"Brace for an increase in shoplifting." [View all]
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the The DU Lounge forum).
Just got back from the supermarket and a chat with my favorite checkout clerk.
She said store management told them to brace for an increase in shoplifting activity after Nov. 1 when SNAP benefits are not paid. She's not sure what she can do about it by herself. Company policy doesn't allow her to confront the shoplifter and the unarmed store "security" guy at the entrance/exit is just for show. Security is not allowed to arrest or detain anyone. Cops with statutory arrest authority won't come for "petty" crime like a single shoplifting incident.
The monetary loss to shrinkage ... the bookkeeping term for inventory lost to theft ... will be programmed back in to make up for the loss, and to raise the prices that honest shoppers pay.
Food banks will be overwhelmed. We're degenerating back into a Dickensian society where desperate people have to steal to eat. Never forget this is the Republicans' fault.
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