Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is rolling out a plan to cut shoplifting and smash-and-go robberies, the president of a top business group said Sunday.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office — which has faced blowback over Bragg’s progressive prosecution policies — will now focus on targeting repeat offenders, Kathy Wylde, president of Partnership for New York City, said on Cats Roundtable on WABC 770 AM.
“It is a plan to reduce retail theft In Manhattan: Shoplifting and smash-and-go robberies. Something we very much need!” Wylde told host John Catsimatidis.
“They’re going to be focusing on a much closer working relationship with the NYPD to aggressively identify those folks who have high rates of recidivism,” she continued, “you know, it’s a relatively small number of relatively well-organized people who are committing most of these robberies that have so much increased in the recent years.”
Partnership for NYC — a non-profit that reps more than 300 business leaders — has worked with Bragg and small business owners on a plan to combat shoplifting since January, Wylde said.
The DA’s office has previously come under fire for not requesting bail for some repeat shoplifting suspects.
![Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City Inc., speaks during the Techonomy conference in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Kathryn_Wylde.jpg?w=1024)
Part of Bragg’s plan includes “focused deterrence,” Wylde said, explaining that pre-trial detention will be requested for accused thieves who have prior felony convictions, multiple open cases and a history of skipping out on court dates.
With the help of retailers, Wylde said Bragg’s prosecutors will also work to aggregate numerous misdemeanors charges to become a felony.
She called on merchants to keep records, with the help of security cameras, to keep track of offenders and how much they are swiping.
When asked if someone like a serial shoplifter who has been arrested more than 100 times would be locked up, Wylde replied, “That’s right.”
![Three individuals entered the location an forcibly removed $6,500.00 worth of electronics from a display case before fleeing the location.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/retail_crime2.jpg?w=1024)
“That instead of to get to a felony it’s been if you took less than $1,000 worth of goods, it was still not a felony. Now, if the store keeper is able to keep the records and have the camera shots, [the district attorney] will be able to aggregate repeat offenses,” Wylde explained. “So, somebody who thought they were being cute by stealing $999 worth of goods will now be in a position where they’re going to go to jail.”
Manhattan prosecutors are also targeting fencing operations, Wylde said, noting one case pursued by the New York Attorney General’s Office where a 47th Street pawn shop owner raked in stolen good purchased for pennies on a dollar and then resold at a higher price.
“So that’s the kind of thing [the district attorney’s office] is going to be breaking up,” she said.