Becca Simon of my hometown paper notices that FBI data show South Dakota reported the lowest dollar amount of shoplifting in the nation in December 2016. According to FBI crime data compiled by Business.org, sticky fingers pocketed only $478 of merchandise in December 2016… or at least that’s how much the FBI heard about.
In most states, December shoplifting amounted to a dime or less per capita. The only exception was Nevada, where holiday shoplifting amounted to 34 cents per capita.
Year-round, we just missed the top ten list for lowest reported shoplifting per capita:
Our year-round reported shoplifting hit was 10.4 cents per South Dakotan. In Minnesota, that hit was 13.3 cents.
Police don’t bother with shoplifting in most jurisdictions unless there is a criminal ting suspected. Many stores don’t turn juvenile the shoplifters their loss prevention personnel catch over to police. They call the parents, who are given a deal, generally 3x the value of the shoplifted items. Most parents pay.