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San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

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Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#11

Post by jansan »

JohnMakin wrote: post #9
nailer wrote: post #6

> “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it” -Jeff Bezos The article quotes this and responds that people need to come up with their own data for crime. I’ve visited SF every few years for the last 20. On my last visit about 6 weeks ago it looked like Covid was still a thing. Streets that were previ…

You can feel all you want, but the stats generally do not agree with you. SF’s violent crime rate is nearly half that of alaska’s yet you will never hear these same people talking about how dangerous juneau is.

Well, if in drugstores most of the products must be locked away and you need to ask a clerk to get them, there is obviously a problem, regardless of what the statistics say.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#13

Post by atq2119 »

nailer wrote: post #6

> “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it” -Jeff Bezos The article quotes this and responds that people need to come up with their own data for crime. I’ve visited SF every few years for the last 20. On my last visit about 6 weeks ago it looked like Covid was still a thing. Streets that were previ…

> Streets that were previously safe, around what was DSO bar and Monarch, were dangerous.

Whenever I read something like this, I wonder what it's actually based on. Did they personally observe somebody getting stabbed or gunned down? Or is it vague vibes that may not actually be backed up by anything?

I've often made the kind of experience where comparable sheltered people claimed that, say, some part of a city was really bad and dangerous. But when I actually went there (during the day, at least) I felt perfectly safe.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#14

Post by jansan »

itomato wrote: post #10
jansan wrote: post #3

I do not care much about shoplifting in San Francisco, because it is none of my problems, but the way the article is written somehow makes me feel that it is quite biased and the arguments are massaged in a way to fit a certain narrative.

“Texas notably has a threshold of $2500, which means you can steal 2.6 more than you could in California before being classified as a felon“

Sure, we all have seen the videos from Texas where shoplifters calmly walk out of stores with >2000$ worth of stolen goods.

Not.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#16

Post by 15457345234 »

nailer wrote: post #6

> “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it” -Jeff Bezos The article quotes this and responds that people need to come up with their own data for crime. I’ve visited SF every few years for the last 20. On my last visit about 6 weeks ago it looked like Covid was still a thing. Streets that were previ…

The obvious issue being that, on the internet, it's impossible to differentiate genuine anecdotes from agendapushing.

On a reddit city subreddit that had bubbled up to the frontpage this morning I noticed three or four people claiming that a certain bus route had basically become a mobile homeless shelter constantly full of migrants playing music and being obnoxious. About two or three other people were chiming in saying 'I commute on this line daily and I've literally never seen that, the buses are clean and usually empty'

The 'regular commuter' comments stand at -15 or something making them invisible, the instigatory comments are heavily upvoted.

Bezos' statement is a bit circular in a way - yes, genuine anecdotes may well be right, but to determine that you have to gather enough of them in a random pattern to avoid anomalies. When you've completed that process of randomly sampling genuine anecdotes you now have data.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#17

Post by [deleted] »

JohnMakin wrote: post #9
nailer wrote: post #6

> “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it” -Jeff Bezos The article quotes this and responds that people need to come up with their own data for crime. I’ve visited SF every few years for the last 20. On my last visit about 6 weeks ago it looked like Covid was still a thing. Streets that were previ…

You can feel all you want, but the stats generally do not agree with you. SF’s violent crime rate is nearly half that of alaska’s yet you will never hear these same people talking about how dangerous juneau is.

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#18

Post by fzeroracer »

jansan wrote: post #11
JohnMakin wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can feel all you want, but the stats generally do not agree with you. SF’s violent crime rate is nearly half that of alaska’s yet you will never hear these same people talking about how dangerous juneau is.

Well, if in drugstores most of the products must be locked away and you need to ask a clerk to get them, there is obviously a problem, regardless of what the statistics say.

When you need to board a plane there's a ton of security you need to go through and you need to be thoroughly investigated. So obviously criminals causing issues on planes is a big problem.

It's all security theatre. Theft does exist and happens, but it becomes an excuse by management to lock up toothpaste behind glass cases so that they can pretend their store isn't falling apart.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#19

Post by tejohnso »

JohnMakin wrote: post #9
nailer wrote: post #6

> “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There’s something wrong with the way you are measuring it” -Jeff Bezos The article quotes this and responds that people need to come up with their own data for crime. I’ve visited SF every few years for the last 20. On my last visit about 6 weeks ago it looked like Covid was still a thing. Streets that were previ…

You can feel all you want, but the stats generally do not agree with you. SF’s violent crime rate is nearly half that of alaska’s yet you will never hear these same people talking about how dangerous juneau is.

Stats require collection, which can affect accuracy. They also require honest presentation and dissemination.

Re: San Francisco Shoplifting: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2022)

#20

Post by thelastparadise »

barake wrote: post #5
throw0101a wrote: post #2

Not just SF: "Target says it will close nine stores in major cities across four states because of theft and organized crime" * https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/business/target-retail-theft-...

Blaming shrink may be a way to not spook the market for issues with their business: > Target’s business has struggled for more than a year with company-specific challenges, including a glut of unsold inventory, backlash to its Pride merchandise collection and a pullback in consumer spending on discretionary items such as apparel and home goods. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/26/target-says-it-will-close-ni...

> Pride merchandise collection

Calling it this seems a bit disingenuous.

"Pride" is a pretty broad word. Who's proud? What are they proud of, exactly?

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