Fairfax County, Virginia, has witnessed a staggering 40% surge in shoplifting incidents compared to the previous year, following the implementation of a controversial policy by a prosecutor backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros.
Steve Descano, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County, garnered financial support from Soros-affiliated organizations during his 2020 campaign, and he subsequently announced that his office would not prosecute shoplifting cases involving theft under $1,000.
According to data obtained from the Fairfax County Police Department, there has been an alarming increase of over 1,000 shoplifting cases during the same period last year.
In the first six months alone, the number of reported incidents reached 2,592, compared to the previous year.
Descano’s decision to adopt lenient policies regarding misdemeanor offenses, including shoplifting, has raised concerns among both conservatives and liberals alike.
Even the left-leaning Washington Post Editorial Board criticized his approach.
Descano’s controversial actions have resulted in the downgrading of charges for serious crimes.
The Washington Free Beacon reported a case in which Descano reduced abduction and burglary charges that could have led to a prison sentence of more than 26 years.
Instead, the offender served only five months behind bars and was subsequently rearrested less than a year later for his alleged involvement in a shooting spree that claimed the lives of two homeless individuals and injured three others.
Despite facing significant backlash, Descano emerged victorious in the Democratic primary last month, securing approximately 55% of the vote.
As a result, he is virtually guaranteed a second term as the county’s top prosecutor in the heavily Democratic Fairfax County, so expect the situation to get far worse.
Law enforcement officials in Fairfax County have highlighted the rise in organized retail theft over recent years.
The Tysons Urban Team of the Fairfax County Police Department, primarily tasked with combating retail crime, managed to recover over $930,000 worth of stolen merchandise in 2022, as reported by Annandale Today.
By mid-June of this year, they had already seized over $530,000 worth of stolen goods—an alarming increase compared to the average of around $400,000 recovered annually over the past decade.
In response to the surge in organized retail theft, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, signed a bill in March that reclassifies such offenses as a Class 3 Felony.
This means that perpetrators involved in stealing goods valued at over $5,000 with the intention of selling them now face a minimum sentence of five years in prison and fines of up to $100,000.
The spike in shoplifting incidents in Fairfax County serves as a cautionary tale highlighting the potential consequences of electing left wing prosecutors who push lenient soft-on-crime policies.
