Only 327 suspected shoplifters account for 6,000 arrests for theft in Alvin Bragg’s New York City

According to the Daily Mail, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, "Numbers such as these illustrate how impactful recidivism really is. It is disheartening to the affected businesses. It is inefficient. It is counterproductive to public safety and frankly, it is a perpetual carousel of police resources."

GOP Representative Mike Johnson from Louisiana said on Twitter, "Let criminals roam free and they will wreak havoc on any community."

Commissioner Sewell said that 22,000 apprehensions were made last year for shoplifting, 6,000 of those involving the same 327 offenders. The criminals tend to target the same department and pharmacy stores. In New York City, the same 18 stores made up one fifth of all the shoplifting reports.

While the 327 were not identified, the Daily Mail reports that many engage in the crime of shoplifting as a trade while others suffer from mental illness and drug addiction.

Sales in the city have gone down by 25 percent as a result.

Researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice released an analysis that claimed, since 2019, items under a value of $1000 had been stolen at a 53 percent increase.

In 2022, 41 people from a gang that stole from stores like Duane Reade and Bloomingdale's were indicted. They would steal from the stores and then sell the items on ebay.

"Drug stores experienced twice as many thefts in 2022 compared with 2019, rising from 6,031 to 12,343 incidents," reports the Daily Mail. Chain stores thefts rose 91 percent across that same time, increasing from 11,673 to 22,250.

On Monday, House Republicans landed in New York to highlight the city's epidemic of crime under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

In 2019, a cashless bail law was passed in NYC which made it difficult for judges to set a bail for offenders who commit nonviolent crimes.

According to CBS, major crime in NYC is up 23 percent.