Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, May 21, 2023
New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams did have a strategy to stop shoplifting prior to unveiling his new plan: Please don’t rob our stores.
Now Adams has a new pitch: OK, you can rob our stores once, but please don’t do it again.
Adams was the subject of ridicule after unveiling his four-pronged proposal to combat shoplifting:
Prong 1: Give first-time offenders intervention programs instead of prosecution.
Prong 2: De-escalation training for retail employees.
Prong 3: Establish neighborhood retail watch groups to share theft info in real-time with one another and NYPD.
Prong 4: Install kiosks in stores to connect would-be thieves with social service programs.
Adams said in a (remember, this is not satire) statement: “This plan aims to reassure our store owners that we know they are essential to our city, and we have their backs. 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.”
Twitter users mocked hizzoner for that they called an unrealistic plan that seemed no harsher than putting unruly children in a “time out corner,” as one described.
Others argued that the mayor’s plan would make the city more “dangerous” than it has already become.
Breitbart columnist AWR Hawkins tweeted: “Notice, the very first part of this Democrat Mayor’s response to soaring shoplifting losses in NYC is to lessen punishment for first-time shoplifters. (He might as well provide first-time shoplifters with bags they can use to carry stolen merchandise out.)”
Steve Guest, communications special advisor for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, observed, “These kiosks will be stolen first.”
The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller mocked the “de-escalation training” bit: “The best one is de-escalation training for employees. ‘Hey you’re stealing our stuff.’ ‘F— off, get out of my way or I shiv your a**.’ ‘Hey let’s talk this out.’ ”
Author Saul Montes-Bradley claimed the bill does nothing to stop crime, tweeting, “In other words…bend over and take it like a champ. This is madness.”
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NYC mayor’s proposal to stop shoplifting: No charges for first offenders, social services kiosks in stores added by Editor Two on
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