At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, a bill was passed in Iowa that established retail theft as a new criminal offense category.
In 2023, there were 203 convictions for burglary and 8,466 convictions for theft in Iowa. By the end of 2024, the city of Cedar Rapids alone reported 1,532 cases of shoplifting. Iowa City’s shoplifting scene is significantly less prominent compared to Cedar Rapids’ reported 374 cases, while North Liberty had 319. Some businesses have begun requiring employees to not make contact with shoplifters but rather make sure they are caught on camera so the theft can be reported to police.
The National Retail Federation’s 2022 survey found that laundry was the most reported stolen item in that year. Another common target for shoplifters is health and beauty supplies. These items are often stolen because they can be easily concealed and carried out of the store.
Downtown Iowa City is a big shopping destination for people of all ages. However, according to the Iowa City Police Department’s Public Information Officer Lee Hermiston, “Iowa City does not see much by way of retail theft.”
But Iowa City business owners tell a different story.
Pitaya, a women’s clothing store, is located on S. Dubuque Street in Iowa City. Store manager Emma Johnson shared a few instances of shoplifting at the store.
“We’ve only had a few things stolen that I know of in the last six months,” she said. “There was an instance a while ago where we caught someone stealing, and she was part of a sorority … She got in big trouble.”
No business owner likes to see shoplifters or notice missing stock.
It can be disheartening to those who may be running a small business or making handmade items. Monica Ferguson, CIELO store owner, often notices little trinkets going missing from her shelves.
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“They aren’t really expensive, but that’s mostly what goes missing from the store — small stuff,” Ferguson said. “Sometimes, I’ll be doing inventory, and I notice a couple of stickers are gone or a pin.”
Stores all over the country are facing issues of shoplifting and are introducing new safety measures and displaying less on the sales floor to mitigate the risk of theft. Johnson said Pitaya’s goals are to diminish the chance of shoplifting by connecting with their customer base.
“We are a store that tries to connect with all our customers, and they may feel guilty stealing from us. We also monitor very heavily throughout the store to prevent anything like this from happening,” Johnson said.
CIELO took action by redoing the store’s layout.
The new setup allows Ferguson to have eyes on all parts of the store.
“I can now see both sides of the store when I couldn’t before, and I think it’s been helpful,” she said. “[The register] used to be in a corner, so I couldn’t see anyone on the right side of the store.”