As retail theft soars in Washington, D.C., one CVS store is taking drastic measures to prevent its stock of toilet paper and other products from being stolen. 
Instead of seeing packages of toilet paper on the shelf, at a CVS on H Street NE in the nation’s capital, you will only find framed photos of the product. The move comes in response to a spike in theft at the store, particularly among the homeless population, according to a <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2023/10/northeast-cvs-only-has-photos-of-paper-products-on-shelves-due-to-theft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from WTOP News. 
“It seems to be a case that people don’t care about laws or respect that anymore,” a tourist told the outlet. “In the United Kingdom, we are seeing shops closing down because they’re losing so much money from people shoplifting, which is obviously having an impact on the economy in general.”
Sources told WTOP that homeless people had been entering the store and stealing toilet paper and other products, prompting it to remove items from display. To get the products for purchase, shoppers need to press a button for assistance &#8211; something that&#8217;s becoming more common across the country, especially in Democrat-run cities. 
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Washington DC CVS replaces shelves of toilet paper with framed photos of products amid rising thefts
A CVS location in Washington DC was forced to wipe its shelves clean of toilet paper and replace them instead with framed photos of the products amid rising thefts in the… <a href="https://t.co/mUfhQ6vfUj">pic.twitter.com/mUfhQ6vfUj</a>
&mdash; Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) <a href="https://twitter.com/OwenGregorian/status/1723689549623124145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In 2023, there were roughly 4,922 homeless people in D.C., an 11.6% increase from 2022, according to the annual Point-in-Time count <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/05/05/dc-homelessness-increase-2023-pit-count/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> in May.  
According to a recent <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/cvs-thefts-columbia-heights-dc/65-1490b69c-abc1-46ea-887f-ce317f01ae16" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from WUSA9, thieves ransack a separate CVS location in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. nearly every day. Sources told the outlet that people leave the store with boxes of stolen goods daily, with staff saying that thieves will specifically target the store when it gets new shipments, stealing the product before it&#8217;s put out for sale. The result: near-empty shelves. 
“I think it’s enforcement and the infractions are not tough,&#8221; a woman who recently bought a home near the store told the outlet. &#8220;A lot of times, it’s just a slap on the hand.&#8221; She also said she was reconsidering moving to the area, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s getting worse. People get killed in front of the Metro, stores are robbed every single day. You can’t even find food.&#8221;
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According to Fox Business, retail theft in the nation’s capital <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/washington-dc-cvs-only-shows-pictures-toilet-paper-products-rising-theft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is up 68%</a> over 2022, with more than 3,000 robberies taking place so far this year. At this point last year, 1,791 robberies had occurred, the outlet noted. 
A CVS spokesman <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2023/10/thieves-hit-columbia-heights-cvs-leaving-shelves-nearly-empty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> WTOP that the company has no plans to shutter any of its Washington, D.C., locations. 
In July, it was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-san-francisco-stores-locking-up-frozen-foods-to-prevent-shoplifting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that some stores in San Francisco began locking up their frozen foods section due to retail theft. One CBS News Bay Area reporter said that a Walgreens location was being robbed 20 times a day, prompting it to start locking up goods. 
“Workers said normally shoplifters clean out all the pizza and ice cream every night. They’re usually hit 20x a day. The whole store is virtually locked up,” CBS News Bay Area reporter Betty Yu said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/bett_yu/status/1681124070077906945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1681138386382331904%7Ctwgr%5Eac0f748e14bb10b8414dc9738d77cc5cdca4ae75%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fsan-francisco-food-stores-lock-up-frozen-goods-to-mitigate-shoplifting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X. 
A video accompanying the tweet shows ice cream, microwave dinners, frozen fish sticks, and frozen pizzas in freezers locked with a chain. Additionally, rows of makeup, hair products, cleaning supplies, candles, laundry detergent, and other items are in locked cases.

Toilet Paper Replaced With Framed Photos Of Product In D.C. Drugstore As Retail Theft Soars

Business

Crime

shoplifting

Theft

Washington D.C.

