South Philadelphia small business owners fed up with constant thefts
"They're coming with bags. They're filling it up and walking right out," said Vincent Emmanuel.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Several South Philadelphia business owners say their stores are being plagued by thefts, and not enough is being done to stop the suspects.
Vincent Emmanuel says his 7-Eleven store in South Philadelphia is in real trouble.
"There's a 911 call that goes out of the store almost like every day," said Emmanuel.
In the most recent incident, video shows a large group of teens walk into the store, take items and walk out.
In another incident, you can see someone putting items right into their bag.
"They're coming with bags. They're filling it up and walking right out. Who would need 24 cans of Red Bull? What I do is I get up and go to work. Why do I need to confront criminals all day long?" said Emmanuel.
Not far from his shop is Mohamed Fritis of Mizzo Boutique.
"For the past four to three months it has been constantly breaks-ins, attempted break-ins," said Fritis.
Video shows the thieves smashing out his front windows and then ransacking his store for the next 25 minutes. Almost everything was taken.
"Merchandise was about $47,000 and store damages over $7,000 to $8,000," said Fritis.
They both feel as if Philadelphia law enforcement has taken a soft stance on the matter.
Emmanuel points to a policy implemented by District Attorney Larry Krasner back in 2018 to charge shoplifting as a summary offense unless the case exceeds $500, or if the suspect has a long history of theft convictions.
"They need to take a little tougher stance on this stuff," said Emmanuel.
But a spokesperson with the DA's office says it is prosecuting for retail theft.
"According to PPD and criminal courts data, arrests by police for retail theft are up 10% over this time last year, and charges from our office are up 13% over this time last year," the DA's office said.
In some cases, the DA's office says they'll elect to have the suspect, if caught, face alternative punishments like returning stolen goods or undergoing treatment for substance or mental illness if that applies.
