Federal Way Civil Court Judge David Larson has overseen shoplifting cases in his city for more than a decade. Things have changed a bit over that time. “The demographic is much different,” Larson told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross. “From what I hear, there is more violence associated with shoplifting. People are more desperate because a lot of folks who are addicted are concerned about their withdrawal. So they are doing everything they can to get that next dollar, so they can buy more drugs, so they don’t get to that point. So the desperation becomes greater.”
“Some reticence by some of the retailers is they don’t want their employees in danger,” he said. “My son’s friend is a loss prevention officer and he got his head ran over by a car. Bottom line is that there is the safety of the workers and the safety of the public.” But that’s on the court’s end of the problem. On the other end are the various legislators in Olympia who make the laws that… KIRO Radio News
