Why won’t store employees do anything about this theft? Because they don’t want to take the risk. Why is shoplifting so rampant? Because state law holds that stealing merchandise worth $950 or less is just a misdemeanor, which means that law enforcement probably won’t bother to investigate, and if they do, prosecutors will let it go. The most they do is record the thefts with their cell phones. In San Francisco, there is no attempt to conceal theft, and there is almost never any effort by store employees, including security personnel, to confront the thieves.
We probably shouldn’t call it shoplifting anymore, since that term connotes the idea of a person trying to conceal their crime. Most walk in, go about their pilfering, and then walk out, though at least one thief rode their bike into the store and departed the same way, carefully navigating their two-wheeler down a narrow aisle. And you will find lots of YouTube videos, where you can watch a single thief, or an entire gang, walk into an SF Walgreens or CVS and empty the shelves. Google “Shoplifting in San Francisco” and you will find more than 100,000 hits.
