Governor Hochul Announces New Initiatives to Crack Down on Organized Retail Theft and Protect Frontline Workers in the FY25 Budget

Budget Agreement Includes $40.2 Million for Dedicated Retail Theft Teams for New York State Police and Local Law Enforcement

New Felony Penalties Will Be Created for Assaulting a Retail Worker

Business Owners Will Have Access to $5 Million Tax Credit for Security Cameras and Other Anti-Theft Expenses 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced new initiatives to crack down on organized retail theft and protect frontline retail workers that are included in the FY25 State Budget agreement. This comprehensive approach puts more power in the hands of law enforcement, prosecutors and business owners – targeting every area of vulnerability. Governor Hochul’s announcement came on the heels of an agreement on the FY25 State Budget, which makes historic investments in public safety and builds on three years of progress driving down crime statewide.

“I promised to fight the scourge of organized retail theft -- and in this budget, we got it done,” Governor Hochul said. “Sophisticated organized retail theft operations are putting frontline retail workers at risk and reselling stolen goods on online marketplaces, and we're taking new steps to end this chaos.”

Governor Hochul's focus on organized retail theft comes as crime data shows a significant spike in these crimes over the past six years. Larceny offenses in New York City have spiked by 51 percent between 2017 and 2023. Robberies, grand larceny and petit larceny in New York City are up by 86 percent during that same time period.

The FY25 State Budget includes Governor Hochul’s five-point plan to fight organized retail theft:

• Bolstering criminal penalties for anyone who assaults a retail worker by elevating it from a misdemeanor to felony. Any person who causes physical injury to a retail worker performing their job will be subject to this new felony.
• Allowing prosecutors to combine the value of stolen goods when they file larceny charges. The Budget allows retail goods from different stores to be aggregated for the purposes of reaching a higher larceny threshold when stolen under the same criminal scheme.
• Making it illegal to foster the sale of stolen goods to go after third-party sellers. A person will be found guilty if they use any website or physical location to sell stolen goods.
• $40.2 million for dedicated Retail Theft Teams within State Police, District Attorneys’ offices and local law enforcement, including 100 New York State Police personnel dedicated to fighting organized retail theft.
• $5 million tax credit to help small businesses invest in added security measures such as cameras. To help alleviate the burden on small businesses for additional security measures, the Budget creates a $3,000 tax credit for any small businesses who spends the threshold amount of money on retail theft prevention measures.

Governor Hochul’s commitment to fighting retail theft in the FY25 Budget builds on core strategies that have driven violent crime to historic lows. As a result of programs like the Gun Involved Violence Initiative (GIVE), which provides funding to local law enforcement in 21 counties outside of New York City, gun crimes have seen dramatic drops. Last quarter, GIVE regions had the lowest number of shootings on record, and New York City had the lowest number of shootings in any quarter since the pandemic. Since 2021, murders statewide are down 30 percent.