NYC Mayor Eric Adams Says Face Masks Facilitate Shoplifting

Retailers looking to reduce shoplifting should require customers to remove face masks when entering the store.

So said New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday (March 6) during two separate interviews.

“Let’s be clear, some of these characters going into stores that are wearing their mask, they’re not doing it because they’re afraid of the pandemic, they’re doing it because they’re afraid of the police,” Adams told PIX11 Morning News, according to a transcript posted on the mayor’s office website. “We need to stop allowing them to exploit the safety of the pandemic by wearing masks, committing crimes.”

Adams added during that interview that many stores and the New York City Police Department have elaborate camera systems that criminals are avoiding by wearing face masks.

He said retailers can do their part in reducing crime by requiring customers to remove their face masks as they enter — even if they then put them back on while shopping in the store — and that police can then do their part by capturing criminals caught on camera.

In another interview conducted Monday, when Adams was asked what can be done about some brazen shoplifting that has been done in high-end stores, he said requiring the removal of face masks is at the top of the list.

“Number one, we are putting out a clear call to all of our shops, do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face mask,” Adams told 1010 WINS’ Morning Drive, according to a transcript. “And then once they’re inside, they can continue to wear it if they desire to do so. But we need to use the technology we have available to identify those shoplifters and those who are committing serious crimes.”

Adams added that he had brought together major stores to talk about this and other safety measures, and that the city has increased the police presence in high-end shopping districts.

A recent report from the National Retail Federation found that there was a 26.5% increase in “organized retail crime” in 2021.

In December, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said theft at the company’s stores is “higher than what it has historically been” and that “prices will be higher and/or stores will close” if law enforcement isn’t stricter in prosecuting theft.