[Hilift]

Unfortunately the state will never be able to stop or prevent it. There needs to be arrests and prosecutions though, and that is where the problems start. For a interesting example, look at California. A few years back, the state reverted medium-serious crimes back to the county for detainment. This moved the cost of incarceration back to the source, however, those inmates cannot be released. So if there is an overcrowding/capacity concern, the low-level offenses such as retail theft are often immediately released even if they are a repeat habitual recidivist offender with no disincentive to offend again.

For a vision of the future, look at YouTube videos of walking tours of San Francisco and Oakland. Entire streets for lease, 38% commercial availability rate. The Crocker Mall and San Francisco Centre Mall are empty, the latter for sale, losing over $1 billion in value.

Probably doesn't matter though, because most people ditched shopping and do everything online now.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/auction-san-franci...

SF Centre Mall tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN3JXQoM9AU

SF Crocker Galleria tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzuSQSA3brA

[dsr_]

If only there were some way to substantially reduce the incentive for theft of consumer goods.

What could motivate people to theft? They must need something awfully badly. Perhaps fixing the underlying requirements could help.

[llbbdd]

They want money and there's no reason not to do it. This isn't a matter of meeting peoples needs, most thefts are not of anything necessary. It's just a job to them.

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

> This isn't a matter of meeting peoples needs

Curious how you reach this conclusion from the point that they do it for money?

> They want money

> It's just a job to them.

That's pretty much exactly how most people meet their needs: do a job for money. That they are stealing things other than what is directly needed is a distraction from the point that they are stealing to meet their needs.

[lazide]

Steal bread to eat it? Meeting needs (directly)

Steal baby formula to sell on the black market? May or may not be meeting needs, but it definitely isn’t direct!

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

> May or may not be

Yes, this is my point. It can't be concluded that they are not stealing to meet their needs.

[lazide]

It certainly can be concluded it isn’t for a direct need, which is not ‘stealing bread to feed starving kids’.

[stronglikedan]

> What could motivate people to theft?

Kleptomania

> They must need something awfully badly.

Dopamine

> Perhaps fixing the underlying requirements could help.

Prosecution (not just lip service)

[MetaWhirledPeas]

You're saying it in sort of a condescending way, but there's still truth.

Desperation leads to crime, true.

But also true: a lack of societal norms leads to crime. Any time we advocate or demonstrate disrespect, cheating, injustice, cruelty, unwarranted rule-breaking, doxing, or any kind of mob mentality we are contributing to it.

And yes your favorite political villains are all guilty of this, but we need to start with ourselves and the people close to us.

[ryanmcbride]

Why wouldn't we start with the biggest offenders?

[ryanmcbride]

You're getting downvoted but you're right, more and more people cannot afford to pay for life's necessities.

Wages have stagnated for decades as prices have increased. What possible solution is there other than to address the biggest elephant in the room.