Theft-plagued Walgreens closing 5 more San Francisco stores

SAN FRANCISCO – Walgreens said Tuesday that it volition adjacent 5 much stores successful San Francisco adjacent period due to the fact that of organized retail theft successful different stroke to a metropolis that has earned an embarrassing estimation for wide and brazen shoplifting.

The stores volition adjacent down adjacent month, SFGATE reported. It said Walgreens has closed astatine slightest 10 stores successful the metropolis since the commencement of 2019.

“Retail theft crossed our San Francisco stores has continued to summation successful the past fewer months to 5 times our concatenation average" contempt ample increases successful security, Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said.

San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai said helium was devastated by the nonaccomplishment of a Mission Street store that “has been a staple for seniors, families and children for decades."

“This is simply a bittersweet time for San Francisco,” Safai told SFGATE. “We can’t proceed to fto these anchor institutions adjacent that truthful galore radical trust on.”

Last year, Walgreens closed 1 store wherever the concatenation said it was losing $1,000 a time to thefts.

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Frustration and fearfulness implicit thefts person been fueled by wide circulating images of shoplifting caught connected video. This summer, shoplifters successful masks carrying armfuls of decorator handbags sprinted from a downtown Neiman Marcus section store and into getaway cars.

In June, a masked antheral was caught connected video astatine a Walgreens, stuffing items into a trash container earlier cruising retired of the store connected a bicycle. A fishy was arrested successful that theft.

Last month, Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott announced that they volition dedicate much police, beef up coordination and marque it easier to study shoplifters.

The strategy aims to antagonistic thieving that has added to the wide city’s estimation arsenic being brushed connected crime.

"We attraction astir transgression justness reform. We attraction astir 2nd chances. We attraction astir making definite that radical are not wrongly accused,” Breed successful announcing the caller measures. “But don’t instrumentality our kindness for weakness, our compassion for weakness.”

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