Target closing nine stores due to rampant shoplifting and theft.

 

File photo of a closed Target story. Yahoo News/Getty.

Target is closing nine stores in major cities due to rampant shoplifting and theft. Yahoo Finance. The stores include one in Harlem New York, two in Seattle, three in Oakland and San Francisco and three in Portland. Target made the decision because of "inventory shrinkage" an industry term for shoplifting and theft, was already at $500 million for 2023. Last year it was $700 million. Target invested heavily in anti-theft measures like security guards and anti-theft devices. Target is one of several businesses targeted by organized shoplifting schemes. Total numbers for "inventory shrinkage" across retail ended up being $112 billion last year. 

My Comment:

This is what happens when crime is allowed to run out of control. Businesses get shut down and people are no longer able to shop. Target has their own problems but it is pretty amazing that the shoplifting problem is forcing them to close all these stores. 

It's not a coincidence that these stores were located at some of the worst cities in the United States. Seattle, Oakland/San Francisco and Portland are some of the most lawless cites in the United States and they are also among the most lenient on criminals. It is no surprise that Target was losing millions of dollars due to theft there. 

How much of this is due to organized crime and how much is due to run of the mill criminals is an open question. Both groups certainly exist and there is an open question how many people actually are in both groups. A lot of attacks are organized on social media and it allows people to join in larger groups to avoid prosecution. 

Not that much is being done by law enforcement to arrest these people in the first place. This big liberal cities have other priorities and can't keep up with serious crimes, let alone shoplifting gangs. And they have all defunded law enforcement and hate when cops actually arrest people, especially when they are minorities, no matter how guilty they are. 

Targets efforts to stop this mostly failed largely because there are only so many things security guards and anti-theft devices can do. Guards don't have arrest powers and are there to observe and report and if the cops don't show up or do nothing they can't do much. They could try and detain people if they are committing felonies but I sure wouldn't want to try that in a lefty city like Portland or Seattle, especially since these criminals aren't above using violence to get what they want. 

What would work to stop these criminals? Well, allowing business owners to use violence to protect their property would probably work. People might like stealing but they aren't generally willing to risk their lives on it. Of course, that's not on the table with these liberal cities and the suggestion is mostly tongue in cheek. 

A more serious suggestion is actual police work. Beat cops could be stationed at these stores and arrest shoplifters as they commit crimes. Detectives could be assigned to investigate and break up the crime rings and re-sellers. And the prosecutors and courts could punish these criminals to the full extent of the law. 

But that's not what is happening and I don't see it happening anytime soon. The Democrats are making sure that criminals can run amok, and I will never understand why. They always seem to side with criminals over their victims. And as long as that is the case and those people are still in power we will see even more stores closing.