LLOYD CENTER SECURITY TEAM

Comments

[Allen]

Back in the days when it was a safe place to visit.

[Bill Fuller]

Let's face it, they didn't do a good enough job. It's clear "shrinkage" (read shoplifting or stealing) is one of the major reasons for so many retailers - large and small - fleeing the Lloyd Center.

A real, lousy shame!!

[Joel]

Shoplifting and other forms of theft have become big business in virtually all parts of the country. Bands of thieves enter stores, load up carts with high-ticket products, and push them out the door. Retailers are trying to deal with the miscreants in various ways.

Think Costco and how you have to be a member to enter and be checked out when you leave. Shoplifting is much less of a problem at Costco than say Target.

Online retailers, unfortunately, make it easy for the crooks to fence their booty. Amazon will warehouse the loot for the criminals. Much of what's peddled on Craigslist was purloined from retailers. Online stores that accept any seller need to be more vigilant about where the merchandise being sold on their platforms comes from.

[Matt]

Actually, the best way to stop the "miscreants" is to allow local law enforcement to catch them, elect DAs that will actually prosecute them, and then make them serve their full sentences.

Until this is done, crime will continue to rise, stores will continue to close, and the safety of citizens will be in jeopardy.

[Joel]

Local cops don't have the necessary manpower to catch them. Police forces across the country have hiring problems. In large part, this is because officers are being held accountable when they use unnecessary force when subduing people.

Remember George Floyd. In May of 2020, he was apprehended on suspicion of passing a bogus 20. In hindsight, it isn't even clear he knew he was passing counterfeit currency, but that didn't stop officers who put him on the ground and held him with a knee to the throat for nine minutes, killing him.

Three police officers, including one convicted of murder, are serving prison sentences. The sendup is that police agencies are now having trouble hiring because of the actions of a few. People are afraid to seek employment as cops because too often they may face court situations because a few officers can't control themselves.

Shoplifting isn't considered an important enough crime to get much attention from short-staffed police departments.

[Matt]

I will start by saying that any/all police officers who abuse their authority, break the law, or use unnecessary force should be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

That being said...it's very easy to stereotype all for the acts of a few. It really shouldn't happen this way, but it does, and it should be stopped for all demographics, including police offices.

I will also add that only around 1% [+/- .5%] of police officers nationwide do these things. That leaves approximately 98% of officers nationwide putting on their uniforms and placing their lives in danger each and every day professionally protecting citizens.

The number of assaults on police officers has risen annually. They are totally disrespected, called names, spat upon, shot at, and knifed almost daily. Yet you hardly ever hear about these assaults on the news.

The real issues that we should be screaming about is the deliberate under-funding of local police departments. This is one of the main causes for the increase in crime nationwide that we are experiencing.