University of Colorado football players allegedly had thousands of dollars of jewelry and other valuable items stolen during their game against UCLA over the weekend in Southern California.
Players discovered that their possessions were stolen at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles after they lost their game against the then-No. 23 Bruins, 28-16.
“The UCLA athletic department confirmed that a report was filed to the Pasadena Police Department following the UCLA-Colorado football game regarding items that were reportedly missing from the Colorado locker room,&#8221; UCLA <a href="https://www.outkick.com/colorado-jewlrey-stolen-during-ucla-game-deion-sanders/">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;UCLA is in communication with law enforcement, Rose Bowl Stadium officials and the University of Colorado on the matter.”
&#8220;That&#8217;s awful for anybody,&#8221; UCLA head coach Chip Kelly told reporters after hearing about the incident. &#8220;You would think that when you go anywhere that your valuables are safe.&#8221;
A video posted to social media following the game showed several players talking about the items that were stolen from them.
&#8220;I just got mine, bro,&#8221; said Colorado safety Cam&#8217;Ron Silmon-Craig. &#8220;I had the jewelry box and everything, bro. They took it off my jewelry box.&#8221;
The Denver Post <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2023/10/30/cu-buffs-football-players-robbed-rose-bowl-ucla/">reported</a> that at least five football players were victimized during the robbery.
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During the Colorado vs UCLA game, thieves stole Colorado’s players’ jewelry from the locker room. Crazy 😳 <a href="https://t.co/8mTeDab9zA">pic.twitter.com/8mTeDab9zA</a>
&mdash; College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollegeFBPortal/status/1718814870131314960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Someone tried to rob Colorado Football coach Deion Sanders when he was at Jackson State during a game against Edward Waters, according to Outkick.
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&#8220;Naw it was stolen but they got it back,&#8221; Sanders wrote at the time. &#8220;It was stolen out my personal bag in my office and My assistant caught the gentleman in the process of stealing it but she was alone. No Miscommunication my man at all.&#8221;
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Naw it was stolen but they got it back. It was stolen out my personal bag in my office and My assistant caught the gentleman in the process of stealing it but she was alone. No Miscommunication my man at all <a href="https://t.co/foXTKwqsQC">https://t.co/foXTKwqsQC</a>
&mdash; COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeionSanders/status/1363647569403015170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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UCLA Bruins defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 28-16 to win a NCAA Football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Thousands Of Dollars Of Jewelry Stolen From Colorado Football Players During UCLA Game

College Football

Colorado

Los Angeles (UCLA)

Target announced plans to shut down nine stores across four different U.S. states after ongoing reports of violence, theft, and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of shoppers and employees.
The company said effective October 21, three stores in the San Francisco-Oakland area, three more in Portland, two locations in Seattle, and one store in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City will permanently close.
“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a <a href="https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2023/09/Target-Closes-Select-Stores-to-Prioritize-Team-Mem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>.
Before making the decision, Target officials said the retailer corporation invested “heavily” in efforts to prevent and stop organized retail crime in its stores, including ramping up internal security team members and third-party guard services, but struggled to combat the uptick in retail theft from organized smash-and-grab robberies involving large groups of thieves.
Target’s CEO Brian Cornell <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-veers-off-target-reaps-rewards-of-pride-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month the company has been battling an “unacceptable amount” of retail theft that has become increasingly violent and dangerous for workers.
Store theft that included “violence or threats of violence” surged 120% during the first five months of the year, Cornell said, adding that Target’s full-year profitability is expected to reduce by more than $500 million compared to the previous year.
Cornell reportedly said the company intended to keep locations open after releasing its rising shrink reported in the fiscal second-quarter earnings in mid-May.
“We do not want to close stores. We know how important our stores are. They create local jobs, they generate taxes, they’re very important for those local shoppers, and they play a critical role in communities across the country,” Cornell said. “We’ll continue to do everything in our power to keep our doors open,” he added. “At the same time, we’ll be closely monitoring the safety of our team and guests as well as the financial impact to our business as we determine the right path forward at Target.”
Organized retail theft has spiked in cities around the country, with videos from some incidents showing hooded figures in dark clothes darting in and out of stores with merchandise, often expensive luxury items.
Critics blame progressive prosecutors, who they say allow criminals to get off without serious consequences — if they face consequences at all.
Earlier this year, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/01/30/2023/grassley-cortez-masto-bill-bolsters-federal-response-to-organized-retail-theft#:~:text=The%20Combating%20Organized%20Retail%20Crime,trends%20in%20organized%20retail%20theft." target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> legislation to target the rise in flash mob robberies sweeping the nation, which they estimated costs retailers $720,000 for every $1 billion in sales — a 50% increase since 2015.
The bill, which Target officials advocated for in its announcement on Tuesday, would create a multi-agency federal task force at the state and local levels to promote inter-agency efforts and cooperation to crack down on theft and organized retail crime.
CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/26/target-says-it-will-close-nine-stores-citing-violence-and-theft-.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&amp;par=sharebar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that over the last two years, at least nine states have passed similar laws to impose harsher penalties for those involved in organized retail crime.
Target’s latest announcement comes after the company revealed a dismal quarterly report showing its sales sank 5.4% for the first time in six years after facing national backlash over its Pride Month collection.
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.

