PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania court officials have reported a jump in retail theft across the state — by about 30%. That new information comes days after police say a man stealing hats from the Center City Macy’s stabbed two security guards, leaving one dead.
Philly police say more than 1,500 people have been arrested in the city this year for retail theft — a similar number to last year, but a jump from 2021.
According to data from the District Attorney’s Office, about 400 were charged, while the rest were considered summary offenses. However, the arrest numbers are different from police.
The District Attorney’s Office policy states that retail theft cases should only be charged as summary offenses, which is the lowest grade, “unless the value of the item(s) stolen in a particular case exceeds $500.00 or where the defendant has a very long history of theft and retail theft convictions.”
Philly DA Larry Krasner was asked about this at a press conference regarding Tyrone Tunnell, the suspect arrested in Monday’s fatal Macy’s stabbing. Tunnell has a record as a repeat retail offender.
“The policy as stated 45 days into our administration is correct but there are a lot more details to it,” said Krasner, who did not elaborate on those details.
“There are a lot more specifics, I think, and we have been down the road a little bit and we know where some landmarks are and some of those things we can add in a specific way and in writing if that is helpful,” he said.
Krasner did add that his office is going after repeat offenders and working with other city officials to stop retail theft.
Tunnell had convictions in Philly — but also in the suburbs, including Delaware County, where Jack Stollsteimer is district attorney. He said the offenders have bled into the counties.
“I have officers make arrests here,” Stollsteimer said. “The defendants tell them that, ‘I come from Kensington because I need to support my drug habit and I can’t steal in Philadelphia because the retailers make it too hard, so I am coming out here.’”
State law dictates that a first-time offender stealing any item less than $150 is charged at the lowest offense, with steeper consequences for any additional offenses.
“If you steal more than $1,000, it can end up being a felony three, which is punishable by more than or up to seven years in prison,” he explained.
“In my experience as a prosecutor, if they are committing a crime, the only thing they take into consideration is, ‘What is the likelihood I am going to get caught, and the likelihood I will be held accountable?’”
A spokesperson for Krasner said citywide retail theft rarely escalates to violence. “Partial credit may be attributed to most retailers having policies in place to prioritize worker safety (e.g. do not engage policies) over product loss,” they said. However, Stollsteimer said relaxed penalties do little to deter theft.
“If the word on the street is that you can steal up to $500 and you won’t go to jail, that’s all they hear,” said Stollsteimer.