That is interesting, but may not have much direct application in this case. The current situation is unusual and not much like the vast majority of shoplifting

That is interesting, but may not have much direct application in this case. The current situation is unusual and not much like the vast majority of shoplifting. San Francisco has an unusual social environment with a substantial population of transients and a significant history of limiting police powers, electing and directing public attorneys for lenience, and keeping a bare minimum of available incarceration capacity. My own anecdotal experience may be way off, but all of the actors I have seen involved with this in San Francisco are street people doing the shoplifting and immigrants doing the fencing and selling. This is not a completely wild accusation as others have also seen this pattern.