Hurricane Idalia Barrels North as Florida Girds for Disaster

Target Cites Violence And Theft As Reasons For Closing Nine Stores Across US

Target Cites Violence And Theft As Reason Nine Stores Across US Will Close

Flash Mob

Liberalism

Organized crime

Pride

Target

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> is launching a task force to combat the uptick in retail theft, including organized smash-and-grab robberies involving large groups of thieves.
The Organized Retail Crimes Task Force was announced Thursday by Mayor Karen Bass, the LAPD, and several other law enforcement agencies, follows a chaotic week that saw two smash-and-grab robberies by large groups in the Los Angeles area.
Over the weekend, a mob of nearly 50 people in hoodies and masks stole up to $100,000 in luxury merchandise from a Nordstrom in Los Angeles. The thieves also attacked security guards with bear mace.
Last week, a group of 30 to 40 thieves robbed an Yves Saint Laurent store in southern California in broad daylight on Tuesday, absconding with an estimated $300,000 worth of merchandise, police said.
<a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-shows-wild-scene-at-americana-as-thieves-ransack-yves-saint-laurent-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Footage</a> from the incident shows over a dozen people mostly dressed in dark clothes, hoods, and masks dashing into the store and running out again, their arms full of the expensive merchandise.
The brazen smash-and-grab robbery was caught on video just before 5 p.m. The store is located at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale, just north of Los Angeles. The Glendale police chief joined the Los Angeles officials in announcing the task force.
Police said Thursday that they had <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/los-angeles-moves-crack-down-retail-theft-epidemic-task-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> the first suspect in the robbery. A 23-year-old man was charged with organized retail theft, burglary, grand theft, and conspiracy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday, “What we’ve seen over just the past week in the City of Los Angeles and in surrounding regions is unacceptable, which is why today we are here announcing action.”
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“These are not victimless crimes – especially in the case where Angelenos were attacked – through force or fear – as they did their jobs or ran errands,&#8221; she said, adding that the task force will &#8220;aggressively investigate&#8221; these incidents and hold the perpetrators &#8220;fully accountable.&#8221;
LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said retail theft not only affects businesses financially, but also has a broader impact on the &#8220;overall well-being of our community.&#8221;
&#8220;Together, we can create an environment where our streets and businesses are safe from the scourge of retail theft,&#8221; Choi said.
Los Angeles has been plagued by rampant retail and personal theft in recent months.
Most types of violent crime are down in Los Angeles except theft, which is up 15% to more than 20,409 thefts compared to this time last year, <a href="https://lapdonlinestrgeacc.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lapdonlinemedia/cityprof.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to police data.
Since the fall of 2021, Los Angeles County has seen at least 170 organized retail thefts, including the smash-and-grab trend, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/los-angeles-moves-crack-down-retail-theft-epidemic-task-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
Late last month, police <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/california-jewelry-store-smash-grab-robbers-snatched-900000-merchandise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> another group of masked thieves stole $900,000 worth of merchandise from a jewelry store in Irvine just south of Los Angeles and Glendale.
Organized retail theft is on the rise nationally as well. 
Incidents like the ones Los Angeles has seen increased by about 27% in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation.
The top ten cities with the most retail crime include New York, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas.
Critics argue that the thieves are emboldened by California’s progressive prosecutors, who rarely force the shoplifters to face significant criminal consequences.

CA: LAPD Gang Unit

Los Angeles Launches Task Force To Combat Smash And Grab Robberies

California

LAPD

Los Angeles

Police

U.S.

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> film crew witnesses three people stealing from inside a Walgreens in San Francisco this week in the span of just 30 minutes.
The store, which is one of the most robbed Walgreens in the country, has had to resort to locking up most items in the store behind chains or plexiglass.
CNN senior national correspondent Kyung Lah visited the store and talked with patrons who said that they have never seen anything like it in their lives.
Theft at the store is &#8220;so typical that in the 30 minutes we were at this Walgreens, we watched three people, including this man, steal,&#8221; Lah said. &#8220;Did that guy pay? Did that guy pay? He didn&#8217;t pay?&#8221;
&#8220;Walgreens says this Richmond neighborhood store with aisles of products like mustard locked behind plexiglass has the highest theft rate of all their nearly 9,000 U.S. stores, hit more than a dozen times a day when thieves turn to cleaning out ice cream and frozen burritos, workers grew so frustrated, they resorted to the chains,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;They were ordered down by corporate because of the negative messaging.&#8221;
Other stores have also had to lock up their items across the city, including a nearby grocery store that even had to lock up bags of coffee.
One man who was interviewed in the grocery story said that he did not know how to describe what was happening inside the city.
&#8220;It&#8217;s become kind of like a police state in San Francisco,&#8221; he said.
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San Francisco supervisor Matt Dorsey said that what he was hearing from residents is that it was time for &#8220;tough love.&#8221;
&#8220;We are not doing any addict in this city favors by enabling behavior that is potentially deadly in ways we have never seen,&#8221; he said.
WATCH:
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In San Francisco, we went to the Walgreens that is the #1 spot for theft in all the 9000 US stores, per Walgreens. This is where chains once shut the freezer section. And we saw 3 thefts right in front of us. But across SF, coffee, mustard, nail polish&#8211; are all locked up: <a href="https://t.co/IfYBVgpeI2">pic.twitter.com/IfYBVgpeI2</a>
&mdash; Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/KyungLahCNN/status/1683632951488049152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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San Francisco Walgreens Locks Freezer Section Of Store To Thwart Shoplifters

CNN Witnesses 3 People Stealing From Walgreens Over 30 Minutes In Democrat-Controlled City

