Former NYPD detective calls Black Friday the shoplifters’ ‘Super Bowl’
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The threat of Black Friday theft has turned the holiday weekend into a thieves’ “Super Bowl” and retail robbery into a “billion-dollar business,” says a former NYPD robbery squad detective.
A. 2024 report The report published by the National Retail Federation claimed that retail theft increased by 93 percent in 2023 compared to 2019, while there was also a 90 percent increase in dollar loss due to theft. The organization estimates that 186.9 million Americans will shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Former NYPD Detective Patrick Brosnan told Fox News Digital that organized retail theft is no longer just “petty theft,” adding “it’s a whole different phenomenon.”
Brosnan said organized retail theft has become a “very profitable business” and is growing “faster than law enforcement can adapt.”
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A California jeweler was targeted in a smash-and-grab robbery, police said. (via San Ramon Police Department Storyful)
“Today, in 2025, organized retail crime is no longer teenagers stealing t-shirts,” Brosnan said. “These are professional theft rings operating across state lines, reselling through online marketplaces with sophisticated and extensive networks. They are a complex, super-profitable, multibillion-dollar business.”
Law enforcement agencies across America frequently increase patrols on Black Friday to deter theft; This includes some of the country’s largest cities. Nashville, SanFranciscoLos Angeles and much more.
Brosnan likened Black Friday for shoplifters to one of the nation’s biggest sporting events, with millions of Americans entering store windows.
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Three people were detained for allegedly stealing in Seal Beach recently; One of them was surprised by the new California law. (Seal Beach Police Department)
“Black Friday is their Super Bowl, right? Stores are crowded, you have to understand, it’s easy to blend in. Unlike most times, high-value items are sold out. Staff are on edge and there’s traffic because there’s so much traffic, camouflaging escape routes,” he said. “There are really significant hurdles for law enforcement to overcome. This is not just another day.”
The former NYPD detective, who founded Brosnan Risk Consultants and advises major retailers, said he urges clients to lock up “high-value” items such as electronics, fragrances and designer items. Stores should also consider putting their tools in locked cases, he added.
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The video shows three people taken into custody for allegedly shoplifting in Seal Beach following a recent crime spree at multiple stores. (Seal Beach Police Department)
While Brosnan says retailers are doing “everything they can” to reduce theft, he says it’s a “bad situation” that’s “getting worse.”
“If you want to do business, people have to come. And if bad people come along with good people, there’s only so much you can do,” he said. “I have to tell you this, [shoplifters] “They come in, they come in like gangsters, very coordinated, very focused, very knowledgeable about where the items they need to get are, how to get them, what they need to do to get them.”
