Are they, though?

You could in California film yourself stack up multiple TVs from Wallmart and walk out the front door singing "I'm Mister Badguy", and post it on Twitter, then retweet it to the local area police, and shit-all will happen because they don't actually do anything for theft under a certain amount.

Seeing as this person is a continuous and known re-offender, they know their punishment is going to be non-existent. If there is no punishment, there is no law.