San Francisco

San Francisco stores have geared up with unprecedented security measures to try to deter shoplifters in the crime-ridden city.
Grocery stores, pharmacies, and other stores have installed extreme security devices and paid for private security guards to combat the rise in rampant theft over the last few years.
Supermarket chain Safeway installed exit gates at self-checkout lines in some of its Bay Area grocery stores, which require customers to scan their receipts before walking out the door. The exit gates are similar to those in mass transit systems.
“Recent changes were made at select Safeway stores in the Bay Area to maintain a safe and welcoming shopping experience for our customers and associates given the increasing amount of theft,” a Safeway spokesperson <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/safeway-san-francisco-theft-shoplift-18204454.php#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement Monday.
“Those updates include operational changes to the front end of the stores to deter shoplifting. Like other local businesses, we are working on ways to curtail escalating theft so we can ensure the wellbeing of our employees and foster a welcoming environment for our customers. These long-planned security improvements were implemented with those goals in mind,” the Safeway spokesperson said.
A Walgreens in northern San Francisco locked its freezers with chains in response to shoplifters hitting the store 15 to 20 times a day, according to an employee.
A local ABC7 reporter <a href="https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-retail-theft-sf-walgreens-shoplifters-geary-boulevard-17th-avenue/13520154/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessed</a> multiple shoplifters at the Walgreens in just an hour.
&#8220;It&#8217;s San Francisco, bro,&#8221; one of the shoplifters told the outlet about why he did not pay.
A police sergeant in the area told the reporter the shoplifting is &#8220;getting worse&#8221; at that particular Walgreens.
Part of the reason for the shoplifting increase is Proposition 47, a 2014 voter-approved law that made the theft of merchandise under $950 in value a misdemeanor that is often not investigated.
Most Californians support changing Prop 47 to reinstate penalties for certain thefts, according to a 2022 poll.
In 2021, businesses in San Francisco&#8217; Union Square hired private security to combat the &#8220;smash and grab&#8221; robberies that plagued the area.
Gump&#8217;s, a luxury home decor retailer, hired private security and capped how many shoppers could be in the downtown store at one time around Christmas, 2021.
&#8220;It is a cost that is not sustainable long-term for our business or for any business,&#8221; Marc Capalbo, Gump&#8217;s vice president of operations, <a href="https://www.kron4.com/video/stores-in-san-franciscos-union-square-hire-private-security/7201085/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time. &#8220;The lack of leadership, the lack of accountability for those that are committing these crimes have got us to this situation.&#8221;
Electronics store B8ta closed for seven months in 2021 after a man took two laptops at gunpoint.
When B8ta reopened, the store <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/30-000-a-month-security-and-bulletproof-vests-16647428.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent</a> $30,000 a month on around-the-clock security guards with bulletproof vests, more money than its entire payroll or rent.
Shoplifting <a href="https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-retail-theft-sf-walgreens-shoplifters-geary-boulevard-17th-avenue/13520154/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spiked</a> 20% in San Francisco between 2019 before the pandemic and 2022, according to the California Department of Justice.
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A string of major retailers have recently fled their downtown San Francisco locations, where foot traffic has thinned. Mall company Westfield, AT&amp;T, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and two hotels have all <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/att-closing-flagship-store-in-downtown-san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shuttered</a> locations in the city recently.
While overall crime in San Francisco is slightly down this year, certain types of violent crime are up, <a href="https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/stay-safe/crime-data/crime-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to police data.
Murder is up 10% to 22 murders so far. Robberies are up 15% to 1,150 robberies so far. Car thefts are up 5% to 2,889 thefts.
Crime often <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rising-crime-homelessness-leave-residents-of-san-francisco-and-oakland-on-edge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accompanies</a> the city&#8217;s stubborn homelessness and drug problems.
The drug crisis is still raging in San Francisco, although overdose deaths have dropped from their all-time high in 2020 during the thick of the pandemic. Homelessness has only gotten worse since before the pandemic. About 38,000 people are homeless in the Bay Area on a given night.

