SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Walgreens said Tuesday that it will close five more stores in San Francisco next month because of organized retail theft in another blow to a city that has earned an embarrassing reputation for widespread and brazen shoplifting.
The stores will close down next month, SFGATE reported. It said Walgreens has closed at least 10 stores in the city since the start of 2019.
“Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average” despite large increases in security, Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said.
San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai said he was devastated by the loss of a Mission Street store that “has been a staple for seniors, families and children for decades.”
“This is a sad day for San Francisco,” Safai told SFGATE. “We can’t continue to let these anchor institutions close that so many people rely on.”
Last year, Walgreens closed one store where the chain said it was losing $1,000 a day to thefts.
Frustration and fear over thefts have been fueled by widely circulating images of shoplifting caught on video. This summer, shoplifters in masks carrying armfuls of designer handbags sprinted from a downtown Neiman Marcus department store and into getaway cars.
In June, a masked man was caught on video at a Walgreens, stuffing items into a trash bag before cruising out of the store on a bicycle. A suspect was arrested in that theft.
Last month, Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott announced that they will dedicate more police, beef up coordination and make it easier to report shoplifters.
The strategy aims to counter thieving that has added to the liberal city’s reputation as being soft on crime.
“We care about criminal justice reform. We care about second chances. We care about making sure that people are not wrongly accused,” Breed in announcing the new measures. “But don’t take our kindness for weakness, our compassion for weakness.”
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Ever noticed that these shoplifters and looters are Negroes 99% of the time?
Oh but we aren’t allowed to notice this…….
IAW the disgusting Democrats, to notice would be racist.
Not sure how old you are but you may have missed a trend. Shoplifting is something kids do these days, not every kid but a substantial amount of them and of all colors. It’s part of being woke and I would bet that if we could poll them we’d find out they are kids from liberal families, regardless of income.
I for one am really old. So I remember when these people were prosecuted for their crimes. First time minor shoplifting usually meant probation or/and a fine, but they were arrested and charged. I remember when shoplifting was likely more often done by whites. Likely that was related to whites being the predominant race. Now it is almost exclusively the 13%. That should tell you something if you really think about it.
Well yes, yes I did. Quite an oddity (NOT!).
More and more stores need to STOP HAVING shelves filled with goods.. Have them in BACK OFFICES, and a cashier in front, who GOES INTO THE BACK TO get what the customer wants.
THAT WAY THEY avoid these mass thefts..
Way out of line here. That would just drive up already high prices and make shopping a nightmare. Rather then penalize the consumer, what is needed is to prosecute and imprison people for theft, vandalism, assault, etc. You are caught, arrested, given a speedy trial (as guaranteed by law), and if convicted, immediately sent to jail.
That’s how it SHOULD BE.. But since the courts are spineless, the DA’s are refusing to do their jobs, and the cops are unable to stop it, THEN THIS IS the next (IMO) best option.
Just mark the theft against their “reparations” account, along with trillions in food stamps and other Welfare aid, and affirmative action awarding them schools and jobs by bumping the better qualified. Blacks live better in North America than those left in Africa, avoiding starvation and black on black genocide in the millions but still they think they’re owed instead of counting their blessings at benefiting from their ancestors’ tribulations.
At the rate they are going, that reparations account, is LARGER THAN most people’s normal bank accounts!
Hey, Nancy Pelosi, exactly what ARE you doing for your “constituents”? You epitomize the CON in CONgress.
She does as much for her constituents as she does for everyone else, blows hot air that reeks of old alcohol.
THE criminals ARE HEr constituents!
Define “constituents” as related to Tsar Pelosi I. Asking for a friend.
Well ,when democrats won’t punish a group for breaking the law that is what happens. But give a day or two and democrats will blame trump again. Another trial, that they will lose ,because he didn’t break the law.
We can thank the DemonRat party for more crime, more hate, less freedom, less prosperity and more insanity every day!
NOT just the demonrat party, BUT ALL THE VOTERS who put them into power!
I wonder how walgreens feels now about their support for the woke ideology. We all know it is the woke establishment that feels they can take whatever they want just because. Just one more retailer that I took off my list months ago along with cvs.
They brought it on themselves, BY SUPPORTING leftists law breakers and leftists politicians…