One of the primary reasons Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny have become household names is that New York City's leaders have indulged lawlessness for far too long. And the toleration of 'low level' lawlessness inevitably begets more lawlessness, often with tragic consequences. One of the most high-profile manifestations of lawlessness in cities like New York is rampant shoplifting and looting, often with little-to-no consequence. Indeed, in some jurisdictions, stealing has effectively been legalized, leading to chaos, danger, and businesses heading for the exits.
The Big Apple is now trying to signal a shift away from this spiral, but the details of the ostensible coming 'crackdown' suggest that it is -- shall we say -- not a serious policy:
Important note: Concept of “de-escalation training” is now morphing from preventing cops from unnecessarily shooting unarmed individuals — to encouraging retail employees to just let thieves take whatever they want. pic.twitter.com/uJdmtXGWUh
— Robert A George (@RobGeorge) May 20, 2023
Offering a blanket 'no criminal prosecution' promise for first-time crime-committers is quite the start. George is right that "de-escalation" essentially means no effort to intervene during an active crime. And installing (taxpayer-funded) kiosks in stores to connect would-be criminals with (taxpayer-funded) social services cartoonishly naive and idiotic. Call me simplistic, but it seems like putting an end to consequence-free shoplifting should start with locking these people up for a significant period of time:
New York City’s storefront businesses, already weathering inflation and an uneven recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, are also contending with what the police say is a dramatic increase in shoplifting. But statistics also reveal a startling reality: A relative handful of shoplifters are responsible for an outsize percentage of retail crime. Nearly a third of all shoplifting arrests in New York City last year involved just 327 people, the police said. Collectively, they were arrested and rearrested more than 6,000 times, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Some engage in shoplifting as a trade, while others are driven by addiction or mental illness; the police did not identify the 327 people in the analysis.
At least New York hasn't stooped to this moronic low -- yet, at least:
The city of Baltimore is suing automakers Kia and Hyundai, claiming their vehicles are too easy to steal and have fueled a “vehicular crime wave” that has burdened the city. Baltimore joins Seattle, St. Louis and a number of other major US cities that have sued the companies alleging a lack of anti-theft technology in the vehicles has contributed to a surge in stolen cars. According to the city officials, car thefts are up 95% in Baltimore this year compared to the same time in 2022, with Kias and Hyundais accounting for 41% of all instances. To date in 2023, a total of 577 vehicles from both car brands have been stolen, putting Baltimore on pace to double those stolen last year...Kia said in a statement to WBAL that “lawsuits against Kia by municipalities are without merit"...Hyundai blamed thieves for spreading the “how to” info on stealing vehicles on social media, and made no mention of the lawsuits.
The city of Baltimore is blaming automakers for their cars being too easy to steal. The automakers are blaming, well, the criminals doing the illegal stealing. It's astounding that this is even a debate. Other left-wing officials are driving jobs and businesses out of their jurisdictions the old fashioned way:
CME [Chicago Mercantile Exchange] Group Inc. is prepared to leave Chicago if the city and state take steps that are perceived as “ill-conceived,” Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy said in an interview. Duffy’s remarks, made in an episode of the Odd Lots podcast, come as Mayor Brandon Johnson is being sworn into office after proposing additional taxes, including one on financial transactions, to help boost the city’s revenue. That plan was fiercely opposed by Chicago’s exchanges and investment firms. A higher levy would also require state approval to pass. “Mr. Johnson has no legal authority to impose a transaction tax on my business,” said Duffy, adding that fighting crime should be a bigger focus for the new mayor. He also shouldn’t “get too bogged down on how he’s going to short-term think he’s going to raise taxes on certain people in order to fit his agenda.”
I'll leave you with more breathtakingly bad decisions in Illinois:
Illinois offers health benefits to illegal immigrants. When passed, was estimated to cost $2m-$4m. New estimate: $1.1 billion. Why? 'Number of participants far exceeds what the state had planned on.' Undaunted, IL wants to expand program even more... https://t.co/0t0buDeyCL
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 19, 2023