It was just announced that a bunch of Target stores in major US cities (NY, Seattle, Portland, SF) are going to close because of organized retail theft. The company issued a statement that it’s not safe for workers and customers, and it’s no longer sustainable for the stores to be open in those cities (meaning they’re losing too much $$).

It’s not uncommon on the news to see videos of teams of thieves going into stores and malls and grabbing armfuls of merchandise before running out of the stores. It’s too overwhelming for a security guard and I don’t think police feel it’s worthy of their time because by the time they arrive, the thieves are gone. A lot of the stores are fancy handbags and jewelry, or high end sneakers. Tonight on the news they had a video of 200 teens in Philly who raided and looted a mall.

Friends who work in retail (major big box stores) tell me it’s their employers’ policies for workers not to confront or chase thieves because it’s too dangerous, and therefore a liability for the stores. They tell me stories about people just walking out the door with big amounts of clothing, comforters or tools.

A relative lives in NYC and she tells me the drug stores like CVS have either closed, have reduced hours or have everything behind acrylic with locks, where you have to ask a worker to come unlock the merchandise. Sometimes the thieves will saw off the locks. Grocery stores in NYC have thieves stealing shelves full of beer, meat and other expensive foods. They just dump piles of stuff into carts or bags and walk out (it’s on YouTube videos and it’s frequently on the news).

What, if anything, do you think should be done about this issue?

Topics: Seattle, police, New York City, cities, retail, Portland, stores, theft, crime, Target