods for resale.
- Prolific, or repeat, offenders.
- Addiction and substance abuse that leads to theft.
“This has to stop,” Krasner said of the fencing and allowing repeat offenders to continue to steal.
He also pointed to the “underlying issues” of theft, which he said includes substance abuse and homelessness.
“We will be talking about treatment, restorative justice, diversion and other ways to try to fix the underlying issues,” he said.
The task force will be supervised by Kim Esack, assistant district attorney, who said the trends of retail and home theft “have become pretty hot topics in Philadelphia.”
She will lead investigations and coordinate with the police department to identify people responsible for the crimes. The team is still being built out, but will eventually comprise five prosecutors.
“One of the two things that make a person feel secure in their community, is security in their home and … just to be able to go and shop for things in their daily lives,” Esack said.
She also addressed claims that the DA’s office did not prosecute retail theft.
Philadelphia’s city council has funded a task force to employ the DA’s amended policy.
“While we’re only speaking about this here today, we have quietly been doing the work,” she said.
The office plans to partner with the Philadelphia Police Department to enforce and implement the task force’s work.
“It is important that we are not siloed,” Krasner said, underscoring why the office is partnering with other departments in the city. “It is our job to provide these services, to protect people the best we can.”
