If you’ve spent any time on social media this year, you’ve no doubt seen reports of major retailers like Target, CVS, Dick’s Sporting Goods and others attributing store closings to an increase in shoplifting thanks to a rash of “organized retail theft.” The talking point has been particularly virulent amongst “tough on crime” Republicans.
There’s just one small problem: the numbers are bogus. The National Retail Federation conjured up the number with no data to back it up, but the organization has only recently copped to the fake stats.
Via Los Angeles Times:
The statistic, published in April by the National Retail Federation, was that “organized retail crime” — including the videotaped flash mob smash-and-grab events aired in frequent rotation on the cable and evening news shows — came to more than $45 billion a year.
Specifically, the NRF declared that organized crime accounted for “nearly half” of the $94.5 billion in retail “shrink” attributed to theft or “other causes” in 2021. The claim appeared in the latest edition of the federation’s annual report on organized retail crime.
However, as the LA Times reports, the NRF has since admitted that the retail theft estimate was a “fabrication” and it was removed from the annual report in an update. Unfortunately, the damage was already done as Republican politicians latched onto the bogus statistic. Donald Trump, to the surprise of no one, was the most aggressive and basically called for gunning down shoplifters on sight.
“We will immediately stop all of the pillaging and theft,” Trump said during a December 1 rally in California. “Very simply: If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store.”
The MAGA crowd ate it up and cheered at the line thanks to the over-abundance of scare-mongering headlines about a supposed shoplifting epidemic that simply doesn’t exist. So that was great.
(Via Los Angeles Times)