Twitter’s in a cranky mood early this week, with particular ire reserved for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his latest response to the city’s rising shoplifting woes.
The city’s latest figures show a 44% rise in shoplifting across the five boroughs in the past year and retailers and the public aren’t happy about it.
In tepid response mode late last week, Adams’ office issued a multi-point plan to combat rampant shoplifting incidents that seems light on repercussions and heavy on neglect.
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Under the banner Crackdown On Shoplifting Plan For NYC, the mayor offers the following action steps to alleviate the problem.
- Give first-time offenders intervention programs instead of prosecution.
- De-escalation training for retail employees.
- Establish neighborhood retail watch groups to share theft information.
- Install kiosks in stores to connect would-be thieves with social services programs.
"This plan aims to reassure our store owners that we know they are essential to our city, and we have their backs," said Adams in a statement. "I want to thank the nearly 100 stakeholders from the public and private sectors who participated in our summit last year and who contributed to drafting this report for bringing forward their innovative solutions to tackle this critical issue."
Anti-crime advocates had a field day with the action points.
Many Twitter users dismissed the plan.
"This shoplifting crackdown plan released by @NYCMayor reads like a parody of what a blue-city mayor would propose," conservative libertarian thinker Tom Woods wrote.
"These are not serious people," one user wrote.
“If this is the plan NY will turn into SF,” another noted.
“This is a stupid program because it will definitely encourage more shoplifting,” said one.
