A mere 327 people have been arrested for shoplifting an astounding 6,000 times and account for more than a third of shoplifting arrests in New York City.

And herein lays the heart of the crime problem in our Democrat-run cities…

The far-left New York Times:

Nearly a third of all shoplifting arrests in New York City last year involved just 327 people, the police said. Collectively, they were arrested and rearrested more than 6,000 times, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Some engage in shoplifting as a trade, while others are driven by addiction or mental illness; the police did not identify the 327 people in the analysis.

Because Democrats—most of them (like fascist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg) backed by George Soros—have all but decriminalized shoplifting, this is what you get:

By the end of 2022, the theft of items valued at less than $1,000 had increased 53 percent since 2019 at major commercial locations, according to a new analysis of police data by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Over the past five years, shoplifting complaints nearly doubled, peaking at nearly 64,000 last year, police data shows. Only about 34 percent resulted in arrests last year, compared with 60 percent in 2017.

And as you can see, “arrests” mean nothing.

Take the numbers as reported, and what you have is 327 people arrested an average of 18 times for shoplifting.

Additionally, these 327 accounted for “nearly a third of all shoplifting arrests” last year. Well, those 327 might account for a third of “arrests,” but I can guarantee you those 327 account for a much bigger percentage of shoplifting crimes. “Arrests” merely represent the times the 327 were caught. Imagine how many times they shoplifted without being caught. Imagine how secure they feel shoplifting knowing that even if they are caught, there is no penalty other than the inconvenience of walking through the revolving door.

Want to decrease shoplifting in your city dramatically? Put these 327 in prison. I will go out on a limb and guess that if these 327 account for nearly a third of arrests, they probably account for more than 60 percent of overall shoplifting incidents.

By arresting these 327, you cut your city’s shoplifting problem in about half.

You know how they are. Prosecute them.

Why would New York not do that?

Because George Soros does not want them to, that is why.

The left’s endgame is obvious:

Step 1) Chase decent people out of their cities as a means to consolidate their power into something absolute.

Step 2) Enrich themselves from the public trough.

Step 3) Rationalize their ongoing obscenity as breaking eggs to arrive at utopia. The saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions is all about this kind of monstrous “greater good” thinking.

Obviously, as we have read over and over, the immediate result of this is retailers being forced to flee, which further blights these already struggling neighborhoods.

But my sympathy is gone…

Blue city voters keep voting for this madness. They obviously want to live like prisoners in their own homes. They obviously love failing schools. They obviously love street gangs, streets filled with needles and poop, boarded-up stores, mass shootings, car theft, vandalism, and anarchy.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.