Expanding on the consequences and consumer impact of retail crimes, former Target Vice Chairman and Toys "R" Us CEO Gerald Storch claimed theft will only get worse if liberal cities continue to brush off prosecutions and arrests.
"Particularly in more liberal areas where prosecutors, as well as jurisdictions, have not prosecuted these crimes, or they have lowered the penalties or they've raised the limits on how much you can steal and still have a misdemeanor, which tends not to be prosecuted at all, that's been going on for the last couple of years," Storch told FOX News Digital on Monday.
"You're not going to just solve it by just saying crime is okay and we're not going to arrest you," he continued. "It has to be solved by dealing with the underlying causes, which is a lot more work… but that work has to be done or we're going to continue to see an increase in crime."
Last week, retail giant Target announced it would close nine stores across New York, Washington, California and Oregon after pointing to crime and theft losses. What’s more, dozens of alleged offenders were arrested in Philadelphia also last week following a flash mob of multiple retail stores.
"These are definitely cities that have a big problem with crime," the ex-CEO said. "There has to be a link with the prosecutors taking a no prosecution stance in these cases."
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In 2022 alone, retailers reportedly lost $112 billion to retail thefts, a dramatic increase from the $93.9 billion lost the previous year.
"What I believe is that this is violent, organized crime and that the risk of people getting injured is high, people do get injured, both employees and shoppers. And it dissuades shoppers from shopping," Storch explained.
Speaking on the importance of criminal justice reform, Storch argued that the disproportionate impact of the justice system on specific communities is part of the justification for not prosecuting smaller crimes.
"If you look at the prison system, it disproportionately affects people of color in terms of who's incarcerated. So you want to fix that," Storch said of liberal cities, "you can't fix it by just saying: we're not going to have laws anymore, we're not going to enforce laws anymore, and it's okay to commit crimes and there's no consequence. All that's going to do is lead to a lawless state."
"We have to do the heavy work, the hard work of dealing with the conditions that create the problem in the first place, which have more to do with education and poverty and family structure and other things that are much more difficult to solve," the former CEO noted. "But you can't just say it's okay to commit crimes and there are no consequences."
When Walmart decided to close four of its Chicago-area stores earlier this year, Storch pointed out, it revealed another metropolitan city that has a "big problem" with organized retail thefts.
"Those communities lost their pharmacy. They were very upset and they were blaming Walmart like there's something they could have done, but they can't keep operating the stores at a loss," Storch said. "And I don't think Walmart's lying. If they say they're losing money, they're losing money. It'd be illegal for a public company to lie."
A rise in retail thefts isn’t solely fueled by left-leaning policies, the ex-CEO clarified, putting more onus on the internet and social media era.
"I would highlight the growth of internet marketplaces, and the marketplaces provided easy means for crooks to fence the goods, to convert that to cash," he said. "Also, social media has facilitated the organization of these flash mobs, when everyone shows up together. And there's safety in numbers as they descend on a specific target like the shopping area in Philadelphia."
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Storch is growing less optimistic about the strength of the U.S. consumer, cautioning over a combination of in-store theft, inflation, rising oil prices, interest rates and credit card debt.
"So it affects the ability to afford anything where you have to borrow the money in order to buy it, and there is more borrowing, so that means the cost of that debt is going up," the former Target and Toys "R" Us executive said. "So these are all serious stresses on the consumer. People say the consumer has been healthy so far. I do not agree."
