Retail theft arrests have nearly tripled this year as Philly police, DA Krasner overhaul approach to tackling the crime

Philadelphia law enforcement has overhauled its approach to enforcing retail theft in recent months, shifting prosecutorial policies and eligibility for a diversion program amid a significant uptick in arrests for the crime.

More people have been arrested and charged with retail theft so far this year than at any other point since 2017, data show. Arrests in the first six months of this year are nearly triple the number reported during the same period in 2023 — and exceed the total in 2022 and 2021 combined, data show.

The more stringent enforcement approach comes as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has tasked Philadelphia police with cracking down on quality-of-life crimes, including theft, the reports of which have risen starkly since 2021.

The shift began earlier this year, when District Attorney Larry Krasner quietly shelved the controversial policy on how his office handles many retail theft cases. The policy, instituted in 2018, mandated that, in cases where the stolen goods were valued at less than $500, the offender be issued a summary offense, akin to a traffic ticket.

On reflection, Krasner said, “I don’t think it’s the best approach.” He added that each case is complex and should be reviewed individually.

Then, last month, the Philadelphia Police Department also quietly changed the policies around its signature diversion initiative, so that people arrested for retail theft are no longer eligible to go through the program.

In a statement, the police department said “there are far too many individuals who believe that they can walk into a store and take whatever they want without consequence,” leading to financial losses and concerns over safety for business owners.

“It’s time for a reset, and we need to move into an enforcement posture,” the department said.

And yet, even amid this new posture, some business owners said theft remains a persistent issue in recent months, with few signs of letting up.

Valerie Safran, co-owner of the Center City gift shops Open House and Verde, said her employees see people steal or attempt to steal from her 13th Street stores three to four times a week.

“I think people don’t have fear of any retribution. They know no one is coming to get them,” Safran said. “And the last few months — I don’t know if it’s because it’s summertime — it definitely feels increased.”

Krasner’s critics have scrutinized his office’s track record for prosecuting retail theft cases in the past, saying the less severe punishment affected businesses and emboldened thieves.

In 2018, Krasner overhauled how the office prosecuted retail theft, issuing a policy that arrests would be treated as a summary offense unless the stolen goods cost more than $500, or if the person had “a very long history” of theft. He said it was important to reduce the number of people — many struggling with substance abuse — being held in jail pretrial on nonviolent offenses.

The result was that retail theft arrests plummeted — dropping from more than 2,000 arrests in 2016, to just 282 in 2019, data show. That rate of arrest remained fairly consistent through last year, before jumping dramatically this year.

Krasner said assistant district attorneys assigned to the new retail theft task force are treating each case with the individual scrutiny it deserves, rather than with a blanket policy.

The 2018 policy, he said, “was too easy and simple a rule,” and the office “realized we needed more information than we were gathering.”

The police department’s signature diversion program, dubbed Police Assisted Diversion or PAD, was launched in 2017 as a pilot program in North Philadelphia, before being expanded citywide in 2023.

The voluntary program was designed to divert first- and second-time offenders of certain crimes including retail theft, drug possession, and prostitution away from the criminal justice system and connect them with resources including treatment, shelter, bus passes, and employment support.

Retail thefts have traditionally made up about 40% of the cases referred to PAD, while drug offenses made up about 43% and prostitution about 5%, according to the city’s data.

But as of June 14, people arrested for retail theft are no longer eligible.

“Minors will still be eligible for diversion programs, and we remain open to revisiting this decision in the future,” a police department spokesperson said.

Krasner said that although PAD is a program “with a lot of potential,” it’s hard to measure its success because most information on its results is unavailable. He said the Accelerated Misdemeanor Program, a court-sanctioned diversion program that connects people to drug treatment, will be expanded.

Andrew Pappas, pretrial managing director of the Defender’s Association of Philadelphia, said that the shift in approach is concerning, and that jail won’t solve many underlying issues, including addiction.

The Parker administration’s $100 million plan to build a network of addiction wellness centers is potentially three years away, he said, and yet the arrests are starting now.

“The head of prison medical says they don’t have the capacity or capability to treat people in addiction,” he said. “And yet you’re gonna send more people suffering from opioid addiction to jail. It’s just a recipe for disaster.”

And he said that although AMP, the court-based diversion program, has been effective, PAD “avoids the trauma” that comes with a traditional arrest and provides people with more immediate access to treatment.

Business owners’ experiences with retail theft — and law enforcement’s response to it — vary.

Melissa Donnelly opened her home goods store, Everland, off South Street about six months ago, about the time of Krasner’s policy shift. She has been aware of only one theft and said her block feels safe.

At the Fishtown boutique Toile, owner Bianca DePietro said other issues outside of theft have gone up.

“A lot of the businesses in our district and in other neighboring districts have been seeing an increase in aggression inside or outside businesses since they cleared out K & A,” she said, referring to the increased enforcement along the Kensington and Allegheny drug corridor.

Fishtown’s private security crew, she said, has been handling most of these incidents — police have not often shown up when she’s called in the past.

On 13th Street in Center City, Safran — who owns two gift shops and several nearby restaurants, including Barbuzzo — and Brian Michael, co-owner of Shibe Vintage Sports, said retail theft seems to have increased in recent months.

Shibe has been burglarized twice in the last year, Michael said. Employees witness retail theft about once a month, he said, and he hired a private security guard during busy times.

Michael said he has appreciated recent efforts by the local police precinct, including a group chat with police and business owners, but he knows they can do only so much.

“There is a lot going on in Center City,” Michael said. Retail theft is “kind of low on the priority list.”

Safran said she has considered hiring a private security guard, but she worries that the investment wouldn’t dissuade thieves and could be off-putting to customers.

For now, employees remain vigilant and handle incidents themselves.

“I don’t ever want to talk about it because I don’t want people in the suburbs and the rest of the world to think it’s terrible in Center City, because it’s not,” Safran said. “But it does feel like we’re a little defenseless.”