NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday called on Mayor Eric Adams to address the rising number of retail thefts in the city, saying businesses have been forced to extreme security because of it, like locking up toothpaste.
“You go into a local pharmacy, a Duane Reade or Rite Aid, you got to get some help to assist you,” Sharpton said on "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. “They have the little button, they get the buzzer and the guy comes over and unlocks your toothpaste. I mean we are talking about basic stuff here.”
Sharpton did spare the mayor just a bit, adding that even within the criminal justice system, there is debate about how to handle the issue of rising crime rates in the city and acknowledging that Adams has only been in office for five weeks.
“But even as I’m fair to him, Eric, they are locking up my toothpaste,” Sharpton said.
Theft is just one of the crimes that have drastically surged in the city over the past year. NYPD statistics show all but five precincts in the city have seen an increase in rates of crimes, some with nearly a 200% jump.
At an event for the Association for a Better New York, District Attorney Alvin Bragg acknowledged the rise in thefts across the city.
“We have amongst us opportunists, who are repeat players, who are just taking goods,” Bragg said. “So we are brainstorming about how to respond to that as well.”
Related
Related
