The deadly confrontation between a chronic shoplifter and a CVS store clerk shocked the city — but those who work in retail say dealing with an epidemic of shoplifting has become a troubling part of their working days.
New York City has been hit with a post-COVID-19 spike in shoplifting, with petty larcenies jumping 44% between 2021 and 2022. Employees at beauty stores, drug stores and supermarkets told The New York Daily News they grapple with confronting people taking items from their stores.
Some, after seeing people try to sneak out with stolen goods in hiking backpacks, grocery carts, plastic bags and in their pants pockets, try to calmly ask them to return the items. Others don’t see the risk as worth it, no matter how much merchandise they might take from the store.
