On May 1st, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill enacting five initiatives to crack down on retail theft crimes, incorporating the law into the 2025 fiscal budget plan. State legislators, retail industry representatives, and local prosecutors attended the signing ceremony.
Retail theft and organized retail crime have plagued numerous neighborhoods throughout New York City. Over the past six years, retail theft crimes in New York have surged by 51%, with thieves stealing goods from stores and selling them online, forming organized crime networks.
“I promise to protect retail workers and our small business owners, and we are doing just that,” Hochul said. “We are combating organized retail theft, supporting our businesses and their employees with the full force of the law to restore their sense of security and peace of mind so they can focus on what they do best.”
The five-point plan in the 2025 New York budget to combat retail theft includes:
1. Elevating criminal penalties for attacks on retail workers from misdemeanors to felonies; anyone causing physical harm to store workers will face this new felony penalty.
2. Allowing prosecutors to aggregate the value of different items stolen by a thief from various stores when charging a crime, enabling higher threshold amounts for the total value of crimes under the same offense.
3. Declaring the sale of stolen goods as illegal. Anyone found selling stolen goods online or at physical locations will be convicted.
4. Investing $40.2 million to establish a dedicated retail theft task force, which includes 100 New York State Police officers committed to combating retail theft.
5. Allocating $5 million in tax credits to help small businesses invest in security equipment such as surveillance cameras, with each small business eligible to offset $3,000.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, representing the 47th District in Lower Manhattan, noted that online fencing activities have increased by 60% since 2015, with stolen goods valued over $500 billion.
“With this new law, we provide district attorneys with an important tool to address organized retail theft and the resale of stolen goods, no matter where this occurs,” he said, thanking the Governor and the state legislators supporting the bill.
State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton praised the law signed today as a “milestone.”
“No one should live in fear of being attacked while at work,” she said. “In this budget, we send a message to retail workers that we stand by them, that their lives matter. This comprehensive plan is a significant victory for public safety and our local businesses, and I am grateful to include these measures for the voters of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.”
Nelson Eusebio, Government Relations Director of the National Supermarket Association and spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect the Shop, lauded Governor Hochul for prioritizing the retail theft issue and tirelessly promoting plans to address it.