State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher recently argued that shoplifting should be legalized during a news conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court, joining other left-leaning advocates with Court Watch NYC. The group claimed it monitored 360 arraignments over four days and found more than half involved misdemeanor offenses.

“Most of what we saw were crimes of poverty—people who are stealing things like toothpaste, people who were stealing things like soap,” Gallagher stated while representing Greenpoint and other sections of Brooklyn. “And that means if you’re stealing those things, you need them.”

As a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Gallagher emphasized her push for “treatment—not-jail” punishments, which she described as protecting “billion-dollar companies like CVS and Walgreens” while ignoring systemic wealth gaps. She asserted that “the true crime is incredible wealth disparity in this city” that forces people to face jail simply for having biological needs.

Her comments drew immediate social media backlash, with critics noting that first-time shoplifting offenders rarely receive jail time under current laws. The absence of enforcement by advocates like Gallagher has reportedly led drugstores to lock products in plastic cases statewide.

Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce countered the stance, stating, “Really, you have to go make those arrests. Otherwise, you’d have chaos on the street.” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch previously defined her priority as “keeping you safe, making you feel safe and improving your quality of life” under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.