this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2023
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Anecdotally, I have seen people calmly and slowly walk out of Target with a full shopping cart of unpaid stuff, on more than one occasion- right past security guards and minders, who do little more than ask “don’t you think you should pay for that?” in an annoyed tone.
I’m not sure what they could have done better but one assumes something. I can’t understate how little the security staff seemed to care about blatant shoplifting. Not a huge surprise they’re closing given that.
Saw this twice at the Galeria one downtown and once at the one over by PDX.
@sparky @jordanlund Nah, their stores are lacking customers and they are blaming crime just like Wal-Mart did.
Security is told explicitly not to engage because Target is afraid of lawsuits.
And because they have no jurisdiction to do anything anyway. Nor should they.
It seems the Portland police are either stretched too thin and need more resources, or they are too lazy to be bothered, or the distribution of police resources is not very efficient. I don't know which it is but I definitely think there's something wrong if theft is not being seriously prosecuted. It's pretty easy to catch thieves–even a security camera and a number plate lookup will catch a large portion of the laziest shoplifters.
Of course, the underlying social issues that cause people to shoplift ought to be looked into as well. But there's nothing more I can say about that because I'm not well-informed enough to comment.
The thing is, it's not one off shoplifters. It's organized gangs of shoplifters.
Police will run enforcement actions from time to time, but it needs to be continual.
March: https://youtu.be/pKx-ZW1Juyo
April: https://youtu.be/__rktMVPMN4
August: https://youtu.be/kwOmqJDZeBA
Shoplifting gangs, I think, are one of the few crime outfits that think rationally. It's a game of risk and reward.
The retailers and manufacturers can influence the first factor, the police can only influence the second, and only the district attorneys and the Legislative Assembly can influence the third.
Crime is generally far more rational and systemically induced than you give it credit for. If you make it unnecessary to commit crimes, they generally happen less.