In a recent incident, a CVS store manager lost his life due to an alleged shoplifting dispute.
Michael Jacobs, a 49-year-old CVS manager in Mesa, Arizona, was shot and killed on September 7 by Jared Sevey, 39.
The conflict began earlier that day when Sevey argued with Jacobs about shoplifting and later returned with a gun, admitting to shooting Jacobs.
This incident is part of a concerning trend of violence in retail. In April, a Home Depot employee was fatally shot in the San Francisco Bay Area while confronting a shoplifter, and a pregnant shoplifter in Nashville was shot after a confrontation at a Walgreens.
The rise in such incidents is attributed to lenient theft policies, such as California’s Prop 47, which reduced theft from a felony to a misdemeanor. The calls to defund the police in 2020 also led to fewer officers on the streets.
In New York City, shoplifting has become a growing problem, with some politicians criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s leniency toward shoplifting suspects. A lack of nationwide policies has led many employers to advise their staff not to intervene in theft situations.
Retailers suffered heavy losses due to shoplifting, totaling nearly $100 billion in 2021, with over 63,000 shoplifting complaints reported last year, a significant increase from previous years.
To combat this issue, New York plans to target repeat offenders with pre-trial detention, particularly those with prior felony convictions and a history of skipping court dates. Additionally, a program called the Merchants Business Improvement Program allows business owners to obtain restraining orders against habitual shoplifters.
As these incidents continue to occur, there is growing concern over the safety of retail employees and the need for effective strategies to address the increasing retail theft problem.