Lawmakers are calling for tougher penalties for shoplifters amid a post-pandemic surge, but advocates warn that tougher penalties likely won’t deter crime. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Assembly lawmakers will weigh increased penalties for shoplifters and new restrictions on the sale of gift cards on Thursday, amid a recent rise in retail thefts.

THE bipartisan bill before the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee would increase penalties for shoplifting ring leaders, allow longer sentences for repeat offenders and elevate assaults against retail employees to a more serious charge, among other things.

“It’s probably not the end-all, be-all solution, but it’s certainly a step we need to take to try to deter these things from happening, because it’s a real problem,” said Rep. Alex Sauickie (R- Ocean), the member of the bill. main Republican sponsor.

The legislation would allow longer sentences for individuals convicted of shoplifting three times within a 10-year period or within 10 years of their release from prison and harsher penalties for those who run a criminal network of retail sales would be punishable by 10 to 20 years of imprisonment.

It also allows law enforcement to total the cost of property stolen by suspects over a one-year period, allowing prosecutors to bring more serious charges against serial shoplifters, regardless of are their previous convictions.

The attempt to increase penalties comes amid a recent surge in flights following the pandemic. In 2023, law enforcement reported 102,724 cases of theft, compared to 91,942 in 2019 and a pandemic crisis that generally brought crime down in 2020 and 2021, according to crime statistics maintained by the FBI.

The bill’s sponsors hoped tougher penalties would deter would-be shoplifters, especially as neighboring states like New York and Pennsylvania increase their own penalties for retail theft and, Sauickie feared, push shoplifters to target New Jersey.

“It’s something I think we need to address. I think the situation will only get worse in New Jersey because neighboring states have addressed the problem and increased the penalties for organized retail theft, which means New Jersey is becoming low-hanging fruit “, he said.

Another provision would elevate assault charges against retail employees in the line of duty, mirroring protections afforded to first responders, bus drivers and judges, among others. The bill also clarifies that reselling stolen merchandise online falls under the state’s definition of fencing.

Some cautioned that harsher sentences were unlikely to deter crime, citing a U.S. Justice Department study that found prison sentences allowed some offenders to perfect their methods and noted that the real likelihood or perceived being arrested was more likely to end the crime.

“There is no data to support the usefulness of long prison sentences as a deterrent. This sounds like the same logic as three-strike laws and mandatory minimums where people are gone for long periods of time,” said Sarah Fajardo, political director at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

New Jersey lawmakers who recently approved legislation increasing penalties for a range of crimes, including car thefts, some burglariesAnd assaults involving bodily fluids — were looking for “outdated, outdated policies instead of proven solutions,” Fajardo said.

Increasing education funding, housing availability and mental health treatment options would further help reduce crime, she said.

Reducing poverty would also help reduce crime by eliminating the financial need that drives some to commit theft, said Ashanti Jones, a policy analyst with the criminal justice reform program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

“We have to recognize that when we talk about theft here, we’re talking about poverty, and one way or another we have to address this problem. That doesn’t mean accountability is out of the question,” she said. “We need to think about what will actually solve the problem: how can we reduce crime? Increasing sanctions is not enough.”

The bill contains other provisions intended to reduce gift card scams. It would require retailers that offer gift cards to train their employees on how to detect fraud attempts involving gift cards and post notices highlighting the risk of such scams.

This would require more extensive packaging for gift cards that are not chipped, proprietary to the retailer selling them, or secured in a location accessible only to employees. It also requires stricter recordkeeping of gift card sales to third-party resellers and requires gift card issuers to provide law enforcement with evidence related to theft upon receipt by law enforcement. an official report.

“We’re not trying to over-regulate this either. It just means it’s a big deal. There needs to be training on detecting gift card scams,” Sauickie said.

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