Target store clerk blames Gavin Newsom for shop staff being afraid to fight back against shoplifters as he’s robbed – without realizing California Governor was in the line at checkout
Gavin Newsom has told how a Target store clerk told him staff couldn’t stop brazen shoplifters ‘because of the governor’ – not knowing it was he who was at her till.
During a Zoom call about a mental health proposal, the Democrat recounted the incident when he witnessed someone walking out of a Target without paying.
Newsom did not specify which destination he was shopping at, but shoplifting has spiked in his state.
Shoplifting incidents in Los Angeles increased 61 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019.
The governor said, “As we’re paying, the woman says, ‘Oh, he’s just walking out, he didn’t pay for that.’ I said, ‘Why didn’t you stop him?’
“She says, ‘Oh, the governor.’ Swear to God, true story, on my mother’s grave. “The governor has lowered the threshold, there is no accountability.” I said, ‘That’s just not true.’
California Governor Gavin Newsom said a Target cashier blamed him because staff can’t stop shoplifters from leaving the store
When he witnessed a person walking out of the store without paying, he asked the Target cashier why she didn’t stop him and she said, “Oh, the governor.”
He told the store clerk that Proposition 47 made theft of goods valued at more than $950 a misdemeanor and is one of the lowest thresholds in the country.
Newsom said, “It’s the 10th toughest in America, by the way. Look it up. Nobody cares about that. She said, “Well, we’re still not stopping them because of the governor.”
It was then that the cashier realized who she was talking to. The governor said, “And then she goes – she looks at me twice and then she goes crazy – she calls everyone and wants to take pictures.”
“I’m like, ‘No, we’re not taking a picture, we’re having a conversation, where’s your manager?’ How do you blame the governor?”
“And later it was $380, and I thought, ‘Why am I spending $380, anyone can walk out like that,’” he said.
Proposition 47, which was passed by voters nearly a decade ago, turned some “nonviolent” property crimes and “simple” drug possession crimes into misdemeanors.
Some have blamed this law for the dramatic increase in homelessness and addiction in the Golden State.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that once the state “stopped enforcing the law,” he started seeing “a big, big, big increase” in mental health problems among the homeless.
California retailers lost $8.72 trillion in revenue due to theft in 2022 Capital One Shopping Survey.
KTVU reported that San Mateo had the highest rate of shoplifting in 2022, with 347 reported incidents per 100,000 residents, followed by San Francisco with 333.
Shoplifting incidents in Los Angeles are up 61 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019. Rising theft has forced stores to lock up even the most basic items, such as underwear.
Los Angeles was hit by a wave of high-profile robberies in August, including stores such as Gucci and Saint Laurent
The rampant looting and theft caused the demise of San Francisco’s main shopping district, Union Square, and forced many major chains and local businesses to close their doors permanently.
In December, the San Francisco Police Department increased the number of uniformed officers on the streets at all hours and increased the reach of undercover officers.
Recent video shows two brazen shoplifters using a wheelchair to quickly leave a Target in California as security guards tried to stop them.
In November, a group of up to 17 teenagers looted a Nike store in Los Angeles and made off with $12,000 worth of goods.
The thieves flooded the Nike Community Store on South Alameda Street, filling trash bags with boxes of sneakers and filling their arms with clothing.
Many teenagers hid their faces with masks, covered their heads with hoods and wore gloves.
In San Francisco, a 14-year-old girl was arrested for stealing more than $30,000 worth of clothing in more than a dozen shoplifting incidents.
The thefts occurred between April 11 and November 24, with the suspects netting between $140 and $6,600 in merchandise each time
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper expressed frustration that Target was allowing shoplifters to roam free.
He said Target told its officers not to arrest anyone in the store because they didn’t want “negative press” and the staff did nothing when shoplifting occurred.
A swarm of at least seventeen teenagers stole approximately $12,000 worth of merchandise from the Nike Community Store on South Alameda Street in Los Angeles.
“We recently tried to help Target. “Our detectives and property crimes sergeant have been contacted multiple times by Target to assist them with shoplifters, most of whom were known to be transients,” the sheriff alleged.
But when he met with the head of regional security, he said he was told they “couldn’t contact suspects in the store; we couldn’t handcuff suspects in the store; and when we arrested someone, they wanted us to handle him outside… behind the store… in the rain.”
“We were told they didn’t want to create a scene in the store and have people film it and put it on social media,” Cooper added. ‘They didn’t want negative press. Unbelievable.’
Target closed nine stores in 2023 because high theft rates made staff and shoppers feel unsafe — and the company had lost another $500 million to crime in the past year.
In response to rising theft, several stores, including Target, have resorted to locking up items such as body soap and underwear.