
A San Francisco store is providing customers with shopping escorts to combat the “rampant shoplifting,” that is plaguing the city, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
For two hours in the morning and evening for a total of four hours per day, Fredericksen Hardware and Paint asks that customers wait at a table in the front of the store for an employee to accompany them as they shop, local station KRON4 reported Thursday.
A sign on the table blocking unaccompanied entrance into the store reads, “Due to the rampant shoplifting, Fredericksen has introduced a one-on-one shopping experience. Wait here, and a clerk will be right with you to help you with your shopping needs. We’re sorry for the inconvenience!”
The idea is to create an inhospitable environment for thieves.
“It’s pretty bad,” store manager Sam Black told KRON4. “I mean, the dollar amounts are pretty significant, and with the tools and now we’re getting snatch-and-grabs when they take whole displays, so it’s getting kind of dangerous for the employees and the customers.”
The crime deterrent experiment has been in place for about three weeks, according to Black. It will be evaluated for effectiveness after a month.
Desperate times call for innovative measures. America One News posted the news on X, “Rampant shoplifting in San Francisco prompts stores to require customers being escorted to prevent theft. Latest business struggle in a crime-ridden city.”
Rampant shoplifting in San Francisco prompts store to require customers being escorted to prevent theft. Latest business struggle in crime-ridden city. https://t.co/Oc8M5Wf5R9
— The America One News (@am1_news) February 23, 2024
According to The Hoover Institute, in 2021, San Francisco was “more dangerous than 98% of US cities, both small and large.”
“To put this in perspective,” the report continues, “Compton, California, the infamous home of drug gang turf wars, and which today remains more dangerous than 90 percent of all US cities, is almost twice as safe as San Francisco.”
Things obviously haven’t gotten better since then. Some people are blaming the crime problem on the Democrats. “If you want to destroy your City, State or Country let the DEMOCRATS be in control for a decade.”
Why San Francisco Is Nearly The Most Crime-Ridden City In The US | Hoover Institution
If you want to destroy your City, State or Country let the DEMOCRATS be in control for a decade. https://t.co/WYZFSyUHnH
— ProudBoomer2 (@Proud_Boomer2) November 25, 2021
San Francisco Board Supervisor Catherine Stefani represents the neighborhood where the store operates. She fumed about the need for the Fredericksen Hardware and Paint experiment.
“This situation is tragic and embarrassing for our city, and it’s all the more reason to get serious about solving our police staffing crisis,” Stefani said in a statement.
She went on to state the obvious, “We need more police on our streets, and we need them now.”
Several well-known businesses have closed in recent months because of the crime in San Francisco. In September, Target closed three stores in the city due to “theft and organized retail crime.”
The business that informed the movie “Toy Story” shut down about two weeks ago, according to the Beacon. The owner said the decision to call it quits was due to crimes that affected his employees.
Crime is bad for business. If businesses can’t operate, they close down and then there’s nowhere for the people to shop. When that happens, there’s nothing left to do but leave.