[tonyedgecombe]

I wonder if this is because consumer goods became much cheaper. Not much point buying a stolen DVD player when a new one is only $25 from Walmart[1].

[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-HDMI-DVD-Player/1502979408

[Ekaros]

Also why go to homes to steal stuff. When you can go to store and steal new in box...

I wonder if ratio of store theft to burglary has changed...

[Jedd]

Are you suggesting there was a correlated and comparable increase in 'stealing from stores' during this period?

Do you have any data for that?

All the reports mentioning 'shoplifting on the rise' I've seen have been focused on the debunking of this hypothesis.