Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime' • Hacker News Board

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#11

Post by oliv__ » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:32 AM UTC

faut_reflechir wrote: post #9

oliv__ wrote: post #6

> "This is a sad day for San Francisco," Safai said. "We can't continue to let these anchor institutions close that so many people rely on." This is the conclusion reached by that spokesperson? I guess the solution is to outlaw closing private stores in areas where they are needed. How outrageous that they should try to turn a profit there while the people need their goods /s Literally sounds like a chapter from Atla…

It's not his most artful turn of phrase, but if you read the context of the remarks, I think Safai is saying "we can't continue to let them close" as in "we can't continue to allow these conditions which are forcing them to close," not as in "government should mandate that they stay open."

I sure hope you are right. The previous quote only mentions the "damage this will have on their community" so the focus seemed to be on the community's need here

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#12

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:32 AM UTC

nimos wrote: post #8

Surprised how far out those stores are - only the 300 Gough St one is really close to the Tenderloin.

You want to be where the police aren't. A bank near me gets robbed a few times a year because the neighborhood is safe and isolated enough that the city mostly avoids stationing officers nearby.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#13

Post by zz865 » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:34 AM UTC

> Rodriguez is finally in jail, but he rode the city’s revolving door of justice to allegedly rip off Walgreens 37 times this year. He was particularly partial to the drug store at 91-08 Roosevelt Ave. in Jackson Heights, which he hit 23 times, police said.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#14

Post by rgergerger4 » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:35 AM UTC

In a few years we will be hearing about all the food deserts in San Francisco and how they stem from racism and white supremacy...

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#15

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:37 AM UTC

zthrowaway wrote: post #4

Turns out defunding the police and not enforcing laws has consequences.

San Francisco never defunded the police. (IIRC, voters passed a measure eliminating a mininum funding mandate, but the actual budget has increased.)

The SFPD may choose not to enforce laws, but I don't think anyone outside of SFPD directed that, it's just organized nonfeasance as leadership political protest.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#16

Post by rmk » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:39 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #2

> During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment.” I wonder how they arrived at this number of 46x. 46x the chain average of single minutes spent reviewing security staff resumes? 46x the chain average of security camera photos sent to LEOs? 46x the average number of bic li…

36x 0.5 cents is 18 dollars. So they started spending on security and it made them unprofitable perhaps. Retail runs on razor thin margins, so there may be some substance to this 36x number.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#17

Post by Veliladon » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:41 AM UTC

zthrowaway wrote: post #4

Turns out defunding the police and not enforcing laws has consequences.

SF went from $668 million in 19/20 to $661 million in 20/21 for the SFPD, mainly due to police not being required as much at SFO.

If the police can't stop crime and enforce the laws of 47 square miles and 874,961 residents for the princely sum of $755 per person/year or $14 million per square mile/year what exactly are people paying for? Like if I told you that you pay $62/mo for a police subscription and this was the service you were going to get for it, would you still subscribe to it? Probably not.

It's a protection racket. Lower the police budget even in a non-meaningful way just a little and they hold the city to ransom. Just scrap it and start again from scratch, perhaps trying Peelian principles instead of relying on the corrupted outgrowth of slave hunter patrols.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#18

Post by sammalloy » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:42 AM UTC

vnchr wrote: post #7

themodelplumber wrote: post #2

> During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment.” I wonder how they arrived at this number of 46x. 46x the chain average of single minutes spent reviewing security staff resumes? 46x the chain average of security camera photos sent to LEOs? 46x the average number of bic li…

Most Walgreens don’t have dedicated security guards. If these stores had guards working all operating hours (2-3 shifts per day, every day) and some stores might have employed multiple security guards, the multiple is there.

I want to add to your comment, that the problem with Walgreens security in SF is well known, far before the issues with the changes in the law took front and center. I actually had a conversation with a friend about how bad their security was back in 2007. The issue is purely one of store layout and design. They could easily fix that and solve most of the problem.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#19

Post by s5300 » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:43 AM UTC

zthrowaway wrote: post #4

Turns out defunding the police and not enforcing laws has consequences.

The SF police, nor any significant amount of police nationwide, have been "defunded"

Also, no law was put on the books that entails the negligence SF PD is acting with. They're just acting like dicks because they have more rights than just about all of society (military members and politicians included) and qualified immunity.

Turns out giving a group qualified immunity will turn them into gigantic power hungry douchebags.

Re: Walgreens closing 5 San Francisco stores due to 'organized retail crime'

#20

Post by google234123 » Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 2:43 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #15

zthrowaway wrote: post #4

Turns out defunding the police and not enforcing laws has consequences.

San Francisco never defunded the police. (IIRC, voters passed a measure eliminating a mininum funding mandate, but the actual budget has increased.) The SFPD may choose not to enforce laws, but I don't think anyone outside of SFPD directed that, it's just organized nonfeasance as leadership political protest.

> organized nonfeasance as leadership political protest

Nope, this is fake news. You should learn more about your DA Chesa Boudin. He rarely brings cases to trial, fired a bunch of prosecutors and 30 others have left, and removed cash bail which puts repeat offenders right back on the street after arrest.