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Comment by h327 | Hacker News Reader

I live near an affected Walgreens and the shoplifting has made it effectively unusable as a store. They are always out of almost everything. I asked a cashier why they hadn't restocked and they told me that they are restocking normally but people are stealing all the stuff immediately. I have seen several thefts while shopping there; the shoplifters are brazen and unhurried and take armfuls of merchandise. Walgreens seems particularly hard-hit and I don't understand why they aren't investing in security.

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I don’t understand the supes and don’t know why people voted for the DA.

In a couple of years people will complain that this and that neighborhood are some kind of “desert”. Unfortunately that’s their own making. No business is going to survive rampant theft.

It’s like they actively want to alienate the population enough that they get voted out and try the opposite. But, so far in SF the answer to social issues is “even though we’ve tried all the progressive cures, we obviously haven’t been progressive enough and must double down” only to make things worse.

I'm certain they did an analysis and realized that it's cheaper to cut their losses and close shop. If the law isn't likely to change, and the law enforcement isn't likely to step-up, then what's the point of hiring private security? Most private security is just there to look tough and hold you until the police arrive. And the police aren't effective right now, so why even bother?

I could imagine some intermediate before flat out closing the store. For example, you could make guests wait in a reception area and ask an employee for the things they want and have that person grab them. It's slower and less discoverable and private, but you would still make sales

They have a cookie cutter business model. Unless it’s a mom and pop that customization cannot work for a chain store.

They already seem like they are locking more items behind the plastic theft guards, so the logical extreme would be to lock everything that way, at least for items that are commonly stolen.

the one that closed near me had a security guard at all times. I suspect not only did he feel that he wasn't paid enough to try, there wouldn't be much point in trying to detain all of hunter's point.

I stopped shopping there before they closed, because it always took 30 minutes to find the right key to unlock the shampoo.

I don't know why SF stores in bad neighborhoods don't just adopt the east coast shitty neighborhood corner store model. full wall of 2" lexan, and a turnstile to pick up your fifth and cigs.

In a lot of cases, the security guard can't actually do anything about a shoplifter -- they're not allowed to touch them or detain them, usually for fear of prosecution.

This is why places like Target will first build a case before detaining a shoplifter; They want to make sure they have enough proof to cover their asses legally.

Some places are banning that full wall of 2" lexan, saying that it is discriminatory. My fading memory recalls that it was Chicago or Detroit, or somewhere vaguely near there, but it sounds like the kind of thing that San Francisco would do.

Wtf not wanting to get robbed is “discrimination” now? We are lost.

Isn’t this just an easy and cheap way to wind down and have insurance pay for everything?

You don’t have to pay additional staff to be able to monitor a store. You don’t have to pay for additional security. And you don’t have to put in effort to sell your product.

Just let people steal stuff, and cover 60-70% in insurance quickly and easily, as opposed to spending weeks and months trying to offload product using massive discounts, which would probably negatively impact sales at other stores and online.

I don't think that drug stores have an insurance policy that covers shoplifting. Who would offer such a policy if they knew there were going to lose money? Or if such a policy was offered, wouldn't the rates be greater than the losses? I guess I don't know for sure, maybe there is some sort of a corporate reimbursement. Are you guessing, or do you know more?

The various Walgreens I’ve been to in Oakland generally do have a uniformed security guard.

Perhaps they could have a service counter, like the grocery stores in the old days?

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