HOUSTON — Locked display cases have become a familiar sight inside many drugstores and retail chains, frustrating shoppers and highlighting a growing problem–repeat retail theft that critics say faces too little punishment under Texas law.
Loss prevention experts and crime victims’ advocates say the lack of escalating penalties for repeat offenders has helped fuel organized retail theft and drive up prices for consumers.
“It’s insane. It never stops,” said Earnest Stewart, a loss prevention and asset protection expert with more than two decades of experience at department store, grocery, and drug store chains. He said thieves increasingly know that retailers are shifting towards a hands-off approach, given fears of violence and civil liability…