Welcome to Sacramento, California — capital of the biggest blue state in the nation, where the police are busy warning folks that retail theft will definitely end in someone getting punished.
It’ll be the victims of retail theft who’ll end up getting punished. But, I mean, at the end of the day, someone’s getting punished. So, justice at work, no?
“The Sacramento City Attorney’s Office warned a chain retail store that it could face a public nuisance charge due to a large number of phone calls placed to police when thieves repeatedly stole from its Land Park location,” The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday.
“A person with knowledge of the warning, but not authorized to speak publicly due to the fear of retaliation, told The Sacramento Bee that city officials threatened the Target at 2505 Riverside Blvd. in the past year with an administrative fine,” it said.
“A Sacramento police spokesman confirmed the location — a site that prompted heavy ire from Land Park residents due to repeated crimes — when asked about the apparent warning.”
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This is apparently something that’s been long in the pipeline, too, despite the fact that the Bee — and not the Babylon Bee, but an actual newspaper — reported on the specifics for the first time this week.
In December, Alexander Gammelgard, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, testified before the state Assembly about a threat to make businesses the target (pun unintended) of official cases.
Gammelgard said he was “also surprised that anyone would ever attempt to make a nuisance case out of somebody calling to report a legitimate crime … I don’t think there is a place for that.”
The threat led to an amendment to a retail theft bill that stopped short of repealing controversial state propositions that have made organized retail theft a serious problem across California, according to the Bee.
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The amendment would bar authorities from intimidating stores with charges for reporting retail theft.
“What’s problematic is that what Target is complaining about is a legitimate crime concern,” said Blake Randol, criminal justice professor at California State University, Stanislaus.
“The city does have a responsibility to be more responsive to the public and be responsive to crime control demands from the public,” Randol said.
What’s more, KOVR-TV reported that residents have complained about retail theft from the store spilling over into the local neighborhood, branding that Target as a “bad neighbor.”
“There are plenty of places I can go shopping where I don’t have to deal with the crime, the theft,” said Kristina Rogers, president of the Land Park Community Association.
“It’s really disturbing and disheartening when you are standing there in line paying for things and someone is just walking out the door with a cart full of stuff,” Rogers added.
“Because criminals know it’s easier to steal here, they start looking around and say, ‘Where else can I go in this neighborhood?’” she said.
After that report, a Target official wrote an email to Sacramento City Council member Rick Jennings II.
“It would be great to be at the store and show what we have actually [been] working on to address the concern raised most recently in all the news this week,” the official said, according to documents the Bee obtained via public records laws.
The outlet reported that both Target and the city “collaborated to create a plan called ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ to address the issues raised in the reports. It included ‘placement of security measures such as alarms, cameras, and security personnel’ and also implementing ‘light fixtures, landscaping, wayfinding and space activation measures,’ according to the communications from the City Attorney’s Office to Target.
“But the meeting also allowed city officials to discuss their ‘concerns’ with Target and that it has acknowledged its ‘problems’ during a discussion, Jennings said in a statement. The statement notes Jennings’ office has noticed ‘observed improvements’ to address ‘community concerns’ regarding ‘unlawful activity.’”
It’s unclear what those “concerns” were, and neither side seems to be talking about that. However, that’s very much worth keeping in mind when considering the fact that, in the same report, someone with knowledge of the alleged threats for a public nuisance charge said it was that specific Target and that calls from that Target for theft rose dramatically during 2023.
In other words, it appears the problem isn’t the store itself. It’s a police department and city that has told the store, essentially, that crime is a “them problem” and that any calls to the police will lead to further punishment for the store.
Of course, when Target invariably abandons the neighborhood, legislators will complain about chains leaving residents high and dry and creating “food deserts” or a lack of services. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Needless to say, this attracted plenty of attention on social media, with many calling out Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood.
Officials in Sacramento CA threatened to sue Target for reporting too many crimes to the police and being a nuisance (+300% increase in reported retail crimes from 2021-2023), while many state politicians in CA’s Capitol argued that “the official data on retail theft is not… pic.twitter.com/LjfDGxH1ua
— Jeff Reisig (@jeffreisig) July 10, 2024
You literally cannot make this up.
The office of Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood reportedly threatened to fine a local Target for reporting theft to the police, labeling the reports as a public nuisance.
Governor Newsom has created a state that promotes crime,… pic.twitter.com/DqQj5KSs7r
— Rey Leija (@rey_leija) July 10, 2024
The city attorney in Sacramento is threatening Target with “Administrative fines” for reporting too much theft and making too many calls about shoplifting. So next time you hear one of these pop tarts say, “Crime is down,” remember this headline. https://t.co/HZ8RhoYLpF
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) July 10, 2024
Alexa. What’s the next Target store closing in California?
— RLD Jr (@rldesmondjr) July 10, 2024
Marx playbook: punish those who report crime to to suppress crime data:
Sacramento city attorney reportedly threatened to fine Target store for reporting theft crimeshttps://t.co/1k7H08IH7B
— phdhomeschooler (@phdhomeschooler) July 10, 2024
A move straight out of Marx’s playbook? It’s not exactly unfair to say, especially when the state decides that private property can be made public by a simple act of theft — and then threatens to punish the owners of that property for complaining about the theft.
Whatever the case, Sacramento apparently is another blue-run city that is putting criminals before constituents, perpetrators before property and violators before victims. Don’t expect that to change because the Bee has shamed city officials, either. They’ll just find a way to keep doing this without addressing the issue.
And California wonders why it’s shedding people like nobody’s business.
