February 06, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The office of District Attorney Larry Krasner is looking to prevent theft in the city's businesses and homes, with assistant district attorney and supervisor Kimberly Esack leading the task force.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is forming a task force to address the rising number of property crimes.
The Organized Retail & House Theft Task will focus the office's resources on these crimes and establish more collaboration with Philadelphia police to stop them. District Attorney Larry Krasner spoke about the issues of retail and house thefts in the city during his weekly press briefing on Monday, when he announced the new task force, and he pushed back at the narrative that his office decides whether or not to prosecute retail theft cases based on the value of the stolen goods.
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"That is false. That has always been false," Krasner said. "... What the policy actually said is that below a certain dollar value we would prosecute these cases as (summary offenses), which we have done. And a summary offense can put you in jail for up to 90 days. It's actually no joke."
An Inquirer investigation two years ago found that thresh hold to be $500 for first time offenders. Krasner did not speak about a specific dollar amount on Monday, but he said one of first jobs of the task force will be to revise the D.A. office's policies, removing references to a dollar amounts to "take that distraction away." The updated policy is expected to be released within 10 days.
Monday's press conference, attended by business owners, police and community leaders, took place at Redcap's Corner, a tabletop game shop in the West Powelton neighborhood of West Philly.
Krasner said the task force will focus on the practice known as "fencing," in which individuals purchase or receive stolen goods and resell them, and "prolific offenders," responsible for multiple retail thefts.
Krasner also addressed the role drug addiction plays in motivating people to steal. "We will be talking about treatment, restorative justice, diversion, and other ways to try to fix the underlying issues. Because frankly if you don't fix them, they will be right back."
Kimberly Esack, an assistant district attorney and supervisor of the economics crime division, is heading the task force. Esack stated that the task force currently has five members, plus herself, and the District Attorney's Office and is seeking to hire one more person. The task force is funded with money allotted by Philadelphia City Council.
According to Philly Police statistics, the number of violent crimes decreased in 2023 compared to the previous year, but the same could not be said for property crimes, which include retail theft and home theft.
Cases of retail theft increased by nearly 28%, while property crimes overall went up by 15%.
House theft is also known as deed theft. It involves a thief obtaining forged paperwork and stolen identity to appear as though the offender is the rightful owner of a property.
"The damage that is done by house thieves is considerable," Krasner said. "It is problematic. It is bad for the city in every way, and it attacks the generational wealth of the families that own those homes."
