PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After briefly trending downward for a few years, retail theft in Pennsylvania is on the rise.
In 2019, officials say there were almost 39,000 retail theft offenses in Pennsylvania. The next year, there was a decrease of around 11,000 before offenses fell below 25,000 statewide in 2021.
PA Courts say in 2023 the total was back in the neighborhood of 38,000.
Officials say between 2019 and 2023, about 42% of retail theft offenses resulted in convictions.
Between Philly and its surrounding counties, Montgomery County experienced the most retail theft. In 2023, the county saw nearly 4,300, offenses, marking a more than 50% increase from the pre-COVID total.
Philly saw fewer than 2,000 offenses in 2023 after having nearly 3,200 in 2019. And, as for Delaware County, there were fewer retail thefts in 2023 compared to the year before.