Retail has always operated on a sort of honor system. It’s not that stores expect customers to be fully honest, but they understand that it’s very difficult to prevent some level of theft.

In the old days, that might mean a parent letting their kid eat a candy bar or drink a soda in the store without paying for it. It could also be someone slipping a small item into their shirt, bag or pants.

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Today’s retail also comes with an increased level of grey area. Before we had self-checkout, a customer might leave a big item at the bottom of their cart, on the shelf below the basket.

That might be an honest mistake or it might be an intentional effort to steal in a way that can’t be proved. The modern version of this — not scanning an item at self-checkout — works the same way. It’s possible it was an honest mistake or machine error, but it’s also possible that the customer intended to steal in a way that’s not likely to get them in trouble.

These things are all illegal, but most chains won’t get the police involved for petty theft. In many cases, even when a retailer has seen the same customer shoplift repeatedly, it’s often not worth the effort to get the police involved.

That does vary based on where a store is. What’s considered a felony varies by market, and Target and Walmart are pushing for a major change in one area where both have struggled.

Walmart and Target support law change

Both Target (TGT) and Walmart have closed stores in areas of the country where thefts from their stores have increased sharply. In some cases, that has been because the markets those stores operate in don’t have store-friendly laws in place.

That’s particularly true in California, where a law passed in 2014, Proposition 47, made the type of theft that happens in retailers like Walmart and Target a misdemeanor and not a felony.

“The law made some nonviolent property crimes, where the value does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors,” the Los Angeles County Public Defender posted on its website. “It also made some simple drug-possession offenses into misdemeanors. It also provides that past convictions for these charges may be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court.” 

Basically, Proposition 47 made it not worth it for retailers to involve law enforcement in most instances of shoplifting. The rule effectively enabled shoplifting because criminals knew they could pretty brazenly steal and would probably not even get arrested if caught.

Now, Walmart and Target have thrown their support behind an effort to make some major changes to Proposition 47.

Target and Walmart want stealing to be a felony

San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan have served as the lead voices for the effort to change Proposition 47. Walmart has donated $1 million to the cause while Target has put up $500,000.

The attempt to change the law, which would appear on the ballot during the state’s next statewide election, would “allow separate thefts to be added up to surpass the $950 threshold for felony charges, and it would also ramp up sentencing for people working as a group to steal goods or for taking more than $50,000 in property,” Supermarket News reported.

If the rule change passes, it would enable both retailers to use security footage to build cases against repeat offenders. It would also continue to protect people who fail to scan an item or make another mistake that may or may not be an attempt at shoplifting.

Organized retail crime has been growing and California is not the only state taking steps to prevent it. The National Retail Federation has been working with Congress and various states to pass laws that make it easier to go after people who work in groups to steal from stores.

“In addition to efforts in Congress, [the retail federation] has worked closely with state lawmakers, local law enforcement, and news media across the country to draw attention to [organized retail crime,”] the trade association said on its website. 

“The effort has been successful, with at least 32 states passing ORC laws, and NRF is currently urging states to update the definition of ORC and adopt sufficient criminal penalties.” 

Despite those efforts, 87% of retailers surveyed by NRF say that a national law is needed.

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