Rising Crime in D.C. Leaves Wide Swath of Victims
From Capitol Hill to Georgetown to Penn Quarter, the District is drowning in a crime wave.
“How do you fight shoplifting?” wondered the Washington Post editorial board on November 18, 2023. “Not by locking down everything in CVS.”
“Shoppers visiting the CVS Pharmacy at 14th and Irving streets NW in Washington recently must think they traveled back in time to the Soviet Union,” began the editorial board. “The store’s shelves are bare. The refrigerator cases are devoid of food or beverages. When we visited, only sunscreen and greeting cards were on display. But the bizarre scene is not a result of a failed planned economy; rampant theft is the cause.”
“Shoplifting Trends: What You Need to Know,” wrote Ernesto Lopez, Robert Boxerman, and Kelsey Cindiff in a recent report for the Council on Criminal Justice.
“Since shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council on Criminal Justice has tracked changing rates of violent and property crime in large cities across the United States,” began the trio. “The pandemic, as well as the social justice protests during the summer of 2020 and other factors, have altered the motives, means, and opportunities to commit crimes.”
“Retail theft, especially organized retail theft, has received extensive media coverage…