Heather Tremblay, who manages the University Mall in South Burlington, worries that repeated cases of retail theft are driving away badly needed staff — and shoppers.
In her more than three decades in the retail business, “I have just never experienced the incidence of retail theft and threatening behaviors that I’ve seen over the past few years,” she said on Friday, speaking to members of the House Committee on Judiciary.
Tremblay and Shawn Burke, the South Burlington police chief, told lawmakers they’re not focused on people who make one-off decisions to steal from a store. But they’re concerned about people who are stealing regularly, or violating court-imposed orders when they do so.
The judiciary panel took up two related bills Friday aimed at curbing a reported increase in theft at retailers across the state. H.534 and H.579 would both increase penalties for people convicted of retail theft — though the bills would take different approaches. The panel hasn’t settled yet on one or the other.
Under current law, retail theft can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of property that a person steals. If that figure totals $900 or less, the charge is a misdemeanor of up to six months in prison or a $500 fine. But if it surpasses $900, the charge bumps up to a felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison or a $1,000 fine.
Rep. Martin LaLonde, a South Burlington Democrat who chairs the judiciary panel, told his colleagues that this framework could be improved. Someone can commit multiple retail thefts, he said — and some individuals are committing many — but as long as the value of each theft is less than $900, they’ll face only misdemeanor-level charges.
A yearslong backlog in Vermont’s courts has meant that court dates for those people are likely months out, officials said. In some cases, jury trials could be years away.
“We have to have accountability in the short term,” Burke told the lawmakers Friday.
Underpinning both bills is the idea that the state can create more effective deterrents by combining the value of items taken during different instances of alleged retail theft by the same person or group of people — and thus, charge a more serious crime.
More than a dozen other states have enacted, or are considering, similar “organized retail crime” laws, according to data from CNBC discussed at Friday’s hearing.
H.534 would impose harsher penalties than what’s currently on the books if a person convicted of retail theft is also found to be working together with others. People acting “in concert” — and who steal a combined value of $900 to $10,000 among them — would each face a felony charge of up to five years in prison, or a $1,000 fine.
The penalties would be higher for those who steal more than $10,000 combined.
H.534 also would levy felony charges if a single person steals more than $900 total of merchandise, at “more than one location,” within a two-week period. (Lawmakers said they aren’t set on the length of the time period, and could lower it, LaLonde said.)
LaLonde is the primary sponsor of the bill, which also has dozens of co-sponsors.
H.579, meanwhile, would levy felony charges on someone who steals more than $900 worth of merchandise, across multiple instances, within a six-month period. Like H.534, the bill also calls for felony charges if retail thieves are found to act “in concert.”
But the latter bill — which is sponsored by committee vice chair Rep. Thomas Burditt, R-West Rutland — takes measures further, creating a new felony charge in state law called “aggravated retail theft.” To meet that charge, a person would have to leave a business through an emergency exit “to facilitate the theft,” or possess “an item or device intended to overcome a security system” while committing a theft.
Burditt’s bill also calls for felony-level charges if a person steals merchandise, in any amount, with the intent to resell it to another person, according to the legislation.
Burke and Tremblay said that they supported both bills. The police chief said South Burlington police collected about 490 reports of retail theft last year, up from about 260 reports in 2020. Tremblay said these figures are likely undercounts, since many incidents of retail theft are not reported to police.
LaLonde and other lawmakers pointed to FBI data showing that property crime has increased in Vermont since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, though levels remain lower than they were a decade ago.
The judiciary panel expects to take more testimony on the bills next week.
