The NYPD will be able to obtain “real-time intelligence” from store owners who allow the cops to access their security cameras as part of a new initiative that the city unveiled on Thursday to address the rising rate of retail crime.
According to Mayor Eric Adams’ office, participation in the trial program is entirely voluntary, and those that want to use the city’s integration platform will be able to immediately exchange information via their current surveillance system.
“The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety,” Adams said at a news conference introducing the initiative, which would cost the city $1.5 million but be free to companies.
“Anything that erodes that feeling of safety is going to get in the way (…) and nothing erodes it more than going into your local store, and you have to call someone to unlock the toothpaste, unlock the hair shampoo when I had hair, unlock all of the items that we have.”
“New York is saying we’re not sitting back and throwing up our hands, that’s a signal of urban surrender,” Adams continued. “We are unwilling to give in to criminal activity in whatever form. We will not let organized crime groups and shoplifters to prey on establishments.
Direct access to the closed-circuit television systems, according to City Hall, would enable law enforcement to apprehend criminals faster and provide an additional degree of security for nearby companies.
The action is being taken as retail theft in New York City continues to rise; according to Chain Store Age, a news website that focuses on retail, larceny increased by 51% between 2017 and 2023.
According to Adams, the NYPD arrested 25,480 people for retail theft last year, with around 542 repeat offenders accounting for a third of those cases.
“We cannot keep letting these recidivists back on the streets without consequences. That is our concern”, Adams said. “We’re able to identify them early and take them off the street, they do not become a menace to our retail community”.