Retailers Sound Alarm On Organized Theft As States Warn Of Rise

San Francisco Stores Are Taking Extreme Security Measures To Fight Petty Theft

Drugs

Homeless

The following is the opening satirical monologue from “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1132-the-biggest-lie-of-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.“
Witless New York City Mayor Eric Witless Adams, who made history in January of last year by becoming the city’s first entirely witless black mayor since David Dinkins, has announced his new witless plan to control the city’s swiftly spreading plague of shoplifting by not controlling the city’s swiftly spreading plague of shoplifting. The plan — entitled the Witless Plan to Stop Shoplifting by Not Stopping Shoplifting — includes such witless innovations as giving first-time offenders intervention programs instead of prosecution, and installing kiosks in stores that would connect thieves with social service programs. Mayor Adams announced the plan to reporters in order to distract them while his aides stole their cameras, microphones, and other expensive equipment.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Oh, Klavan, you colossal cascade of curmudgeonly comedy, only you could dream up a Democrat response to crime so insanely ineffective it causes us to laugh ho-ho-ho like Santa Claus right up until the moment we’re gunned down by six youths speeding by in a Trans Am who are then charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and released without bail so they can get back to their day job, which is shoplifting.”
But no, I am not making this up. Mayor Witless called the new witless anti-shoplifting Plan a crackdown, possibly because he was downing crack when he designed the plan. The plan includes giving store employees de-escalation training. And you may ask: what the flying fiddle-de-de is de-escalation training, and how will it not stop shoplifting? Good question. Shoplifting de-escalation training trains store employees so that whenever they see a shoplifter, they get on the escalator and de-escalate to the basement until shoplifters are finished cleaning out the first floor. When the shoplifters leave, the store employees can re-escalate to the first floor and relax by standing in the break room because all the chairs have been shoplifted.
The Witless Plan also includes installing kiosks that connect thieves with social service programs, so the thieves can contact the programs and say, “Hey, look at this cool new kiosk I put up in my apartment after I shoplifted it from the store.”
Another part of the Witless Plan — and I’m still not making any of this up, by the way, so help me — is to establish neighborhood retail watch groups so neighbors can get together and watch retail stores get shoplifted, which is cheaper than going to the movies, so you can use the money you save to buy some t-shirts, which have all been shoplifted, so you can save even more money.
The Witless Plan to Stop Shoplifting by Not Stopping Shoplifting has already been so effective in Not Stopping Shoplifting that witless Mayor Witless is planning to introduce another witless plan to not stop murders. Portions of the plan have already been leaked to reporters by inscribing the details on the sides of bullets and then firing into a crowd of reporters. The Witless Murder Plan includes a new Buddy System in which New Yorkers travel in pairs so that when someone witnesses a murder he can turn to his buddy and say, “Hey, look, that guy just got murdered.” There will also be kiosks erected on street corners where you can apply for a New Buddy when your last Buddy got murdered and you have no one to tell about it.
Witless Mayor Witless says he eventually hopes to put all his witless anti-crime crackdown plans together into one big crackdown plan that will crack down on all crimes by not cracking down on any crimes at all. Under the new Witless Umbrella Anti-Crime Crime Plan, criminals will be able to rob a store, kill a passerby, and assault multiple women and then bring all those crimes to one kiosk and contact an all-purpose social worker, beat him senseless, and steal his wallet. Left-wing critics of the mayor say this plan puts an undue burden on criminals by forcing them to steal wallets when they don’t need wallets because they can shoplift things for free.
Though some people have criticized witless Mayor Witless’s witless plan because it’s witless, Billionaire Evildoer George Soros says he endorses the plan, because he’s evil. Journalists immediately attacked Soros for saying Soros was evil, accusing Soros of being antisemitic, although they praised him for being evil, because they’re evil.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Klavan</a> is the host of The Andrew Klavan Show at The Daily Wire. A popular political satirist and Hollywood screenwriter, Klavan is also an award-winning novelist. His newest novel is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Habit-Mind-Cameron-Mysteries/dp/1613163517/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Strange Habit of Mind</a>, book two in the Cameron Winter Mystery series.
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Fighting Shoplifting.

NYC Mayor Plans To Stop Crime By Not Stopping It At All

Andrew Klavan

Looting

New York City

Readers Pass

Satire

Former Biden Energy Department official <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sam-brinton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Brinton</a>, who identifies as &#8220;non-binary,&#8221; will be placed in a men&#8217;s jail in Maryland before authorities transport him to Virginia over suitcase theft charges.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday told the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/23/non-binary-sam-brinton-will-be-placed-in-mens-jail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a> that authorities would hold Brinton, 35, at the county men&#8217;s jail with the general male population next week per the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation policy, which states that officers process and house inmates based on their biological sex.
&#8220;Although MCDOCR does not consider anatomical changes brought about by hormonal therapy to be changes that constitute a change of anatomical sex, the classification of an arrestee/inmate will depend on whether the arrestee/inmate has male or female genitalia, whether they present a management or security problem, and whether their health and safety can be ensured,&#8221; the policy reads, according to the Post. &#8220;Once an inmate is classified, they will be given a housing assignment based on that classification.&#8221;
Brinton, who President Joe Biden tapped to serve as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the U.S. Department of Energy, was fired six months after joining the Biden administration amid allegations of stealing luggage and women&#8217;s clothing from airports.
Authorities arrested Brinton last week at a house in Rockville, Maryland, as a &#8220;fugitive from justice&#8221; for allegedly stealing luggage.
A witness neighbor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-biden-nuclear-official-sam-brinton-arrested-as-fugitive-from-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Wire that authorities escorted Brinton in handcuffs last week an hour after four unmarked police cars arrived at the house while his spouse, Kevin, was told he couldn&#8217;t leave.
Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), said airport police &#8220;executed a search warrant May 17 in Montgomery County, Maryland, in connection with allegations of stolen property in luggage from Reagan National Airport that was brought to the department&#8217;s attention in February 2023.&#8221;
&#8220;With the assistance of Montgomery County Police, Samuel Otis Brinton, age 35, of Rockville, Maryland, was taken into custody Wednesday pending charges of Grand Larceny,&#8221; Yingling added.
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Brinton appeared before a judge on May 18 via closed-circuit television from the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where Judge Victor Del Pino declined to release him and ordered him extradited to Virginia.
“I will deny the request to turn himself in,&#8221; Del Pino said at a public hearing. &#8220;Virginia will pick him up. Good luck in Virginia, Mr. Brinton.”
The luggage in question belonged to Tanzanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin, who appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” in March, saying that her luggage had been stolen from Reagan National Airport in 2018 on the way to a fashion show, causing catastrophe because she could not show her designs.
Brinton was later pictured wearing one of her one-of-a-kind designs that had been in the suitcase, she said.
Prior to the alleged theft of Khamsin&#8217;s luggage, Brinton pleaded &#8220;no contest&#8221; to a misdemeanor theft charge last month after authorities caught him on video allegedly stealing luggage at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Authorities initially charged Brinton with a felony based on the belief he stole $3,670 worth of items. However, the former Biden official agreed to pay the victim more than $3,500 in restitution and received a suspended 180-day jail sentence under the assumption Brinton would obey the law.
Brinton was charged with stealing a woman&#8217;s suitcase last year from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, where he allegedly removed a luggage tag from a navy blue Vera Bradley suitcase bag, dropped it into his handbag, and &#8220;then left the area at a quick pace&#8221; on September 16, 2022, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gender-fluid-biden-admin-employee-charged-with-stealing-womans-luggage-at-minneapolis-airport-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a criminal complaint</a>.
Luke Rosiak contributed to this report.

