Shoplifting is on the rise even as reports of other types of crime fall

All but one type of crime decreased in the first six months in 2024, according to a July report from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ).

Shoplifting rose 24% in the first half of the year, while every other type of crime dropped, according to the study, which analyzed crime statistics in 23 cities. The data shows shoplifting is up across the country, reflecting what retailers have described as a growing problem. 

As businesses invest in anti-theft technology to deter criminals, meanwhile, consumers express frustration at the many products, from toiletries to snacks, that they now find locked up on store shelves.

By comparison, reports of residential burglaries were 14% lower in the first half of 2024 compared with the first half of 2023, according to CCJ. Nonresidential burglaries were down 10%. Larcenies and drug offenses also decreased by 6% and 2%, respectively, in the first half of 2024.

Did shoplifting really skyrocket during pandemic?

Although the shoplifting rate across the U.S is up 24% compared with last year, it has risen only 10% compared with 2019. That figure contradicts the narrative, often pushed by retailers, that store thefts skyrocketed during the pandemic. Rather, data shows that rates of theft spiked in some cities, such as New York, while declining in other parts of the country.

The study's authors also note that shoplifting statistics tend to be less accurate than reports of other crimes, like homicides, for example. 

"There may be a very large discrepancy between actual shoplifting incidents and the shoplifting that is reported to police," Adam Gelb, president and CEO of CCJ, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on criminal justice, told CBS News. "That's the main challenge with this offense. By contrast, homicides are thought to be one of the best measures of crime, because when someone disappears, we know about it."

According to Gelb, retailers sometimes neglect to report shoplifting incidents to the police because they don't think law enforcement will take appropriate action, or for other reasons "that relate to their lack of confidence that the criminal justice system will respond appropriately." 

On the flip side, video footage of dramatic shoplifting incidents that goes viral on social media can suggest the issue is more pervasive than it is in reality. 

Gelb noted that a number of large national retailers have attributed store closures to a rise in shoplifting. In September, for example, Target said it was closing nine stores because rising retail theft was jeopardizing workers and customers. But Gelb said there can be other factors at play, such as online stores eating into brick-and-mortar stores' profit margins. 

"When they focus on shoplifting and say their profit margins aren't high because they're losing so much product, lots of people suspect it's a smokescreen for other business concerns," he said. 

Even the National Retail Federation, a trade group representing retailers, admitted that it incorrectly attributed half of all industry losses in 2021 to organized retail crime. The group estimated that theft results in $45 billion in annual losses for retailers, a figure it has since retracted.