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The shoplifting scare might not have been real — but its effects are (www.vox.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

97 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It turns out shoplifting isn’t spiraling out of control, but lawmakers are pushing for tougher penalties for low-level and nonviolent crimes anyway.

Over the last couple of years, it seemed that America was experiencing a shoplifting epidemic. Videos of people brazenly stealing merchandise from retailers often went viral; chains closed some of their stores and cited a rise in theft as the primary reason; and drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens started locking up more of their inventory, including everyday items like toothpaste, soaps, and snacks. Lawmakers from both major parties called for, and in some cases even implemented, more punitive law enforcement policies aimed at bucking the apparent trend.

But evidence of a spike in shoplifting, it turns out, was mostly anecdotal. In fact, there’s little data to suggest that there’s a nationwide problem in need of an immediate response from city councils or state legislatures. Instead, what America seems to be experiencing is less of a shoplifting wave and more of a moral panic.

…

Now, those more forgiving criminal justice policies are at risk, in part because of a perceived trend that appears to have been overblown.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

This is the weirdest comment. You aren't from here, and you ignore the statistics that say otherwise, so you offer neither facts nor anecdotes. But the article is definitely wrong just because? I rarely downvote comments but you've earned that ignoble distinction.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago (1 children)

People who have fallen victim to moral panics frequently get absolutely indignant when told they have fallen victim to a moral panic. Not really different than cults or MLMs, in that regard.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

It's easier to bamboozle someone than to convince them they've been bamboozled.