KIRO radio recently featured a segment that offered some hope to Seattle retailers beset with persistent crime, including theft of merchandise.

Host Dave Ross interviewed state Representative Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) who has co-sponsored a bill Washington Retail supports. It would allow store security to intercede with shoppers known to be concealing merchandise for possible theft. State law currently prohibits security from engaging with suspects until after they have left the store.

Goodman told Ross he’s hopeful that HB 1159 or its companion, SB 5248, will be approved during the 2020 Legislative Session that starts on January 13. He said the bill aims to discourage the bulk of thefts that are part of organized efforts. Fellow guest David Larson, a Federal Way Civil Court Judge also noted that drug-dependent thieves have become more violent in their desperation to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The Legislature held hearings regarding the bill last year but failed to approve it.

Listen to the interview here.