7 ms·

Sounds like you are very new to this extremely polarizing discussion. This is the direct result of the provision that downgraded thefts under $1000 to a misdem

Sounds like you are very new to this extremely polarizing discussion. This is the direct result of the provision that downgraded thefts under $1000 to a misdemeanor charge. Cops can’t be bothered to deal with most store thefts because in most cases arrests are not going to go anywhere. Plus store security is not allowed to actively interact with thieves, which means they come in, take whatever they want and just walk out. Lots of posts on /r/bayarea/ if you are curious.

MBCook 5y ago
Thanks for the context for those of us outside the area.
xnyan 5y ago
>Plus store security is not allowed to actively interact with thieves This is a common misunderstanding/misrepresentation. Yes, most stores have polices against physical force but those policies exist to control a minority of security guards. I've worked private retail security/loss prevention before and the attitude of most of us was a very valid "why would I risk my life and health over a toothbrush someone is walking out of the store with?" It makes zero sense. It's not my property, any paltry bonus I may get is in no way worth my safety and I'm not a cop so I don't have qualified immunity. The only guard that would tackle you at the exit is the kind of guard that has a propensity for violence and took the loss prevention job because the police and military already rejected them. Allowing your LP staff to use physical force is not going to solve retail theft.
- _hilro 5y ago
  Eh,some people who work security/work in retail like to stand up for common decency in the neighbourhood and have a backbone so they confront the thief. > Allowing your LP staff to use physical force is not going to solve retail theft. It's going to massively reduce it.
  - xnyan 5y ago
    Terms like common decency and backbone are words used in place of payment to dupe/guilt people to work for the benefit of someone else without fair compensation. You don’t need to use emotional arguments to get someone to do something they are paid fairly to do. Theft is an economic issue. I shop in stores without armed guards everywhere because I don’t live in an area with an massive level of income disparity like San Francisco.
    - slowhand09 5y ago
      Terms like common decency and backbone are words used to describe how we should all be. People branding anything promoting social and personal responsibility for the public good - as negative, are typically part of the problem rather than the solution. Why didn't you go a tiny bit further and say "dog whistle"?
      - xnyan 5y ago
        I'm not really sure what you're talking about. Fix economic problems is my position, leave subjectives like decent and should to philosophers.
- unethical_ban 5y ago
  > "why would I risk my life and health over a toothbrush someone is walking out of the store with?" Because it's your job, and because the outcome of not stopping it is the rotting of your community, as we see here. Why have that job if it's revealed it is actually less than security theater? I sense I come off a bit hostile, but "not doing anything" results in what we now see. And if your job isn't to stop theft, then what is it? Perhaps a job with physical dangers should get paid more and have better health benefits, but to say "not my job" removes pay from the discussion.
- finfinfin 5y ago
  Is this a serious response? Why would you stop thieves while at your job doing exactly what you are hired to do? By this logic, what is the minimum a thief should take for you to stop them? Should it be the amount close or equal to the monetary value you put on your life? Are all products essentially free at all stores because they are worth less than your life?
illinx 5y ago
Why aren't CVS, who have more downtown SF locations than Walgreens, facing similar pressures?
- refurb 5y ago
  Why do you assume they aren’t? Last time I was in a CVS, I had to have someone unlock a display case to buy deodorant.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- aapl88889 5y ago
  I encourage you to Google "CVS San Francisco theft" and see how many results you find
- kgin 5y ago
  https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/us/san-francisco-shoplifting-walgreens/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/us/san-francisco-shoplifting-... > Ben Dugan, CVS director of organized retail crime and corporate investigations, also provided internal data at the hearing showing similar issues concentrated in San Francisco. There are 155 CVS stores in the Bay Area, including 12 in San Francisco; yet those 12 stores make up 26% of all shoplifting incidents in the region, CVS said. > He called San Francisco "one of the epicenters of organized retail crime" and said the items are being stolen with the intent of selling them for re-profit.

MBCook 5y ago

Thanks for the context for those of us outside the area.

xnyan 5y ago

>Plus store security is not allowed to actively interact with thieves This is a common misunderstanding/misrepresentation. Yes, most stores have polices against physical force but those policies exist to control a minority of security guards. I've worked private retail security/loss prevention before and the attitude of most of us was a very valid "why would I risk my life and health over a toothbrush someone is walking out of the store with?" It makes zero sense. It's not my property, any paltry bonus I may get is in no way worth my safety and I'm not a cop so I don't have qualified immunity. The only guard that would tackle you at the exit is the kind of guard that has a propensity for violence and took the loss prevention job because the police and military already rejected them. Allowing your LP staff to use physical force is not going to solve retail theft.

_hilro 5y ago
Eh,some people who work security/work in retail like to stand up for common decency in the neighbourhood and have a backbone so they confront the thief. > Allowing your LP staff to use physical force is not going to solve retail theft. It's going to massively reduce it.
- xnyan 5y ago
  Terms like common decency and backbone are words used in place of payment to dupe/guilt people to work for the benefit of someone else without fair compensation. You don’t need to use emotional arguments to get someone to do something they are paid fairly to do. Theft is an economic issue. I shop in stores without armed guards everywhere because I don’t live in an area with an massive level of income disparity like San Francisco.
  - slowhand09 5y ago
    Terms like common decency and backbone are words used to describe how we should all be. People branding anything promoting social and personal responsibility for the public good - as negative, are typically part of the problem rather than the solution. Why didn't you go a tiny bit further and say "dog whistle"?
    - xnyan 5y ago
      I'm not really sure what you're talking about. Fix economic problems is my position, leave subjectives like decent and should to philosophers.
unethical_ban 5y ago
> "why would I risk my life and health over a toothbrush someone is walking out of the store with?" Because it's your job, and because the outcome of not stopping it is the rotting of your community, as we see here. Why have that job if it's revealed it is actually less than security theater? I sense I come off a bit hostile, but "not doing anything" results in what we now see. And if your job isn't to stop theft, then what is it? Perhaps a job with physical dangers should get paid more and have better health benefits, but to say "not my job" removes pay from the discussion.
finfinfin 5y ago
Is this a serious response? Why would you stop thieves while at your job doing exactly what you are hired to do? By this logic, what is the minimum a thief should take for you to stop them? Should it be the amount close or equal to the monetary value you put on your life? Are all products essentially free at all stores because they are worth less than your life?

illinx 5y ago

Why aren't CVS, who have more downtown SF locations than Walgreens, facing similar pressures?

refurb 5y ago
Why do you assume they aren’t? Last time I was in a CVS, I had to have someone unlock a display case to buy deodorant.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
aapl88889 5y ago
I encourage you to Google "CVS San Francisco theft" and see how many results you find
kgin 5y ago
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/us/san-francisco-shoplifting-walgreens/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/us/san-francisco-shoplifting-... > Ben Dugan, CVS director of organized retail crime and corporate investigations, also provided internal data at the hearing showing similar issues concentrated in San Francisco. There are 155 CVS stores in the Bay Area, including 12 in San Francisco; yet those 12 stores make up 26% of all shoplifting incidents in the region, CVS said. > He called San Francisco "one of the epicenters of organized retail crime" and said the items are being stolen with the intent of selling them for re-profit.