California is racing to the bottom, isn't it?
Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
341–350 of 351 posts
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#342Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s really scary, over a damn dollar?!? What was the context here if you don’t mind sharing, why one dollar and not your whole wallet? Why pull a gun?? Isn’t that a felony? Won’t police respond immediately to the report of someone threatening your life via brandishing a gun in public (more people in danger if not caught)?
Usually robbers pull the gun before determining how much money the victim has in their wallet. They could ask the potential victim first, and then, if the value is too low, not bother pulling a gun. But all potential victims have an incentive to lie and say they only have $1. Knowing that, a rational robber would pull a gun without requesting the info first. Regarding police responding immediately: you can't call the…
Still good to report it so they can look at cctv footage and figure out what criminal looks like pulling guns on people
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
They walked up and indicated they had a gun in their pocket. They had a buddy that was across the street. They asked for 1$ which is what I gave them. Other people I knew in the area were also robbed at gunpoint for 1$, but on their porch. They did call the cops. As for why I don't know.
Also the police don't come quickly in most places. My wife was pistol whipped and it took 30 minutes to get a car to our house 1 mile from the station. Also I lived in a bad neighborhood for a long time so this may not be typical.
Damn sorry I can’t imagine how I would feel, would probably end up in jail or shot myself if some goon tried that to a loved one in front of me.
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#344Earlier quoted context omitted.
> choice not to prosecute theft Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. "The judicial branch of California explains on its page about Prop 47 that the new law “reclassifies certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.” Thanks to Prop 47, shoplifting offenses involving property valued at less than $950 are prosecuted as misdemeanors, not felonies, but they are still prosecuted. Such offenses are punisha…
That's a nice unattributed quote you've got there. Now for some actual data that say the exact opposite: "The numbers show the prosecution rate for shoplifting cases involving a misdemeanor petty theft charge for a loss of $950 or less fell under [San Francisco DA Chesa] Boudin, from 70 percent under former District Attorney George Gascon in 2019 to 44 percent in 2020 and 50 percent as of mid-June 2021. Prosecutors f…
That's nice.
The problem is crime is skyrocketing and people who think they can fix it just by busting heads with more cops really haven't a clue. The increase of crime is a symptom of wicked inequality that is perpetuated and even cherished by the upper class. This is just a side-effect of greed. More cops won't solve it.
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
No one considers that perhaps ever-increasing inequality in the Bay Area has also increased both the incentive to commit crime and the disincentive to prosecute it. It would stand to reason that the people who are desperate would be more desperate than ever, while the people who are well-off would be more able to eat the costs than ever. No one is happy but the dynamic is grotesquely sustainable.
> the people who are desperate would be more desperate than ever This does not follow from increasing inequality. The poor do not get poorer, rich just get richer (faster).
> This does not follow from increasing inequality. The poor do not get poorer, rich just get richer (faster).
The poor stay poor. The lower-middle class becomes poor.
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#346Earlier quoted context omitted.
I noticed my local Home Depot has done away with the security tag scanners at the front of the store, apparently in favor of a cluster of new cameras above all the exits. I wonder if we're headed for just having an AI watch everyone all the time in the store like the automatic-purchase grocery stores Amazon was setting up. Either that or they discovered that it was better for their bottom line to put real security ar…
Ultimately high value things will get secured behind a clerk where you take a picture card of what you want to them. Stores will use cameras and AI to build a comprehensive case against someone or group and then notify the police. That will be enough for a warrant etc... Probably a startup or two in this space. I am sure home depot or CVS will invest in your series A.
Interestingly I was in Best Buy and this is what they’ve done.
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#347Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't there any incentive for your claim on your theft insurance?
It's fairly uncommon to have insurance specifically for your bicycle, so most people would be filing claims against their renters' (if they have it) or homeowners' insurance. Given the size of those deductibles ($500 is the US average for homeowners', I would think Canada is similar [1]) lots of people would just buy another bike that costs less. 1: https://www.insurance.com/home-and-renters-insurance/home-in...
In NL you can insure your bike for theft upon purchase ( or later ).
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#348Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was real and everyone can agree on that based on what they see as well as the data. However you can't go to a single SF neighborhood and find people that think crime has dropped recently. There are boatloads of articles about people having their cars broken into so often they leave them unlocked because replacing windows was so expensive. Videos of people shoplifting while security stands by and does nothing bec…
> That was real and everyone can agree on that based on what they see as well as the data It’s a pretty well-observed fact (opinion polls etc) that most people across the country think crime has been going up over the last few decades, even as the crime rate has been going down. So I don’t think “just ask people what they think” is a sound approach here. Most people are just wrong on this point. That said I’m open to…
You should change, “I’d just like to see some actual data…” to “I’d just like to see someones hand chopped off for stealing.”
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why does it matter whether it's a misdemeanor or a felony, if Chesa is going to drop the charge either way?
At some point the government actually has to enforce the law. There is no system that can be imagined that obviates that.
You’re making a mistake in thinking something has to happen. It may not, and things may just continue to go downhill.
Re: Retailers are spending millions to combat organized theft from stores
#350Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think GP knows shopkeeper's privilege exists and is asking why stores often don't let their employees use it.
I think they know it exists in their legal tradition in Germany, but not necessarily that there was an analog in the US.
Exactly, I didn't know it's also legal in the US. Even more so confuses me - why hire security at all, if they aren't doing their job?
In Germany, you'd fire the security if they wouldn't go after thieves. Also, there are no liability problems... But then, people with guns or knifes are very rare.