After employees complained that the Walgreens store in San Francisco was robbed nearly 20 times in one day, the glass doors of the frozen food section were chained.
Richie Greenberg, a political commentator, posted a video on the internet showing that all of the doors to frozen microwaveable meals were held shut by thick chains and large metal locks.
In a portion of the video, the entire aisles appear to be locked behind plexiglass fixtures and cabinets. Customers must ask staff members to unlock displays in order for them to buy shaving cream, makeup, or hair dye.
According to local media, workers claim that shoplifters steal their pizzas and their ice cream every night. They also claim that thieves break into the store up to 20 times a day and steal their pizzas.
Greenberg lives just a few blocks away from Walgreens at 16th Street and Geary Boulevard. Greenberg described the area as “a graffiti-ridden drug-addicted frenzied” in the last few years.
NEW: The Walgreens at 16th/Geary in San Francisco has chained up the freezer section ⛓️
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. @KPIXtv
h/t @greenbergnation pic.twitter.com/lfFWmkLWdo
— Betty Yu (@bett_yu) July 18, 2023
“I was inconvenienced because I had to wait for hours to get a clerk to unlock the lock in the area where I wanted to purchase the product. ”
Walgreens did not respond to our request for comments.
According to a report, San Francisco has lost five Walgreens stores due to “organized retail crime”.
In November 2021, Phil Caruso, a spokesperson for Walgreens, stated that “organized retail crimes continue to be a challenge throughout San Francisco.” This is not something we are immune to. We are not immune.
California’s laws, such as the lowering of thefts below $950 from felonies to misdemeanors, are said to encourage criminals. Many shops have closed. La Cocina, a popular San Francisco food hall, has announced it will be closing its doors because of public defecation on nearby sidewalks and crimes.
Dean Preston announced in May he would introduce legislation that prohibits armed security guards from drawing their weapons while protecting property. The announcement came after a guard shot and killed a suspect shoplifter a month earlier.
According to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 Retail Security Survey (NRF), San Francisco/Oakland ranked second in terms of metro areas that were hardest hit by thefts between 2020 and 2021. Los Angeles ranked as the top metro area.
