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Coordinated criminal follies in major cities in California, New York and beyond are forcing retailers to close stores and limit hours of operation as groups of shoplifters regularly take to the skies with hundreds. dollars worth of merchandise to resell online, in street markets or to return for gift cards.
Amid a wave of crime sweeping through San Francisco, six Target stores are slashing their opening hours, closing at 6 p.m. instead of the usual 10 p.m., as officials seek to keep merchandise and employees safe, a reported Forbes. Organized gangs brazenly steal branded items even in the presence of security, as California raised the threshold for a felony charge from $ 450 to $ 950 in stolen goods.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said NBC Nightly News thieves calculated the value of stolen goods would fall below the crime threshold, meaning officers couldn’t take action for theft crime and that stores must be prepared to hire security guards to arrest private individuals.
Walgreens has closed 17 branches in San Francisco over the past five years citing this type of theft, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in May. Jason Cunningham, regional vice president of pharmacy and retail operations in California and Hawaii, said in a hearing at the time that the theft from Walgreens stores in San Francisco was four times the average. stores elsewhere in the country.
Walgreens spends 35 times more on security in San Francisco than in other areas where its stores operate.
SHOPLIFTERS REGULATE THE ROOST IN STORES IN BIG CITY, PHARMACY CHAINS
As recently as last week, a viral video from San Francisco showed a gang of thieves exiting a Neiman Marcus in Union Square carrying designer handbags before jumping into waiting getaway vehicles. The latest incident has prompted California Retailers Association President Rachel Michelin to call for a statewide approach to the organized theft, arguing that local leaders can no longer afford to snub the forces of the ‘order.
“The answer is not what the mayor said last week, that retailers just need to hire more security guards,” Michelin told KGO-TV. “That’s not going to solve the problem. The security guards are there to observe and report. They are not there to stop the crime. It’s law enforcement. We have to find a way in San Francisco for that. law enforcement and local authorities are working together. “
Retailers have reported a 60% increase in lost dollars since 2015 due to downsizing and lower morale during the coronavirus pandemic, new ‘hands off’ shopping policies and lower penalties. Even low-cost items remain locked on Bay Area shelves, and customers must seek help accessing everyday items, such as toothpaste, hair products, and a six-pack of beers. .
In addition to impacting bottom lines, theft makes employees and customers feel threatened.
In San Francisco, CVS and Walgreens employees are trained to be vigilant to avoid theft, but are warned not to confront shoplifters who could turn violent. Security guards at drugstore chains have come under frequent attack, and some stores have chosen to hire more expensive off-duty police officers.
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Speaking at the same hearing in May, Brendan Dugan, director of retail organized crime and business investigations at CVS, said professional crime accounted for 85% of the company’s dollar losses, describing San Francisco as one of the “epicenters” of organized retail crime, also known as ORC. But San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Doug Welch rebuffed the criticism, arguing that the majority of his shoplifting defendants were not organized criminals, but homeless people who need more services. .
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