The Trevor Project TrevorLIVE NYC 2018 – Show

Ex-Biden ‘Non-Binary’ Nuclear Official Sam Brinton To Be Placed In Men’s Jail Over Luggage Theft Charges: Report

Ex-Biden 'Non-Binary' Nuclear Official Sam Brinton To Be Placed In Men's Jail Over Luggage Theft Charges: Report

Biden Administration

Sam Brinton

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target</a> executives revealed on Wednesday that the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/business" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retail</a> behemoth is suffering from considerable losses driven by organized retail <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">theft</a>.
Target CFO Michael Fiddelke remarked in an earnings <a href="https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2023/05/17/target-tgt-q1-2023-earnings-call-transcript/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">call</a> that retail shrink, the loss of products from theft, accidents, accounting errors, and other phenomena apart from sales, is expected to reduce profitability by an additional $500 million in comparison to last year. The firm referenced “theft and organized retail crime” as “increasingly important drivers of the issue” in a first quarter earnings <a href="https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2023/05/Target-Corporation-Reports-First-Quarter-Earnings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, noting that the company is forced to make “significant investments in strategies to prevent this from happening in our stores and protect our guests and our team.”
“It is an urgent issue, not just for Target, but across the entire retail industry. It is a problem that impacts availability of product. The shopping conditions are less convenient. And unfortunately, what I&#8217;m most concerned with is it puts our team and our guests in harm&#8217;s way,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in the earnings call. “We&#8217;re advocating for public policy changes to address the growing issues that surround all of us in retail today with theft and organized retail crime.”
The National Retail Federation and the United States Chamber of Commerce indeed sought to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interest-groups-make-push-to-battle-organized-retail-crime-at-the-federal-level" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> industry leaders last year to back laws that would increase federal resources devoted to combating organized retail crime. The typical operation handles $250,000 in stolen merchandise before law enforcement intervenes, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/retail-theft-often-preplanned-by-complex-criminal-networks-new-report-asserts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the National Retail Federation, while the typical booster employed by a criminal network steals $5,000 before he is arrested.
The trade association noted that crime networks have become increasingly “violent” and “brazen” in their tactics over the past two years, using methods such as smash-and-grab and threats of violence against store employees and customers.
Target <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-says-organized-retail-theft-contributed-to-400-million-loss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> six months ago that organized retail theft contributed to a $400 million financial loss, appearing to indicate that the problem continues to worsen.
“The unfortunate fact is violent incidents are increasing at our stores and across the entire retail industry,” Cornell added. “And when products are stolen, simply put, they&#8217;re no longer available for our guests who depend on them. Left unchecked, theft and organized retail crime degrade the communities we call home. As we work to address the problem, the safety of our guests and our team members will always be our primary concern.”
Cornell said that Target would install fixtures to protect merchandise and adjust the assortment of items in affected locations. “Our stores create jobs, serve local shoppers, and act as critical hubs in communities across the country, and we&#8217;ll continue to do everything in our power to keep our doors open,” he commented.
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Target was indeed forced to shutter <a href="https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/target-set-close-four-locations-metro-areas-due-declining-foot-traffic/26N54XXNVRH5RLNNK73SCICPEA/">four</a> locations earlier this year, one in Philadelphia, one in Minneapolis and two in the Washington D.C. area, citing decreased foot traffic at the stores even as crime levels in both cities rise.
Several major cities have seen large numbers of store closures in recent months, a trend which comes as occupancy rates in major cities decline and elected officials call to defund law enforcement. San Francisco has witnessed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/t-mobile-closes-flagship-store-in-downtown-san-francisco-as-foot-traffic-plummets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closure</a> of multiple Walgreens locations, two Nordstrom department stores, a T-Mobile storefront, and a flagship Whole Foods grocery.

