In 2023, major cities faced a surge in retail theft and crime, leading to significant financial losses and safety concerns for businesses.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported a substantial increase in shoplifting-related losses.
Target announced store closures in response to rising theft and violence. (Trending: Trans Athlete Breaks College Record After Joining Women’s Team)
David Johnston, NRF vice president for asset protection and retail operations said, “Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire.”
“Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category,” he continued.
Target wrote in a statement, “Before making this decision, we invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft and organized retail crime in our stores, such as adding more security team members, using third-party guard services, and implementing theft-deterrent tools across our business.”
“Despite our efforts, unfortunately, we continue to face fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully,” the company continued.
California experienced smash-and-grab robberies, prompting local officials to reconsider state laws.
A San Diego business owner described increased security costs and criminal activity following a law change related to prostitution.
The situation has led to concerns about safety, financial losses, and the effectiveness of existing laws.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said, “Enough is enough. All this retail theft. All this sort of crime, enough is enough. We really need to look at state laws. What we have in place right now is not working.”
“We can’t go on like this,” he added.
Canepa said, “I had supported Proposition 47, which basically said you wouldn’t prosecute — the crimes were much different at the level of up to $950.”
“I thought it was a good idea at the time because I thought we need to give people an opportunity, we need to give people a chance,” he continued.
“I made a mistake, it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake,” said Canepa.
“By doing this, what we’ve done is we’re letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?” asked the supervisor.
A San Diego business owner told reporters, “Costs for business, costs for security, we’ve had to put lights — at our cost — on the roof to try to deter them, and because of the bill, the lights now help them when they want to come in front of my building to shake and do different things … so they get attention versus being in the dark.”
“They’ll break into cars, they’ll pop tires. We’ve had a neighbor … who had his vehicle broken into multiple times and stolen the tools out of it,” added the business owner.
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