Scaling Back Self-Checkout Isn't the Answer to Theft
Retail’s War on Self-Checkout Misses Where Theft Actually Happens
Retail’s retreat from self-checkout (SCO) is swift and highly visible as major chains are aggressively scaling back lanes. Even local governments are beginning to get involved, with proposed legislation in places like New York City aimed at restricting usage and increasing staffing requirements.

SCO feels like it’s assumed the most significant amount of blame for theft. However, that framing oversimplifies a much more complex problem and risks pushing the industry toward solutions that add friction without meaningfully addressing loss.

Oversimplifying the Issue of Shrink

Shrink remains one of retail’s most persistent challenges, with billions lost annually. In response, many retailers have concentrated loss prevention efforts on identifying theft at the point of payment, investing in technologies and labor designed to monitor scanning behavior and catch errors at checkout. This approach assumes that most theft happens at the register. In reality, it does not.

Retail analytics show that roughly 80 percent of commonly stolen items are concealed before a shopper ever reaches checkout. Items are hidden under clothing, slipped into bags, or nested inside other products, often directly at the shelf. In short, the majority of loss has already occurred by the time a transaction at the register begins.

When theft is relegated to a checkout issue, the solutions naturally focus there. But if the root of the problem lies earlier in the shopping journey, those solutions will always have limited impact.

Why Scaling Back SCO Isn’t the Answer

Reducing or restricting SCO may create a sense of control, but it does little to address where most theft actually occurs. It also introduces trade-offs that are detrimental to the shopping experience.

SCO has become a core part of the modern retail experience, offering speed, convenience and autonomy while providing staffing efficiencies as well. Rolling it back in a significant way will lead to longer lines, more labor strain, and worse customer experience without delivering meaningful improvements. Consider the New York City proposal mentioned above. Limiting items and assigning more oversight means forcibly removing resources from helping in other areas like finding products, restocking shelves, and more. mytotalretail.com


Theft Hotspot Is About to Get Even Hotter
Washington’s retail theft crisis is getting worse and the gov's veto won’t help
Washington is one of the highest states when it comes to retail crime, yet Governor Bob Ferguson just vetoed $500,000 from the state budget that would have extended a proven program to fight organized retail crime (ORC). This decision is not just a budget footnote, it is the latest example of a deliberate policy choice to de-emphasize criminal enforcement for theft.

The numbers are staggering. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington retailers lost $2.7 billion in stolen goods in 2021 alone, generating $603 million in lost state and local tax revenue. That represents 3.46 percent of all U.S. retail theft. Forbes ranks Washington near the top nationally, with other industry groups estimating a nearly $3 billion annual economic hit that translates into higher prices for every consumer and lost jobs for workers.

A modest $1 million pilot program funded in 2024 showed what targeted enforcement can achieve. In King County, the extra prosecutor hired with those dollars filed 142 retail theft cases from January to June 2025, two-and-a-half times the four-year average. Statewide, the program generated 402 law enforcement responses, identified 1,194 potential diversion candidates, and produced thousands of ORC intelligence reports. A January 2025 Department of Commerce evaluation called the effort “highly effective.”

Yet Ferguson vetoed the $500,000 extension just two weeks after signing the supplemental budget. When pressed, the governor cited the need to “balance the budget.” Representative Mari Leavitt, a Democrat who championed the funding, was stunned: “This is a bipartisan concern across our state… It has nothing to do with politics but has everything to do with keeping our communities safe.”

The Washington Retail Association is equally blunt. Crystal Leatherman points out that repeat offenders are offered diversion programs with no enforcement mechanism: “They’re getting a free ride.” Seattle ranks among the top ten cities nationally for violence tied to retail theft, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2025 report. Employees and customers are threatened daily while organized crews treat stores as self-service warehouses. washingtonpolicy.org


New Legislation to Tackle Freight Crime
Bill would give FMCSA more power to fight freight fraudsters plaguing the trucking industry
Legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week seeks to empower federal transportation authorities to fight back against bad actors in the trucking industry. On April 20, 2026, Rep. Brad Knott announced the introduction of H.R. 8267 the Securing American Freight, Enforcement, and Reliability in Transport Act or the SAFER in Transport Act.

The bill seeks to enhance communication between federal agencies and to empower the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to enforce criminal penalties in order to fight freight fraud and secure the U.S. supply chain.

If passed, the bill would take the following actions:

• Directs the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to establish a Freight Fraud and Theft Advisory Committee to identify vulnerabilities and recommend solutions

• Requires a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USDOT and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to formalize how agencies handle information related to freight fraud

• Modernizes fraud detection systems and expands enforcement tools within the FMCSA, including the creation of criminal penalties for registration fraud tied to unlawful operations

• Calls for an MOU between FMCSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve enforcement of cabotage restrictions on foreign carriers cdllife.com