Philadelphia Target

Retail Theft Is Driving A Shocking Amount Of Losses For Target, Executives Say

Retail Theft Is Driving A Massive Amount Of Losses For Target

Money

A self-described autistic grocery store clerk was reportedly fired from his job at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> supermarket after he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacked</a> on the job three times.
Austin Sherrell, who describes himself as &#8220;mildly autistic,&#8221; worked as a clerk at the Vons supermarket in Bakersfield. He was the victim of three separate violent attacks while working at the supermarket. But when he applied for worker&#8217;s compensation, he says he was told to take time off, then his hours were cut, then he was fired.
Sherrell&#8217;s responsibilities included bagging groceries, collecting shopping carts, and taking out the trash around the store. In an interview with local NBC affiliate <a href="https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/former-vons-courtesy-clerk-says-he-was-assaulted-three-times-in-three-months-then-fired/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KGET</a>, he said he was well-liked by the customers at his store. “You know, not to toot my own horn, a lot of people say that they like me,” he said. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, we like that [employee].’ … Like, I hear it. I hear it all the time.”
The first incident happened in January at a dumpster behind the store. “I’m taking out the trash,” he said. “Two people are stealing. They go out the side (door).” Upon seeing him, one of the thieves immediately punched him in the face. The other person then pepper-sprayed him. “I’m bleeding,” Sherrell said. “I get away, I run back inside.&#8221; By the time police arrived, the two thieves were gone.
The second incident happened in March. Again, Sherrell was taking out the trash at the same dumpster, when a man attacked him with a knife. Fortunately, the clerk had stuffed a roll of extra trash bags into his apron, which stopped the blade so that it couldn&#8217;t harm him. Again, the police showed up too late to catch the criminal.
The clerk said he was rattled by the assault. “The first incident didn’t shake me too much but the second incident, like, when you are close to death, I’m the most shook up I’ve ever been in my entire life,&#8221; Sherrell said. &#8220;The most scared I’ve even been in my entire life.&#8221;
Finally, in April, Sherrell was working inside the store when two women walked up to him and said they were being harassed by a man in the store, possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sherrell says he approached the man, along with a store security guard and a manager, who reportedly stood by while the assailant confronted Sherrell. “He gets in my face, he’s cussing me out, he’s threatening my life,” Sherrell recalled. “I back away, he comes back in my face. I back away again. The third time I defend myself, I push him off of me.”
Rattled by three assaults in just four months, Sherrell applied for worker&#8217;s compensation. “My biggest problem – what I have is – I’m mildly autistic,” he said. “I have a hard time processing things.” On a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/xybd9-lost-job?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&amp;utm_content=undefined&amp;utm_medium=copy_link_all&amp;utm_source=customer&amp;utm_term=undefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> page, Sherrell&#8217;s father Adam said that Austin suffered nightmares and panic attacks after the knife attack.
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But the store suspended him pending an investigation. When he returned, he says his hours were cut. Shortly after that, he was reportedly fired for touching a customer.
Sherrell told KGET that he has no desire to continue working for the grocery chain, but expressed his gratitude to the customers who treated him nicely during his time there.
As of the publishing of this article, the GoFundMe has raised more than $5600.

Vons Supermarket in California

Autistic Grocery Clerk Fired From California Supermarket After He Was Violently Assaulted Three Separate Times: Report

