ALBANY, N.Y.—Politicians and law enforcement officials in New York Tuesday called on the State Legislature to adopt tougher penalties against organized retail crime, which the FBI estimates costs retailers across the nation $30 billion a year.
The proposed legislation would prohibit the possession of devices such as a “booster bag”—an ordinary shopping bag lined with tinfoil to block the signals of anti-theft sensors—making it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison, reported Newsday.com.
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New York State Sen. Charles Fuschillo proposed creating penalties for leaders of shoplifting rings and allowing prosecutors to bundle different crimes that are part of the same spree to meet the threshold for higher penalties.
“These professional thieves are trained to know what they can and can’t do under current law to get away with the goods and avoid prosecution,” said Fuschillo, who is also the chairman of the Senate consumer protection committee, in the Newsday.com story. “This legislation would protect honest consumers by giving law enforcement the tools they need to stop these teams of thieves.”
The FBI estimates that 85 percent of merchants believe they’ve been victims of organized retail crime in the past year.
In April, Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz introduced an ORC bill in that state that would make it a first- or second-degree felony to steal more than $500 in merchandise in a six-month period. The crime would be punishable with fines up to $20,000 and up to 10 years in prison, and would allow retailers to recoup losses up to three times the original amounts.
