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SUPPORT YOUR
LOCAL POLICE
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It's not often, but every once in a while I feel the need to
get serious. This is one of those times. So I apologize in advance to
readers looking for something light-hearted. You'll be sorely disappointed.
The subject is something that is on all of our minds these
days---crime. And unlike most people, I can report directly from the front
lines.
Specifically for this column, I'm focusing on good old
shoplifting. As many readers know, my livelihood is owning and operating
numerous retail stores, all in tourist areas. I've been doing it for 45
years, and we've slowly expanded all over California and into other states
as well.
And yes, I can dutifully report that shoplifting is increasing,
as everyone suspects. From Neiman-Marcus to CVS to Walgreen's, it's been in
the news quite a bit over the last few years for its newfound notoriety.
Shoplifting has always been a problem, but the methods are
changing, and that's what is so frightening. We're having more and
more instances of bad guys, or bad girls, entering a store and brazenly
grabbing stacks of merchandise and simply walking out. No attempt to conceal
their crime, mainly because they know there's almost never a downside.
There are rare exceptions. Just last week a couple of bad guys
walked into one of our stores in San Francisco with two duffel bags and
started loading Levi's jeans into them. One of our young female employees
confronted them and, in the heat of the moment, pepper sprayed them.
Brave? Absolutely. Impressive? No doubt. Wise? Hardly.
We thanked her profusely for her dedication and diligence, but
then had to reprimand her for instigating a confrontation with the
shoplifters. In Georgia, two employees of Lululemon were actually fired for
confronting a shoplifter. Lululemon has a "zero tolerance" policy.
Not for shoplifters, but for employees. We don't go that far. Yet.
And that's the problem. Retailers have no protection, and
shoplifters are becoming more and more brazen, knowing they have carte
blanche to walk in and walk out with as much merchandise as they would like.
Many blame Proposition 47, which was passed in California with
60% voter approval in 2014. It stated that any theft of less than $950 would
be treated as a misdemeanor, not a felony. Opponents of Prop 47 argue police
and prosecutors suddenly won't bother with enforcing misdemeanors, so the
floodgates are open as a result.
That's hogwash. Everyone likes to blame California's liberal
politics, but guess what the limit for misdemeanors is in Texas? Yep, $2500.
Only six states have a limit less than California's. And even before
Proposition 47, the California limit was $450. Does anyone really think
shoplifters come into stores with calculators to determine how much they can
steal?
No, it's not necessarily liberal politics, although it can
certainly play a part. Almost no one wants crime to go unpunished. You can
be arrested for a misdemeanor and spend up to one year in jail, which isn't
insignificant. The problem is there's no one around to arrest you.
This is primarily a city problem, where the police departments
are seriously understaffed. We call the police in San Francisco, San Diego,
Seattle and Portland, and we're lucky if they show up within four hours, if
they even show up at all.
But call the police in Sausalito, Monterey, Palm Springs, Santa
Barbara, or other small towns where we have stores, and they're there in
minutes. Shoplifters are at least intimidated in those towns. In the cities,
they have free reign.
My front line opinion is pretty simple--- we need more police
on the street, and it's not going to happen anytime soon. For instance, I'm
told another 60-150 San Francisco police are going to retire in the next few
months. The call is out to hire an additional 200. Last I heard, there are
currently nine in training at the Police Academy.
That's scary. It's obviously going to get worse before it gets
better. Other big cities are facing the same problem. No retailer can
survive for long if the "grab and go" mentality becomes even more
commonplace than it is now. But who's going to stop them? Certainly not the
employees. Way too dangerous. Private security? Ask Walgreen's how that
worked out for them.
Nope, we need law enforcement. But who would want to join the
San Francisco police force when there's probably openings in Sausalito or
Los Gatos? That's why I admire anyone who works for urban police
departments. They deserve our utmost respect.
Meanwhile, we'll stick to the smaller towns where the police
will come when called because they have the time to pursue and investigate.
As for the cities, we'll just hope there's not enough bad guys to cause us
to close. Sometimes, unfortunately, hope is indeed the only strategy.
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