Politics
New York City Lawmaker Emily Gallagher Seemingly Signs Off on Shoplifting for ‘Biological Need’
Emily Gallagher, a state assemblywoman from New York, has seemingly given the green light to shoplifters in need of self-care items.
Gallagher, along with criminal justice advocates with Court Watch NYC, monitored over 300 arraignments and found that most were “crimes of poverty—people who were stealing things like, you know, soap.”
The 42-year-old explained, per New York Post, during a Thursday, August 13, news conference that, “if you’re stealing those things, you need them.”
“We are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by,” Gallagher added. “So I would say that the true crime is that there is such incredible wealth disparity in this city that there are people who can be thrown in jail simply for having a biological need.”
Representatives from the NYPD, including Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce and Commissioner Jessica Tisch, disagree with the politician’s stance.
“Really, you have to go make those arrests. Otherwise, you’d have chaos on the street,” Boyce said, per ABC7. Tisch added, “The mission is to keep you safe, to make you feel safe and to improve your quality of life.”
According to the NYPD, retail theft is down more than 14 percent compared to 2025 under former Mayor Eric Adams.
