I do feel like where I live it has become a serious problem and is correlated to poverty and the rise of drug addiction. Recently my grandmother died after being beaten up by a man who robbed her home. He stole got her pain pills and a little money. I do think where I live the culture has changed so that people steal odd things they think they can resell because there is a lot of addiction and poverty. Things like laptops and phones can now be locked down if stolen making them useless. They have serial numbers that can be traced and have GPS tracking so you can locate them. Maybe thieves are targeting things that may seem odd but have value and are safer than stealing compared to electronics. I don't have compassion for petty theft but I would for someone who was starving and stole just to feed their kids. Not malicious theft but theft to stay alive.