October 11, 2017  by Ryan Kearney

Massachusetts Senate leadership recently released a criminal justice reform package which seeks an eighty-four percent increase in the felony threshold for the crimes of larceny and credit card fraud—from the current level of $250 up to $1,500. An increase of this size would be detrimental to the ability of retailers, law enforcement and prosecutors to protect against theft and essentially results in dramatic raises and incentives for professional criminals operating in the Commonwealth.

At the current threshold level of $250, Massachusetts retailers already experience significant losses due to theft with an estimated $1 billion in merchandise stolen from their stores annually. The majority of these losses are attributed to professional criminals and repeat offenders who see theft as a low risk, high reward activity due to weak property crime laws. This proposal stands to further weaken these criminal laws by removing the threat of meaningful criminal penalties from an expanded number of theft incidents.

Theft involving retailers is all too often treated as a victimless, minor offense. Yet the cost to retailers is real and is paid for by honest consumers in the form of higher prices. With regard to credit card fraud, this includes sharing in costs associated with data security and recovering from a stolen identity. In addition, retail theft incidents are becoming increasingly more violent according to a study conducted by the National Retail Federation—ranging from verbal assault of store clerks to assault and battery during apprehensions. The presence of any type of violence in our stores also places the general public at risk. Lastly, proceeds from organized retail theft have been found to fund serious criminal activities including drug trafficking, arms dealing and even terrorism.

MAY. 24, 2016 • BY RYAN KEARNEY

The theft of property valued under $1,500 would become a misdemeanor in Massachusetts under a proposal passed in the Senate and now pending before the House. MA would follow the lead of 26 other states that have adjusted their felony thresholds, yet the five-fold increase proposed in MA exceeds the average threshold level of those states, which stands at $1,000.

While research conducted by the Pew Institute claims that there has been no increase in property crime in those states where a higher felony threshold has been adopted, retailers and law enforcement in California have begun to tell a different story.

MAR. 14, 2016 • BY JON HURST

Maybe crime really does pay. At least it would under legislation recently passed by the Massachusetts Senate which increases the felony threshold contained in a number of our property crime statutes from $250 to $1,500. It allows fraudsters to run up $1,499 in charges on your credit card and thieves to steal or destroy up to $1,499 of your personal property with no risk of receiving meaningful repercussions. It also emboldens professional and sophisticated criminals who treat theft as a low risk, high reward activity due to our already weak criminal laws. It essentially decreases their cost of doing business while increasing the price you pay for consumer goods.

Annually, the Massachusetts retail industry loses an estimated $750 million in stolen merchandise, potentially worth $46.8 million in lost sales tax revenue. A cost shared by you in the form of higher prices—approximately $400 per household. The majority of these losses are attributed to organized crime rings using proceeds to fund other criminal activities including drug trafficking, arms dealing and even terrorism.