After years in decline, the number of retail theft offenses in Pennsylvania has skyrocketed, increasing 53% statewide.
The Pennsylvania Courts compiled data on retail theft cases throughout the state from Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2023. During that time period, McKean County had a total of 547; Elk County, 502 cases; Potter County, 31; and Cameron County, 15.
During those years, the data showed that 2022 had the highest number of cases for three local counties, with McKean at 185, Elk at 124 and Cameron at six. Conversely, Potter County’s numbers increased three years in a row.
Allegheny County had the highest number of retail theft cases in that time frame, with 20,297, with numbers increasing each year since 2020, the start of the pandemic.
The fewest cases were in Forest County, with a total of seven from 2019 to 2023, followed by Sullivan County with eight and Cameron County with 15. These counties are rural, with low population counts and likely few retail establishments.
In McKean County, Foster Township has several large retail establishments, and sees a considerable amount of shoplifting.
Police Chief Mike Thomas said, “We have seen a rise in numbers.”
Starting in 2018, the department had 38 cases; in 2019, 37; in 2020, 32; in 2021, 42.
“Huge jump in 2022,” Thomas said, reporting 121 cases. There were 71 cases in 2023 and 50 so far this year.
Why the jump? The economy? “Sure, I see the economy affecting everyone’s lives. Prices have gone up on everything,” the chief said.
Bail reform in New York state has made many out-of-state shoppers assume they would get a slap-on-the-wrist in Pennsylvania for retail theft, when that isn’t the case. In New York, a person would get an appearance ticket, telling them when to attend court for a proceeding in the matter.
“We have a lot of people we are dealing with coming from New York,” Thomas said. “They think they can get an appearance ticket when they are actually going to see the judge and potentially go to jail if they can’t (raise) the bail the judge sets.”
And the self checkouts at Walmart in particular can create another issue. Shoppers might get cash back, or change, at the register but forget to pick it up. The next person in line sees it and assumes it is fair game.
Nope. That’s theft of mislaid property.
“When we as the police speak with the people taking the money, they do not understand that they have committed a crime,” Thomas said. Should one find money at the checkouts, they need to notify the Walmart employee in the area and let them take care of it, he explained.
From a countywide perspective, District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer said she doesn’t think there’s been a big increase, but said trends show numbers of crimes rising and going down over the years.
“I believe the data would show that recidivism is high among those who commit these types of crimes,” Shaffer said, “meaning that the same person commits retail theft more than once in their lifetime. Retail thieves are often ‘repeat offenders.'”
She added, “A lot of time is spent by local officers responding to retail theft reports. The items stolen may range from food and clothing to electronics and the occasional small theft of a single beverage or snack.
“We have had retail theft rings where people work in a group but mostly people commit retail theft on their own.”
The state’s data shows that counties treat retail theft differently, with some approving Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for it. McKean County does not, she said.
“McKean County has largely avoided ARD for any theft-type offense because ARD provides for the case to be expunged from the person’s record. Retail thefts are one of the few crimes that the legislature has provided an increased penalty for due to prior offenses so it is important to have those prior convictions on the record rather than getting expunged,” she explained.
“Our focus on retail theft cases is usually on obtaining full restitution quickly for the victim. It is not uncommon for retail theft defendants to be offered a favorable sentencing recommendation if they plead guilty after they have paid full restitution which allows us to ‘make the victim whole’ and be able to document the conviction in the event the defendant is ever charged with retail theft again.”
According to the state data, October to January are the months when the most retail theft occurs. The lowest number of thefts occurred in April.
A graph put together by the courts showed the fewest cases of retail theft were filed in 2021, at 27,855 cases. By 2023, the number of cases was back up to 37,962.
The data shows half of the offenders were male, 48% were female and two percent were unknown.
The most active age group for retail theft offenders is from 26 to 35 years of age, at 29%; second is 36 to 45 at 21%; 46 to 65 at 20%; 19 to 25 at 17%; under 18 at 10%; and over 66 at two percent.
