That’s going too far in the other direction. You’re going to allow people to steal from local retailers? We aren’t talking about Walmart here. Can you steal bullets without penalty? That’s an honest question.
In many cities CVS has stopped prosecuting shoplifters. The end result is stores are getting hit repeatedly DAILY by the same junkies, they barrel out of the store almost knocking down customers.
I have had am experienced LEO tell me “we should be happy they are sticking up CVS and not people on the street.”
I replied it was BS, and we need more jails.
CVS et al thinks its less expensive to make the law abiding pay for the “shrinkage” and risk a lawsuit or two by us getting knocked over (or when some shoplifter decides to rob and harm a senior standing outside the store with a cell phone in their hands) than it is to prosecute or hire security guards.
Recently I read some shoplifters in NYC graduated to violent robbery of the pharmacy, with an employee recently beaten.
It will never stop till an upper level CVS exec (or their kid) is stabbed by one of these bums.