A Target store in San Francisco has been forced to place many of its products, including everyday basic items, inside locked security cabinets in a bid to deter shoplifters.
“Like other retailers, organized retail crime is a concern across our business. We’re taking proactive measures to keep our teams and guests safe while deterring and preventing theft. These mitigation efforts include hiring additional security guards, adding third-party guard services at select locations, and using new technologies and tools to protect merchandise from being stolen,” the spokesperson said.
Newsom Boosts Police Presence
The Epoch Times has contacted a Target spokesperson for comment.Despite the video footage showing the extreme lengths some retailers are going to in preventing thefts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared at an April 21 press conference that “San Francisco’s violent crime rate is below comparably sized cities” like Jacksonville, Florida, and Fort Worth in Texas.
Newsom made the comments while unveiling a new agreement between the California Highway Patrol, California National Guard, San Francisco Police Department, and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office aimed at assisting the city in its ongoing efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis.
The partnership will also bolster law enforcement presence and improve “public safety and public confidence in San Francisco,” according to Newsom.
Cash App Founder Stabbed to Death
According to that survey, which found theft became a nearly $100 billion problem for the retail industry in 2021, health and beauty products including medications, fragrances, blades and razors, and body wash are some of the items most likely to be targeted by ORC offenders.NEF surveyed 63 retailers and found that 71 percent said they had seen a “substantial” or “moderate” increase in ORC, with 55 percent reporting that initiatives to reduce or eliminate cash bail have been associated with a substantial increase in repeat offending,
California eliminated cash bail as a condition for defendants’ pretrial release in 2020.
The video footage comes shortly after Whole Foods said it is temporarily shuttering one of its flagship stores at Trinity Place in San Francisco just a year after it opened, citing concerns over rising crime rates which endanger staff members.