Mayoral candidate Brad Lander wants to link store security cameras to NYPD to cut down on retail theft

A Democratic mayoral contender wants to force city stores to “unlock the toothpaste” by linking their camera systems to cops to speed up shoplifting reports.Comptroller Brad Lander’s proposed online platform would have store clerks press a button to send security camera footage to the NYPD in an effort to nab shoplifters.Participating businesses would have to remove the now-popular barriers once the store’s shoplifting numbers decline, he said.“This is one New Yorkers feel every day,” Lander told The Post.

“This is both a crime and safety issue for our stores and a convenience issue for New Yorkers who just have the maddening frustration of having to wait to get toothpaste.”The usually-progressive Democrat said he worked with law enforcement officials, store managers and workers to develop his watchful plan.“One touch of a button on your existing systems will let the PD know, make it easier for them to have fast response times,” Lander said.Lander’s plan also calls for grant-funding for cameras so small businesses can plug into the NYPD system too.A proposal to enhance policing is a marked change for Lander who was once a “defund the police” crusader.

While in the City Council he demanded $1 billion in budget cuts to the NYPD.But after his mayoral intentions were announced last September, Lander struck a different tone, telling a gathering of the Association for a Better New York that “police are critical to prevent and respond to violence, get illegal guns off the streets and solve crimes.”A crackdown on the city’s pervasive shoplifting problem is necessary after post-pandemic “disorder,” Lander said Wednesday.He referenced a retail theft report from the Manhattan Institute that said 2023 was the second-highest year on record for shoplifting, with a 56% increase in thefts since 2019.

The first highest year on record for shoplifting was in 2022 when shoplifting incidents had increased 68.1% compared to 2019, representing ove...