Assault

Fired

Americans in cities racked by violent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crime</a> are taking a drastic approach to protect themselves, their valuables, and their loved ones.
Armormax is an armorer that bulletproofs cars for foreign diplomats and corporate CEOs. But in an interview with the New York Post, Armormax&#8217;s Mark Burton said that the Utah-based company is fielding orders to bulletproof cars for residents of cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis, and Las Vegas.
“It’s been pretty shocking,” Burton told the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/04/21/americans-paying-up-to-85k-to-bulletproof-their-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. “I would say it really started about 18 months ago. It used to be politicians and CEOs. Almost all international. Now we&#8217;re bulletproofing Honda Accords.”
Armormax was founded in 1993 in Ogden, Utah. The company centered on clients from Mexico, where kidnappings in the 90s prompted the rich and famous to protect themselves by bulletproofing their glass. Their services soon expanded to clientele in Nigeria, South Africa, and the Middle East. But recently, demand has surged at home. The company opened a plant in Atlanta in 2021, and has plans to build three more.
Demand has skyrocketed so much so that Burton told the outlet he recognizes some area codes that frequently crop up. Recurring clients have come from cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Atlanta, and New Orleans. Chicago is another recurring locale; the Windy City was the scene of raucous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bedlam-as-hundreds-of-teenagers-inundate-downtown-chicago" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawlessness</a> over the weekend. Teenagers in Milennium Park jumped on cars and smashed windows on Sunday night. Police were forced to escort residents and others to their vehicles. But at least one man was beaten after teenagers jumped on his car&#8217;s windshield.
“The clientele is changing,” Burton said. “Doctors, lawyers — now you’re seeing real estate developers and even some real estate agents.” He added that realtors and builders feel especially vulnerable in areas of big cities that are gentrifying.
One client from the Las Vegas area, who works in the gaming industry, paid $85,000 last year for Armormax to fully bulletproof his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, including a PA system to communicate with people outside the vehicle, without opening the windows, in case of an emergency.
“I think post-COVID things changed,” the resident told the Post. “Big city crime, road rage, shootings, carjackings. I drive my car down to The Strip every day, there’s been a lot of incidents here. I feel safer. It was well worth it and I would do it again.”
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Another client, from Los Angeles, told the outlet that she will be picking up her newly-armored SUV from the Utah plant in June.
“I have kids,” she said. “No one gets punished for anything anymore so these incidents are only going to increase. That seems pretty obvious. So I think it’s just a sensible thing to do.”
Other clients order their cars armored after they become victims of crime or get surrounded by a crowd. “It costs $38,500 for a basic windows and doors package for handgun protection,” Burton said. “We get people who are so scared after something happens that they’ll just get their windows done — or even just the windshield — because they can’t cover the whole car being armored.” Heavier armor packages that protect against high-powered rifles can add some $10,000 to the cost, he added. Furthermore, new technology allows vehicles to look unchanged after being retrofitted, increasing demand even further, he noted.
Burton said that the high levels of socio-economic disparity in the third world seems to be developing in America. There are also a growing number of Americans building bug-out vans in anticipation of more widespread chaos.

Armored car

Americans In High-Crime Cities Are Having Their Cars Bulletproofed, Says Armorer

Cars

Chicago

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Criminal</a> operations which are expanding in complexity often enable retail theft in the United States, according to a <a href="https://cdn.nrf.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/NRF-K2OrganizedRetailCrimeReportFinal.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released on Thursday by the National Retail Federation.
Organized retail crime, defined by the trade association as theft which occurs through high-level coordination for the goal of reselling stolen items, has increasingly plagued retailers as crime rates increase across the nation. The report asserts that criminal networks are shifting from the resale of goods on third-party online sellers and leaning more upon peer-to-peer platforms.
“ORC has a parasitic relationship to the economy and society,” the report said, “and its effects extend beyond direct financial costs to the retail industry and the public sector, as ORC presents potential public health and security risks to consumers and communities.”
Rather than seeking to acquire luxury goods, crime networks often coordinate their efforts to steal consumer goods which present ease of theft, monetary value, and ease of resale. An analysis of 116 organized retail crime entities from the National Retail Federation and risk advisory firm K2 Integrity showed that 81% of networks exclusively stole consumer goods such as cosmetics, personal care items, and over-the-counter medications. The cost of securing such goods with tags or other means is high relative to the cost of the products.
The National Retail Federation and the United States Chamber of Commerce sought to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interest-groups-make-push-to-battle-organized-retail-crime-at-the-federal-level" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> industry leaders last year to back multiple laws that would increase federal resources devoted to combating organized retail crime. The typical fencing operation handles some $250,000 in stolen merchandise before law enforcement intervenes, according to the report, while the typical booster employed by a criminal network steals $5,000 before he is arrested.
The report said crime networks have become increasingly “violent” and “brazen” in their tactics over the past two years, using methods such as smash-and-grab, weapons, flash mob tactics, or threats of violence against store employees or customers. Viral videos featuring the tactics have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-minneapolis-best-buys-robbed-on-black-friday-as-flash-mob-thievery-spreads-beyond-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">circulated</a> over the past few years as crime rates soar in many cities.
Demand for goods stolen via organized retail crime could be increasingly buoyed by a subculture of youth which maintain a “vague anti-capitalist ideology” and increasingly consider theft acceptable, according to the report. The criminal networks generally do not currently use the dark web to sell stolen products, but the platform could “present a viable venue” in the future should internet users increase their utilization of dark web technology.
The report from the National Retail Federation comes as restaurants and stores close in large cities partially in response to surging crime. Walmart this week <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walmart-closes-four-stores-in-chicago-amid-elevated-crime-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the closure of four stores in Chicago as Whole Foods <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-franciscos-flagship-whole-foods-closes-after-only-one-year-due-to-high-crime-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shutters</a> its flagship location in downtown San Francisco.
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Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/06/walmart-ceo-says-shoplifting-could-lead-to-price-jumps-store-closures.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> last year that the retail behemoth has been impacted by an uptick in shoplifting and warned that “stores will close” if the phenomenon is not resolved by city officials. “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” he remarked. “We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it.”

Protests, Unrest, And Riots In Minneapolis

Retail Theft Often Preplanned By Complex Criminal Networks, New Report Asserts

Retail Theft Often Preplanned By Criminal Networks, New Report Says

Walmart

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