Steal This Food!

One person in 16 prefers the “five fingered discount” to paying for something, adding up to $35MM/day in retail theft.

At a time when crime is down across the U.S., shoplifting in on the rise (along with larceny and burglary). What concerns law enforcement officials and businesses is the organized nature of more and more shoplifting. The range of things being stolen in the current recession is growing, too: pizzas, baby formula, even plants torn out of the landscaping of restaurants. Stolen baby formula alone accounts for upwards of $1MM in losses.

“Shrinkage” has always been a problem for retailers, despite $12bn spent annually on theft-prevention (source: the Retail Industry Leaders Association or RILA). While credit card scams and financial fraud are the big-ticket items for organized crime, thieves are perfectly happy to sell off stolen items at flea markets and Internet auction sites like eBay. Retail criminals are dangerous, too, and have even tried to kill federal prosecutors in Texas. Law enforcement officials in Polk Co. Florida recently broke up a ring of 21 individuals who were being paid $300/day to steal upwards of $17.5MM in infant formula.

The extent of the problem varies by region, with economically troubled areas showing bigger jumps. For example, shoplifting rose 27% in the Great Lakes region, 24% in Palo Alto, CA and 30% in Tennessee. Congress and state legislatures are looking at legislation that would combat the shoplifting epidemic by increasing law enforcement funding and raising the crime to a Class 4 felony from its current status as a misdemeanor.

Excerpted from BSLG's weekly subscription news reader service Food Business News. To subscribe or for information about licensing, contact Broad Street Licensing Group (tel. 973-655-0598)