Shop lifters today.

[T_R_Oglodyte]

The problem is that many local officials see it as a cost of doing business for these retailers and think the big corporations will just eat the losses.

The position of the former City Attorney for Seattle was that when businesses called police to deal with shoplifting and other property crimes, that was an attempt by those businesses to outsource their site security obligations to the public. (FWIW, this was pre-pandemic.) It was well-known that the city attorney's office would not prosecute any shop-lifting crimes that were less than $250. It doesn't take too much smarts to know what the consequence of that was.

In the ensuing election, that City attorney finished third in the primary - so he was eliminated. The two candidates that advanced included

1. an attorney who campaigned on correcting that and similar policies of the current city attorney, and
2. a former public defender who campaigned that the current city attorney was too prosecution oriented and who advocated for abolishing prosecution of all misdemeanors. During the summer of demonstrations and protests, she tweeted her “rabid hatred of the police” and averred that during times of protest, property destruction is a “moral imperative.”

Amazingly (but not so to those of who live in the Seattle area) the second candidate had the largest vote total in the primary. The first candidate won the general election, but the second candidate still pulled almost 48% of the vote.

The legal framework derives its legitimacy as a reflection of the moral consensus of the community of what behaviors are right and wrong. When that fraction of voting public in a community endorses a city attorney candidate such as the second candidate, it's no wonder that petty (and not so petty) crime is thriving. Because then it's clear that within the general community, there is no moral consensus that petty theft and crime is wrong.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Right? I think it comes down to risk/reward, and if you have more to lose it’s just not worth it.

I hear that. I believe it's true in many cases, and not so true in other cases.

We were foster parents for a 16-year old girl for about a year. She ran with a crowd and slice of society that was completely alien to us. So we got exposed to some some things and issues that we had never had to deal with or think about previously.

One of the things that became clear was that her crowd gave almost no consideration to the future consequences of their actions. The only thing that mattered to them was immediate gratification. And pressure from their immediate peers. Whether something might end them in the justice system was irrelevant; that was something that if it happened would be months in the future, which was well beyond the time frame that they used for decision making. And if juvee had any significance, it was as a badge of honor.

 

[easyrider]

The position of the former City Attorney for Seattle was that when businesses called police to deal with shoplifting and other property crimes, that was an attempt by those businesses to outsource their site security obligations to the public. (FWIW, this was pre-pandemic.) It was well-known that the city attorney's office would not prosecute any shop-lifting crimes that were less than $250. It doesn't take too much smarts to know that the consequence of that was.

In the ensuing election, that City attorney finished third in the primary - so he was eliminated. The two candidates that advanced included

1. an attorney who campaigned on correcting that and similar policies of the current city attorney, and
2. a former public defender who campaigned that the current city attorney was too prosecution oriented and who advocated for abolishing prosecution of all misdemeanors. During the summer of demonstrations and protests, she tweeted her “rabid hatred of the police” and said the during times of protest property destruction is a “moral imperative.”

Amazingly (but not so to those of who live in the Seattle area) the second candidate had the largest vote total in the primary, and still polled
This first candidate won, but amazingly the second candidate had almost 48% of the vote in the general election.

When that fraction of voting public in a community endorse a city attorney candidate such as the second candidate, it's no wonder that petty (and not so petty) crime is thriving.

There was a time visiting or working in Seattle was fun. We did a job for City Ice on the pier and stayed on Aroura Ave about twenty years ago. There were a few hookers about is what I thought. Recently, we went to Lowes for project supplies and the entire area has been over run with hookers. Is almost like Seattle decriminalized prostitution and drugs.

Bill