Shoplifting in San Francisco is so out of control that retailers are closing stores

[archerships]

The degree of entitlement among SF residents is gobsmacking. Why would Walgreens keep their stores open if they lose money due to unchecked theft?

"...the Walgreens at 30th St and Mission St reported 16 shoplifting incidents from November 2020 to February 2021. Just six blocks away, at 24th St and Mission, a city official said he saw Walgreens’ products being sold at an outdoor market.

“Half of Walgreens was on the sidewalk. I’m not kidding,” Ahsha Safaí, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, told The New York Times. “I was blown away. I’ve never seen anything like it in this city.”

Meanwhile, local residents are angry – at the stores. When a Walgreens that had seen 18 stealing incidents in four months announced it was closing, a group of citizens started a petition demanding that it remain open.

“Walgreens Corp has an annual revenue of around $139.5 billion,” the petitioners wrote. “We think they can afford to keep needed stores like this open.”"

https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/san-francisco-shoplifting-walgreens-closing-b1852470.html

Comments

[altamira16]

Here is a CNN article on the same topic.

Despite the shoplifting concerns, data from the San Francisco Police Department shows there has actually been a decline in crime this year. Property crimes in San Francisco are down 7.6% so far this year compared to this point last year, and larceny theft, a category of crime that includes shoplifting, is down 14.4% compared to last year, according to SFPD data.

[archerships]

That doesn't necessarily show there's been decline in actual crime, it just shows there's been a decline in reported crime. Since less than 3% of shoplifting reports result in arrest, many people have probably rationally decided not to bother reporting at all.

[altamira16]

What is more believable? That crime is actually down or suddenly many people changed their behavior to quit reporting crimes?

Since when do people behave rationally?