Posted by Nicholas Bisaccia.
This article talks about how the state of Virginia is making organized retail theft a class 3 felony. These stricter punishments are being enacted to crack down on people stealing nearly 1.3 billion dollars annually. These people are stealing to profit which is the main reason Virginia is pushing for harsher punishments. Lots of revenue is being lost due to this and Virginia is doing its best to put a stop to it.
So what actually consists an organized retail theft? This article states “It will be a Class 3 felony for anyone to conspire or act in concert with one or more people to steal retail merchandise with a value exceeding $5,000 in a 90-day period, with the intent to sell the stolen goods for profit.” While the Republicans are all for this, the Democrats are not as fond. They are saying that this will hurt people that steal to survive and the punishments are to harsh. Regardless, Virginia has turned to harsher punishments (class 3 felony) for organized retail theft.
I believe this is a good thing for the state of Virginia and society. Stealing should be thrown under the rug, especially when it involves multiple people to take large sums of money. Stealing should also not be encouraged by the law and it should be made clear that this is something that is not right. Strict punishments should be enacted to dismay stealing.
Nicholas is a business major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2026.