Gov Hochul Announces $45 Million Initiative to Combat Retail Theft

By Hamodia Staff

At a press conference Tuesday morning where she was surrounded by New York State legislators and entrepreneurs, Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a $45 million initiative to reduce retail theft, including vandalism and shop lifting, in New York state. The governor stressed that brazen crime rings pose a “real threat” to businesses and the vitality of communities.

“As governor, I’m not going to stand by and watch brazen thieves wreak havoc in their shops, dismantle and destroy everything they’ve built,” she said. She spoke about how her own parents ran a small shop, and that she understood the pain the shopowners were going through when their life-work is damaged.

Included in her budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025 is $25 million to establish the Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit, a retail theft team within the New York State Police, which would be made up of 100 new state positions. The objective of the new team would be to build cases against organized retail theft rings.

Another $10 million would be earmarked to assist district attorneys to prosecute property crime cases and deploy Retail Theft Teams in their offices.

Another $5 million would be set aside to help local law enforcement combat retail theft, and another $5 million would go towards a tax credit to help small businesses pay for added security like guards and cameras.

In addition to the allocated funds, Hochul said she will push for legislation that would impose elevated penalties for assaulting retail workers, just as with attacks on first responders, and will lobby to establish criminal penalties for online marketplaces and third-party sellers that foster the sale of stolen goods.

Nelson Eusebio, of the National Supermarket Association, stood alongside the governor and said that New York City saw a 64% increase in reported shoplifting incidents from 2019 to 2023—the largest increase in the country. “This is not a category we want to be number one in,” he said.

The governor spoke about the proliferation and efficiency of shoplifting groups, saying, “They have lookouts, they have getaway cars, they have planned escape routes—it’s like Bonnie and Clyde all over again. And they have access to fledgling illegal online marketplaces where they can quickly turn their ill-gotten gains into cash for themselves.

“I’m asking my colleagues in the Legislature to step up. This is who we’re fighting for. This is what we’re fighting for. This is an important fight to take on because the status quo, the lawlessness, the chaos that is going on in our stores, in our communities, all over the State of New York.”