Harger: WA leads the nation in retail theft. Issaquah shows how to fix it
Jan 6, 2026, 7:32 AM | Updated: 3:45 pm
The Issaquah Police Department posted on Facebook last month, which made me take note.
They ran a shoplifting sting at Marshalls and HomeGoods in the Highlands. Here’s the line that got me: “A common reaction we get when arresting shoplifters is their shock and surprise to learn they are really under arrest and will be booked into jail.”
Shock. Surprise. That they’re going to jail. For stealing.
These aren’t dumb people. They’ve done the math. In most cities around here, you can walk into a store, fill a bag, and walk out. Maybe a security guard yells. Maybe a cop shows up 45 minutes later with a citation. Maybe you get a court date and skip it. Maybe a warrant gets issued that nobody serves. At every step, the odds favor walking away. Thieves know this. They’ve learned it.
Then they try it in Issaquah. Different rules.
RELATED STORIES
Why Issaquah’s shoplifting enforcement is different
Issaquah has its own jail. They run stings with loss prevention. They book you on the spot. And suddenly, all those outstanding warrants from Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett pop up in the system.
Shoplifting in Issaquah dropped 15% last year. Not a coincidence.
Some background. King County lifted its misdemeanor booking restrictions last February. During COVID, the jail wouldn’t take low-level offenders. Staffing shortages. Capacity issues. Fine. But that ended over a year ago. Seattle can book shoplifters now. The policy changed. The culture didn’t.
And we’re paying for it.
Fred Meyer closures and the cost of retail theft in WA
Fred Meyer is closing stores across the region. Theft was a major factor. Nobody who’s shopped at one of those stores is surprised. I talked about this last year. It was the drugs driving the problem. Still is. But it’s also the stealing. And it’s also the complete absence of accountability that lets both spiral out of control.
When the same people walk in day after day and walk out with merchandise, the store eventually does the math, too. They leave.
Washington loses $3 billion a year to retail theft. We run 40-48% higher than the national average. Washington consistently ranks No. 1 nationally for retail theft impact. Target closed stores. Seattle lost its 24-hour pharmacies. The stores that stay open are starting to look like prison commissaries. Everything behind plexiglass. Push a button, wait for someone to unlock it. Detergent. Toothpaste. Deodorant. Razors. Socks. Underwear.
Is this really who we are now?
Issaquah proved shoplifting enforcement works
Issaquah proved it doesn’t have to be this way. Enforce the law, and people stop breaking it. Not because they suddenly become model citizens. Because they learn the odds have changed.
The rest of us have the same tools now. We have jail beds. We have laws on the books. We have stores begging for help. The only thing missing is the will to act.
We get what we tolerate. And right now, we’re tolerating way too much.
The shoplifters in Issaquah were shocked they got arrested. Maybe the rest of us should be shocked that in a lot of places around here, they wouldn’t be.
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
