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B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

sfgate.com

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Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#91

Post by kevrc »

ALittleLight wrote: post #85
kevrc wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can assure you, the people who are robbing electronics stores are not the ones serving lattes or driving ubers. SF has a huge issue with career criminals. And it’s easy to be one. I have never seen such blatant drug dealing and robbery in my life, and I have lived in supposedly “dangerous” cities outside of the US.

Maybe they are drug addicts and criminals because they don't want to do hard work for low pay.

I am sure that’s part of it. Minimum wage jobs are hard. But there are plenty of people who work hard jobs or come from hard situations without turning to crime. Sf does it’s best to make crime and drugs an appealing option when the law isn’t enforced.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#92

Post by woofcat »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #74
systemvoltage wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then the society should make provisions to directly provide food for the needy. Allowing stealing is not tackling the problem head-on and instead squirming on a morally questionable line and thereby breeding crime and ill in the society.

That's perfectly reasonable to say that society should do that. In the meantime, though, society doesn't do that, at least not consistently enough. So in the current circumstances, I still have some compassion for someone in genuine need who steals food.

Whilst I don't live in California or even America. I'm about 95% sure you guys have food banks, as my company has donated to them.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#93

Post by naebother »

ilaksh wrote: post #63
ALittleLight wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's part of it. Imagine doing demanding or demeaning labor all day and making a tenth of what the guy spending 7-8 hours a day typing on a computer and playing Ping Pong makes. That would certainly seem unfair to me. Can't afford nice stuff, but you could take it... On top of that, SF refuses to punish crimes like theft, so...

I doubt that the people doing the robbery do demeaning or dema ding labor all day. They are probably career criminals or drug addicts or both. It seems that those groups flourish in such neighborhoods in SF.

And how does one become a career criminal or a drug addict? Not saying it's the only cause, but poverty and societal dysfunction definitely play a major role.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#94

Post by naebother »

fortran77 wrote: post #49
dragonwriter wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why do the stores in SF attract violent crime compared to, say, a store in another West Coast city? Population density and economic inequality are probably the big factors.

Manhattan is much more dense, and even in the 70s and early 80s, when I was there, it wasn't as bad as San Francisco. I live 40 miles south of SF and I refuse to go there.

> I live 40 miles south of SF and I refuse to go there.

Then how do you know it's worse than Manhattan in the 70s/80s?

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#95

Post by conanbatt »

sundaeofshock wrote: post #83
conanbatt wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think so too, and it is also defensible for the store owner to protect his 10$ with 0.50 cent shotgun shells.

Are you suggesting that stealing $10 worth of food is an executable offense?

Nope

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#96

Post by conanbatt »

scelerat wrote: post #52
ilamont wrote: post #2

Good for him, standing up for his employees who clearly must be very alarmed. B8ta has stores around the globe, and Norby told SFGATE last month that the crime in San Francisco is unlike anything the company experiences elsewhere. “This actually doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country,” he said. “We have 17 other stores, including three internationally. This just doesn’t happen anywhere else. It’s only here.” Why…

> Why do the stores in SF attract violent crime compared to, say, a store in another West Coast city? Vast wealth right next to abject poverty and hopelessness. Like a spark that, with sufficient potential, jumps a gap.

What is crazy is that the vast wealth doesn't defend it's own skin here.

Some day some tech figure will get stabbed for an empty wallet and people will be shocked.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#97

Post by conanbatt »

someonehere wrote: post #57

For context a realtor friend I know lived right in that area. It’s overrun with homeless and drug dealers. Hayes Valley used to be the place people wanted to move to because it had good food and local merchants. This was ten years ago. Now it’s just as bad as the b8ta owner makes it out to be. City politics is to blame for this because they spin up programs to help, but it doesn’t fix the systemic problem long term.…

Hayes Valley 15 years ago was under a highway.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#98

Post by conanbatt »

tyingq wrote: post #6

I'm not sure how you solve this. They stock products that are smallish, and easily convertible to cash, so robberies are going to happen. The Devialet speaker in the article is a good example. Retails for over $3k, and weighs 12kg.

Like you do with anything else: rule of law and private property.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#99

Post by ilaksh »

naebother wrote: post #93
ilaksh wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that the people doing the robbery do demeaning or dema ding labor all day. They are probably career criminals or drug addicts or both. It seems that those groups flourish in such neighborhoods in SF.

And how does one become a career criminal or a drug addict? Not saying it's the only cause, but poverty and societal dysfunction definitely play a major role.

That's true. I totally agree. I was just thinking that most of the hard-working poor people should not get lumped in with the criminals.

But I think it's important to point out the strong link between crime and poverty. And personally I think that the best ways to address crime start with addressing structural inequality.

I also personally think we should have a lot more mental institutions rather than relying on prisons or just letting everyone with problems fend for themselves. As long as they don't start lobotomizing people again or something.

Re: B8ta closing another San Francisco store after armed robbery

#100

Post by Proven »

notyourday wrote: post #79
mc32 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also the way SF deals with crime. Daly City borders SF and they don’t suffer these crimes at the same rate. Their prosecutors prosecute. They don’t play the restorative justice game —which SF pushes on victims.

"If we could just teach prisoners to code and stop with this retribution nonsense" as so many HNers pontificated a few hours ago...

At least "zero arrests" still holds true!
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