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Comment by cscurmudgeon | Hacker News Reader

Nah.

No one will get arrested for even stealing $1000s of dollars of luxury items on camera (at least in CA, a trend setter for other states).

https://amhsnews.org/10386/justice-awareness/shoplifting-the...

> On September 30th, 2023, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill No. 553, essentially making it illegal for retail workers to confront looters, burglars, and shoplifters.

> A Walgreens employee working in San Francisco told a reporter that thieves come around 15-20 times per day

> any theft under $950 is only considered a misdemeanor, which means it doesn’t lead to anything punitive by law

Edit: Present data countering the virtue signaling and get downvoted. Keep it up folks.

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God, this is such a tired take. I see it all the time, usually referencing how California is weak on crime, yada yada yada.

California, in fact, has one of the lowest felony theft thresholds out of any of the states. In fact, it has the 10th lowest felony threshold in the union. [1]

It was actually Oklahoma who started the trend to increase the felony threshold in the early 2000s.

Newsom passed the bill you referenced so that minimum wage workers aren’t playing security for their employers. This bill did not raise the felony threshold.

Do you want to know which states have the highest felony theft thresholds? It’s Texas and Wisconsin at $2500. In 2010, California went from a threshold of $400 to $950. In 2015, Texas went from a threshold of $1500 to $2500, so California’s threshold has always been much lower even in the recent past. [2]

So no, California has not actually been any sort of trendsetter when it comes to felony theft thresholds, but it certainly is a convenient bogeyman.

[1] https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/felony-thef...

[2] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-bri...

Hell, I worked at $retailer for a time, and even their statements were to "DO NOT ENGAGE SHOPLIFTERS". Worse yet, I can scarcely imagine some $12/hr being told to chase after shoplifters... That's gonna end up being shot or shivved.

And frankly, there were times in which I saw people steal food. And in those cases, I never saw a thing! Especially when formula was being "acquired".

One time, during Black Friday, someone stole a whole register full of cash. Again, not my job and not my problem.

You do realize that people who steal formula use it to cut drugs?

https://city-attorney.columbus.gov/pdf/press/babyformulaband...

There are a lot of organizations that give out formula for free but not at scale required for nefarious uses.

Low income mothers can get formula from the government.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic

It was probably all theft to exchange for drugs.

During the pandemic there was a formula shortage and allowing theft rather than punishing it probably ensured some children went without unnecessarily.

Any means testing (and I do mean ANY) will always exclude people who have an actual need who'll never be able to get.

And really, if 1 out of a thousand "cuts drugs" with formula, so be it. At least that's non-toxic... and frankly, laughable as DARE propaganda.

Here is a list of places with free baby formula and stuff in the Bay Area most without means testing:

https://www.211bayarea.org/sanfrancisco/food/food-programs/f...

https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/san_francisco_and_s...

Just recently there was a baby formula shortage. And we were not prosecuting gangs stealing formula. Shameless and laughable.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/form...

Edit: To person calling me a techbro below, I can't provide data for 1000s of cities in the US, genius. Feel free to do so.

Non tech folks also live in the US (you would know if you live in the US). Also look up why we are discussing the Bay Area.

The Bay Area is not the USA, techbro.

I can't provide data for 1000s of cities in the US, genius. Feel free to do so. You provide data for zero other parts of the US.

Non tech folks also live in the US (you would know if you live in the US).

Also look up why we are discussing the Bay Area.

Half of infants born in the US receive WIC. Can't be that hard.

Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you honestly believe drug dealers are stealing formula to cut drugs with rather than mom's just need to feed their babies

Maybe you should stop looking at yourself in the mirror and look at the data?

As a parent, I feel people like you are the reason formula ends up being unavailable for real babies as you enable gangs to steal them driving up cost.

Here is a list of places with free baby formula and stuff in the Bay Area:

https://www.211bayarea.org/sanfrancisco/food/food-programs/f...

https://www.findhelp.org/goods/diapers-%26-formula--san-jose...

https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/san_francisco_and_s...

One advice: Stop with harmful virtue signaling. It is easy to virtue signal like you do here with looking at any data or bearing any of the real cost of virtue signaling. I will repeat. People like you are the reason formula ends up being unavailable for real babies as you enable gangs to steal them driving up cost and causing shortages during real crises. As a parent this is frustrating and rage inducing.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/form...

How about we both:

1) Support low income people by giving them formula if they need it, AND

2) End the war on drugs and move people into treatment instead of the carceral slave system

Sounds like a win-win.

>As a parent, I feel people like you are the reason...

You must have missed the part of the post where they stated:

>I worked at $retailer for a time, and even their statements were to "DO NOT ENGAGE SHOPLIFTERS".

"People like [them]" are being told from their employers to not engage shoplifters.

a lot of stolen inventory is resold for money but it's then in turn sold to moms on street markets (or sometimes back to unscrupulous store owners at a discount off wholesale to resell, sometimes via a proxy reseller). so you may be unhappy with who profits in various ways but it's evidently going to moms one way or the other

I feel like that is the least committal press release that could exist about this topic. The police might be correct but the facts described aren't as clear cut as they're making it.

> Wilson has a history of drug offenses: felony drug abuse, felony possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

"Offenses" is carrying the whole team here. All this says is that he was charged with the crime of doing drugs while black. I could have been arrested for all of these at one time in my life or another. Without a trafficking charge they're just speculating he might be a dealer.

> While a black market exists for stolen baby formula to be resold for its intended purpose, reports indicate that baby formula also is used as a cutting agent for cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine by drug dealers looking to dilute their product and stretch their supply.

So he could be cutting drugs with it, or he could just be stealing it to sell directly. He even could even be selling it to actual drug dealers. Not saying that's better but the police kinda gloss over that as presented that's the more likely option.

I promise I'm not trying to drag you or anything but I'm originally from Columbus and you have to take anything the CPD says with a shaker of salt. Columbus is a fairly boring city and so CPD always tries to punch up the stories.

That’s because it’s a liability issue. Better to let someone steal a $100 item than get sued for $1000000 because an employee chased them into the parking lot and got stabbed.

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