They say today is the busiest shopping day of the year, and stores can finally get into the black. But some stores might find themselves in the red again, especially in California, if they don't have good insurance.
What a mess. The stories keep coming over the wire, minute after minute. It's a fast-moving disaster of a Christmas season, and we're just getting started.
California passed something called Proposition 47 in 2014. Social media and some cable (and radio) talk show hosts would tell you that the law ended prosecutions of shoplifting if the merchandise stolen was less than $950, which isn't true. What Prop 47 did, however, was make the breaking of such laws misdemeanors rather than felonies.
To get a real Californian's view on the matter, we submit what one of the co-authors of Prop 47 told the AP: "What Prop 47 did is increase the dollar amount by which theft can be prosecuted as a felony from $400 to $950 to adjust for inflation and cost of living. But most shoplifting cases are under $400 to begin with, so before Prop 47 and after Prop 47, there isn't any difference."
Well, there is a difference. The message sent to those who'd smash-and-dash has been changed. Completely. (NB: Theft amount charges changed to adjust for inflation and cost of living???)
FLASH! Stores in San Francisco faced several days of smash-and-dash in a row this week, and some are calling it The New Normal. A group of 40 to 50 teens using hammers smashed glass cases at jewelry store Sunday evening. Then ran into something called Southland Mall and walked away with clothes and shoes.
FLASH! This time in San Jose, a group walked into an outdoor mall, rummaged through what they wanted, and took it.
FLASH! A pharmacy in Oakland had enough video equipment to catch "dozens" of thieves stealing drugs off the shelves.
FLASH! On Monday, a Nordstrom department store in Los Angeles was the latest victim of smash-and-dash. TV stations there said upward of 20 people could have been involved.
(You can find all this on Internet video.)
FLASH! The governor of California has decided to call in the California Highway Patrol. CHiPs will increase its presence around malls in the cities.
FLASH! According to the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, "Multiple stores near Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market Street, including Michael Kors and Adidas, are now boarded up. High-end brands like Valentino still allowed customers inside, but security locked the door after each entry."
Boarded up the week of Thanksgiving? Surely that'll affect this year's bottom line.
FLASH! The San Francisco DA is facing a recall.
Who could have seen this coming? Besides everybody with common sense?
Instead of freeing up cops and prosecutors to focus on violent crimes, as those who supported Prop 47 in 2014 suggested, the new(ish) law has caused a spike in property crimes and thefts.
Last year, the president of the California Retailers Association said these new-age shoplifters know exactly what they're doing: "They will bring in calculators and get all the way up to the $950 limit. One person will go into a store, fill up their backpack, come out, dump it out, and go right back in and do it all over again."
That was before gangs of dozens got involved. Now they know they have safety in numbers.
And there are other consequences for Prop 47. The articles on these smash-and-dash crimes say legit customers are scared silly, sometimes even screaming in fright when these gangs come through. Which can't be good for any businesses that still rely on in-person customers.
What a mess.
Just in time for the shopping season.