Cat theft, and petty property crime in general, is way worse in the cities that decline to prosecute which basically boils down to "the west coast and a few pinpoints on the east coast."

I hear this opinion (or something like it, basically that property crime is only an issue in the west because city governments are not harsh/violent/punitive enough) repeated often.

My anecdata: I live in a city where cops can and do whatever they want to people without serious oversight. Petty theft is met with both maximum violence and prosecution. it does not seem to have much effect on crime rates.

Washington, DC, does not decline to prosecute, but there was a rash of catalytic converter thefts in my neighborhood not that long ago. I'd have guessed that these thefts are tied to the popularity of hybrid vehicles, in particular Priuses.

cat theft?!

I would assume dogs have higher resale value on Craigslist

Citation?