Washington Post Article Examines Factors Behind Rise in Shoplifting
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Washington Post reporter Maura Judkis wrote an article suggesting the shoplifting crisis in US cities is a "moral panic" exaggerated by conservatives.
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Judkis described an emptied-out CVS in DC that closed due to rampant shoplifting, but didn't reflect on the crime itself.
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She implied ancestral guilt about stealing and colonization drives this "moral panic" about petty theft.
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Judkis cited economic factors, changes in policing, and CVS policy as reasons for the increased theft, not just criminality.
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She maintained the bleak CVS played into a "dystopian nightmare" narrative by outsiders, when the neighborhood crime is overexaggerated.