Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday, April 28. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know to start your weekend:
Glass curtain has descended across the continent
Stroll into your neighborhood grocery or convenience store and it's easy to spot a growing trend: larger portions of retail space and the products they're stocked with are being kept behind security glass and plastic walls.
Theft is the reason given for businesses turning to this remedy. But is the cure worth the cost?
National chains eagerly point to retail theft as a significant drag on profits but are reticent to publicly discuss internal numbers for theft and other types of losses or specifics of new anti-theft measures.
Additionally, the media report retail thefts daily and the issue has been politicized, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where elected officials are looking to combat a problem they see as only worsening.
Retail theft has become a priority for California leaders
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent $267 million to cities and counties to increase arrests and prosecutions of organized retail crimes.
That followed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' announcement of a task force focused on such crimes. A string of robberies at high-end stores Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent garnered a flurry of media attention and helped further cement one phrase into the zeitgeist: A smash-and-grab.
Then last week, the coalition behind a tough-on-crime ballot initiative that would roll back California's landmark Proposition 47 by stiffening penalties for some retail thefts submitted enough signatures that it appears the measure will go before voters in November.
The initiative was bankrolled largely by Walmart, Target and Home Depot.
Security trade-offs
David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, said locking up more merchandise is "an unfortunate necessity" to combat theft. He said organized retail crime and violent incidents in stores are on the rise.
Retailers know that the additional supplies and labor needed to lock up more merchandise cut into their bottom line and frustrate customers, Johnston said, but some have decided it's a necessary trade-off to keep shelves stocked.
Joe Budano, the chief executive of Indyme, a San Diego company that makes call buttons that alert sales associates to specific aisles, estimated frustration over waiting for locked merchandise leads to a 10% to 25% reduction in sales. Budano called the cages "the bane of retail."
Budano's company has developed technology that allows shoppers to open cases themselves using personal information such as their cellphone number or by scanning their face.
What the numbers say
The Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan research organization, tracked shoplifting trends in 24 cities from 2019 to the middle of 2023. It found shoplifting rates went down in more than two-thirds of the cities it studied. New York and L.A. were the two biggest exceptions, where shoplifting rates increased 64% and 61%, respectively.
However, shoplifting incidents in L.A. County in late 2022 were actually lower than in 2014, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank that analyzed state Department of Justice statistics.
During that eight-year period after Proposition 47's passage, three of the state's 15 most populous counties — all in the San Francisco Bay Area — experienced increased rates of shoplifting, which under the proposition categorized the stealing of goods valued at less than $950 as a misdemeanor.
The debate on whether these security cages are worth their trouble will probably only increase as they take up more real estate in stores. For more information, check out reporter Marisa Gerber's full story here.
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(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
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Column One
Column One is The Times' home for narrative and longform journalism. Here's a great piece from this week:
(Cole Burston / Getty Images)
It began with one post tracking a private jet flying from Orange County to Toronto; one that online sleuths deduced must have been taking baseball free agent sensation Shohei Ohtani to meet — or sign — with the Blue Jays, a known finalist in the sweepstakes for the free-agent star. "Oh my god, here we go," Carlos Osorio, a Toronto-based freelance photographer and proud Blue Jays fan, thought to himself as he followed the plane's taxi to a hangar tarmac. "We're gonna have the first pictures of Ohtani." When the door opened, however, it was Canadian businessman and television celebrity Robert Herjavec who descended the steps. In a mix-up of epic, social media-fueled proportions, the reality of the saga suddenly became clear. Ohtani wasn't on the plane.
More great reads
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For your weekend
(Illustration by Lindsey Made This / For The Times; Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
(Samantha Silverman / For The Times)
He introduced himself in broken English as Daniel. He had just moved to Southern California from Italy to be a chef at a local hot spot. I felt like I was stepping into the pages of a Harlequin romance. Pretty soon he'd be shirtless on a horse, and I'd be behind him, holding his abs so I didn't fall. Like I really needed a reason.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Joseph Serna, deputy editor
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