Retail theft offenses in Pennsylvania increased by 16% from 2023 to 2024, hitting a five-year high.

The information was released recently by the state court system. In 2020, there were 27,840 retail theft cases statewide. That number dropped to 24,897 in 2021 before increasing to 32,442 in 2022, 38,530 in 2023 and 44,694 in 2024.

Warren County has seen the opposite trend. There were 124 retail theft cases in 2020 before cases skyrocketed in 2021 to 230 and 232 in 2022. Retail theft charges dropped to 128 in 2023 before rising slightly to 165 (28.9% increase) in 2024 for a total of 879 over five years.While the county sees fewer retail theft cases than the state average, it sees more than its rural neighbors. Bradford County saw 574 total cases over the past five years, but has seen a steady increase from 151 in 2020 to 77 in 2024.

Elk County had 415 total retail theft cases, peaking at 124 in 2022 and a low of 24 in 2024. Forest County, meanwhile, saw nine total retail theft cases, peaking with five in 2021.

Statewide, retail theft cases increase in November, December and January as well as a spike in May. Of the 85,514 people charged with retail theft over the past five years across Pennsylvania, 29% are between 26-35 years of age and 51% are men. Of the 168,403 total retail theft offenses, 41% resulted in convictions and 2% were disposed of through Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition.

The counties with the highest number of retail theft offenses were Allegheny, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Lancaster, Cumberland and York.

Not all retail theft cases are minor in nature. A Jamestown, N.Y., man was recently sentenced to three years on probation after pleading guilty to a retail theft charge in the Warren-Forest Court of Common Pleas after taking $1,492.06 worth of merchandise from the Warren Wal-Mart and then being stopped exiting the store again with $2,596.06 worth of unpaid merchandise.

In August, another Jamestown, N.Y. man was sentenced to probation after stealing $1,943.98 from Lowe’s between Feb. 19, 2025, and Feb. 24, 2025, that included a Dewalt drill, a brushless planer, a Dewalt reciprocating saw, a Dewalt impact gun, several items from a Dewalt cut-out display, a Dewalt sander and a Dewalt oscillating tool.

A Spring Creek man, meanwhile, pleaded guilty earlier this year to retail theft, among other charges, after breaking into Darling’s Sugar Grove Pharmacy and stealing $4,770 worth of items from the Sugar Grove pharmacy while also causing $4,400 worth of damage during the break-in.