The junction of 110th Street and Broadway, is framed by a clear blue sky. With broad roads and open spaces, it’s a place to catch some fresh air in an overstuffed New York. The entire area serves as a melting pot for the cosmopolitan city. People of all ages, genders, races, and occupations, including the homeless, can be seen existing in communion. The subway at 110th St is conveniently located right at the junction where the road diverges into four lanes. This station opened in 1904, soon after the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act in 1894.
Each side of this intersection 110 St Broadway. Each lane is flanked by a grocery or a pharmacy store, namely, Westside, H Mart, and CVS. All the stores face each other, framed by a backdrop of skyscrapers, giving it a comfortable appearance of a community meeting point. Unlike the H Mart and Westside, which are located on the first floors of large buildings, CVS is a stand-alone building. The white structure with a quintessential red signboard and CVS logo stands out compared to the skyscrapers that house other establishments.
The people inside are happy, grumpy, in a state of hurry, and a state of calm. They are young, old, students, employees, pets, and infants. They are in crisp formals with slick hair, or pyjamas and sweats. Some will greet you with a smile, while others are preoccupied, and won’t grant anyone else a second look. All of them have their unique shopping style. For some shoppers, shopping is like building a bird’s nest. They pick out every item carefully until they have a cart full of goods of their choice, carefully organized to their liking. While some others have a previously curated list, others have decided to explore the entire shop and pick up whatever appeals to their senses. They walk around, reading labels, and are as happy as a kid in a candy store, exploring every corner and picking up items to their heart’s content. At the other end are people who are in and out in the blink of an eye. They’re walking purposefully, knowing what product is located exactly where. They come with a list and already know what is to be purchased. A lot of youngsters stop by to grab a quick snack like a chocolate or chips packet. The employees are in red and black T-shirts. They look happy and are courteous to customers who require help. They can be seen vacuuming the area with a noisy cleaning system, which looks like a necessary evil at a store frequented by people coming from outside. Other employees are constantly monitoring inventory.
The store is divided into aisles. Aisle one is stocked with pre-processed food stored in deep freeze, while aisle five is stacked with non-prescriptive allergy relief, digestive health, medicines, and multivitamins. The Cliff Bar on aisle two is a best-seller, with multiple people picking it up and the stack of bars going down at a steady pace. Aisle three is full of off-the-counter supplements that do not require a prescription. The price is labeled for every container in yellow flags, coloring the entire aisle a bright sunny yellow. The medicine counter at the rear end of the shop, with a glass partition separating it from the rest of the store.
This CVS in other words, is a picture of a quintessential community grocery and pharmacy store. However, a short interaction with the employees reveals a deeper issue in the area, that is, rampant shoplifting leading to inventory loss. Shoplifting was first documented in the 16th century, in London. It was such a big issue that Parliament made the offense punishable by hanging in 1699. Fast forward to 2023, retail theft is still a prevailing issue not just in Europe, but also in the USA.
The 22-year-old store manager of this CVS, James Crusie, has noticed seasonal patterns in shoplifting. “Weather has an impact on shoplifting. Summer is a bigger hit, they put displays out with our products. It is easier in summer,” he said. Crusie is a student in New York, who works on weekends across different CVSs in the city. Dressed in a red polo shirt, and black pants, a quintessential CVS uniform, he is more than happy to speak about the shoplifting incidents. He points out that CVS products are kept in the open, while products from other brands are usually what the store decides to place in cases. They usually lock up the more expensive products, he said, pointing towards a $70 medicine ‘Prevagen’. Other daily-use medicines like Allegra, Claritin, Nexium 24-hr, and other medicines that are needed on a day-to-day basis are locked up too. People who shoplift pick it up and sell it elsewhere. “Shampoo gets hit every day,” Cruise said, estimating that the net amount of shoplifting adds up to $100,000 per year.
There is no consistency in what CVS locations choose to lock up. Unlike the CVS at 110th, the one at 96th does not lock up cosmetics. They do, however, put Tide detergent in locked, transparent plastic cases. Then there’s the CVS at 59th Columbus Circle, which is much larger than the other two. Everything is open on the first floor. The beauty section is on the second floor, where body washes, and moisturizers are in cases. Unlike 110th and 96th, all the cosmetics are not in cases. “The train station is right under us and anyone can come here. We have all boroughs intersecting here,” said store manager Johnathan Willock. The manager’s experience is in line with the greater experience of New York in general, where reported incidents are 16% more than last year.
The issue of shoplifting has deeper reasons behind it, especially psychological. “A lot of time people shoplift because they are not thinking about the consequences. This is especially true of teenagers; their prefrontal cortex is not developed yet,” said Gundu Reddy, a psychiatrist who works with shoplifters. “Some are kleptomaniacs. They cannot help it.” Some people cannot add action and consequences mentally. “They get a surge of euphoria, dopamine reward. It can become an addiction.” Said Reddy. This psychological phenomenon was documented for the first time in 1816, when Andre Matthey coined the term ‘klopemanie’, which was derived from the Greek words kleptein (“to steal”) and mania (insanity).
The shoplifting issue has escalated to the extent that New York City has programs specifically designed to curb it. Take Kim Harris, who is the manager of a program called ‘Stoplift’ in Hempstead, New York City. Talking about Stoplift’s initiative, she said, “Our program is an alternative to incarceration.” Their program is offered with the court system, which helps dismiss 98 percent of the cases. This is just one of the many programs that government and non-government entities are undertaking to curb the rising issue of shoplifting. However, there is a gap between these programs, accessibility, and effect. “There weren’t a lot of treatment options for people.” Said Terrence Shulman, a 58-year lawyer from Detroit, who was addicted to shoplifting himself. Noticing the gap in the treatment facilities available, like Stoplift, he started his venture called ‘The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft’.
Sam Miller, 41, a stand-up comedian from Washington D.C., has also engaged in shoplifting in the past. “I had a substance use disorder, and I still do,” he said. Describing his growing-up years, Miller said, “My dad was in the Air Force and he was strict and abusive. And I loved him, but he was not a good guy. He died when I was 12.” Miller also described shoplifting which began when he was eight and wanted candy, but did not have the money for it. This experience is similar to Shulman’s who started shoplifting young. “Breaking rules or breaking the law is not that uncommon for teenagers who are experimenting with different kinds of things that could either be illegal or addictive.” He said. Today, CVS is one of the largest companies in the United States of America, clocking in $300 billion in annual sales. The company, which was founded in 1963 in Lowell, Massachusetts, has experienced mammoth success and massive turnover since then. Despite its financial success, the menace of shoplifting has reached proportions, leaving everyone worried. “I don’t care about corporations at all. Like, I feel bad for the people who work there because I know it puts them in a rough spot.” Said Miller. It is a political statement, which was documented for the first time in the 1970s. It was during that time, that shoplifting was seen as a political activity when people would steal from companies they did not like. This is similar to Miller’s reason behind shoplifting, and an experience corroborated by the CVS workers, who have to face shoplifters daily, who keep the show running despite the issue of retail theft.
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