Kansas AG addresses Congress concerning retail theft, lack of prosecution

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The increase in major retail theft across the U.S. is getting attention on Capitol Hill. It’s a problem impacting businesses in every state. Looking to curb the problem in Kansas, Attorney General Kris Kobach testified Tuesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, highlighting what’s happening in his state.

Kobach’s testimony comes on the heels of a new Kansas law set to take affect July 1. That law gives Kobach’s office more authority to prosecute retail theft rings.

In April, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan reported retail theft in Wichita up more than 30% compared to the first few months of 2022. Data showed theft numbers reported by retail stores in Wichita at or among the worst nationally for several companies.

“Victoria’s Secret is the number four store out of 2,000 stores in America, here in Wichita [at] $30,000 in loss per month. Cabelas’ loss prevention says they are number one in loss in the nation here in Wichita. Walmart stores at 501 E. Pawnee, at Kellogg and Dugan are top five for theft in the region,” said Chief Sullivan in April.

In all, Wichita police report seeing a 38% increase in retail theft this year. A problem law enforcement across the U.S. face is trying to crack down on organized retail crime, a criminal enterprise involving multiple criminals stealing items from multiple stores in multiple areas, then selling the stolen goods.

These crimes, Kobach said, are taking their toll on the Kansas judicial system.

“Many of the cases do not get prosecuted, a huge number do not get prosecuted due to the lack of prosecutorial capacity at the county level,” Kobach said.

A key factor Kobach addressed concerns property crimes not getting the same attention as personal crimes.

“Many [district attorneys] simply have too large of a stack of crimes. Non-person crimes like this get moved to the bottom of the stack and consequently don’t get prosecuted.

With the number of thefts so high, police too are overwhelmed, Kobach told congressional members of the House Judiciary Committee.

“Police departments only have a limited number of detectives, and if you’ve got a multiple number of stores getting hit multiple times each day, they don’t have the capacity to investigate all of them,” Kobach said.

Then, if a thief is arrested, they’re often back on the streets before the end of the day, the Kansas AG said.

“Many courts are setting bail too low for the criminals, much lower than they have in the past,” Kobach said.

Even with all of the problems, Kobach said he believes increased prosecutions for retail thefts will be a deterrent.

“If we prosecute more cases, it’s not rocket science, the problem will diminish if we increase the amount of prosecutions,” Kobach said.

Increasing prosecutions is what new state law will allow. In April, Kobach said his office was working with police departments and retail companies to create a Kansas Organized Retail Crime Task Force to help look into better ways of thwarting the criminal enterprise.

Copyright 2023 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com