From despair to kicks. The prosecutor describes the trend of shoplifting in Staten Island and how he is combating it

Editor’s note: This story is the first in an ongoing series examining retail crime trends on Staten Island.

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STATEN ISLAND, NY – While the island’s retail landscape is full of places to buy what locals are looking for, what probably hasn’t been taken into account is that residents from across the city and upstate would move to the county to get their Improve shoplifting skills.

But according to District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, brave thieves, whether they come from Yonkers, Westchester or the Bronx, travel for hours to steal from stores on Staten Island.

In an exclusive interview with Advance/SILive.com, McMahon announced the creation of a Retail Theft Unit in his office that aims to analyze patterns and further investigate individuals who drive such crimes through a more coherent approach to law enforcement.

“We take shoplifting and retail theft very seriously here,” McMahon said. “It is a crime against the shopkeepers. It’s a crime against fellow customers. It’s a crime against the community.”

However, McMahon noted that while certain factors make many retail theft cases difficult to prosecute, law enforcement is slowly adding new tools to its arsenal in the form of laws aimed at holding accountable those who do not fleeing stores with goods they sell without paying, but are brave enough to become physically violent toward store owners and employees.

With a spike in shoplifting across the state following the pandemic, a bill authored by state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn) made assaulting a retail worker a felony to Class E, which makes the crime punishable by up to four years in prison – the same sentence as assaulting a police officer, bus driver, nurse, teacher, sanitation worker or district attorney.

“As we have been saying for some time, no one should have to live in fear of being attacked when they go to work,” Scarcella-Spanton said at the time. “Especially our deli owners here on Staten Island – who work unusual hours and often work around the clock – and we have heard these reports over and over again. I’m really proud to have achieved this.”

McMahon added that the Retail Council of New York, which represents both small businesses and larger retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, Target, Macy’s and Home Depot, was instrumental in pushing lawmakers to take action to advance the legislation seize. McMahon’s office also met with the Collective Action to Protect Our Stores — a group of deli owners and other businesses that has also pushed for legislation to protect retail workers and owners.

A law passed in April allows prosecutors to combine multiple petty retail theft charges to create one grand theft charge. Petty theft is a misdemeanor if the value of the goods stolen is less than $1,000, while grand theft is more than $1,000. This would allow repeat offenders to be charged for the total value they stole over a period of time. Shoplifters can also face a fine if they turn around and try to sell stolen goods.

Asked whether there was a pattern of stealing goods from businesses, McMahon said some people commit such crimes “for fun,” but others are simply chronic, lifelong shoplifters. At the same time, he has seen others in extreme financial need steal from businesses to support their families. And while such circumstances are taken into account from a legal perspective, McMahon says shoplifters of all kinds must take responsibility for their crimes and be held accountable.

“We will be offering a misdemeanor at least for the first offense,” McMahon said. “If you travel two hours from the Bronx to come here and steal from our stores, we’ll make it worth your while and at least give you a misdemeanor. If you don’t accept it, we will prosecute.”

As more retailers choose to lock up significant amounts of their merchandise, McMahon pointed out that something as simple as going to a commercial pharmacy or big box retailer to buy a deodorant or a box of ice cream cones is becoming a chore can. and that the rise in retail thefts is simply due to a failure to hold individuals accountable.

McMahon detailed several retail theft cases that have been and are being prosecuted in the county, including one in which a conviction was secured late last year against a man accused of stealing more than $11,000 worth of merchandise from the Ulta cosmetics store in of stealing from the Staten Island Mall. The defendant was found guilty of grand theft and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

“We take this personally,” McMahon said. “And in my opinion the increase in this type of crime is due to people not being held accountable. You’re getting the wrong message. But here in Staten Island, we hold them accountable.”