Why we’re seeing more police at chain stores, and what the ethical implications are. Tucked in Governor Kathy Hochul’s preliminary budget announcement last week,- among much-anticipated items like $2.4 billion in asylum seeker funding and plans for education and housing, was $40.2 million to “address retail theft” -an item so prominent it got its own bullet point in her handout, along with a separate tax credit for business owners impacted by retail theft.