Just thought I'd throw this out:
Usually states have a monetary scale of damages that are used to determine the severity of the theft, i.e. less than $100 = misdemeanor, over $500 = gross mis., etc. What probably happened was the less-than-$100 mark made the offense low-level enough to where, realistically, little/nothing would have happened to the offender. It's the court system in this country, there are places where you literally can get off with almost anything. Believe it or not, this pisses off cops just as much as it does the public (besides the victims, they are usually/understandably the most distressed).
Case in point: two LEO's from my city's department recently caught two kids trying to break into a pop machine cash box on school property. There was a crowbar at the scene of the crime, witnesses (if you count the cops), and the two kids both had taped confessions to the crime after being read their rights. End result? The city attorney didn't even charge the kids, because they said there was "not enough evidence". The legal system in this country is getting more and more asinine with every passing day.
Should the cops have responded to your theft? Probably, yeah. Would anything have happened? Depending on your location/circumstances, probably not.