There’s a new crisis sweeping the Bay Area, and it’s literally starting to run business owners out of town. Viral videos show shoplifters in San Francisco stealing from stores in broad daylight, and police watching them leave in some cases. What all made this disastrous situation possible was major change to how shoplifting is punished in the Bay Area.
Why Shoplifters in San Francisco Aren’t Being Arrested by Police
According to proposition 47 Shoplifting is a misdemeanor in San Francisco if the property stolen is worth $950 or less. Penal Code 459.5 states that a shoplifting offense is entering a commercial or retail business while it’s open to steal items $950 or less.
When these brazen criminals learned of this new law they started taking full advantage, which made casual shoplifting in San Francisco a new norm.
In the video below you will see that some store workers are now used to seeing people come in with suitcases, and fill them up with entire shelfs of products. No one does anything about it anymore except stare in disbelief.
Since Bay Area stores are losing a mass amount of goods to these San Francisco shoplifters, some have decided it’s best to close down their businesses in the Bay Area. The monetary loss from items being stolen apparently outweighs the profit they are making.
The sad part about this is that these criminals don’t realize they are just destroying the community they still live in. When all the stores are closed down what happens next?
Author: JordanThrilla Staff