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Stealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/10/pandemic-shoplifting-hunger/ #EatTheRich
"Shoplifting is up markedly since the pandemic began in the spring and at higher levels than in past economic downturns, according to interviews with more than a dozen retailers, security experts and police departments across the country."
"But what’s distinctive about this trend, experts say, is what’s being taken — more staples like bread, pasta and baby formula."
"More than 20 million Americans are on some form of unemployment assistance, and 12 million will run out of benefits the day after Christmas unless new relief materializes."
"Meanwhile, an estimated 54 million Americans will struggle with hunger this year, a 45 percent increase from 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
"With food aid programs like SNAP and WIC being reduced, and other federal assistance on the brink of expiration, food banks and pantries are being inundated, reporting hours-long waits and lines that stretch into the thousands."
"With no stimulus aid and her savings gone by May, Jean said she was out of options. So she began sneaking food into her son’s stroller at the local Walmart.
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Each time, she’d tell herself that God would understand.
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'It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s what I had to do'"
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Each time, she’d tell herself that God would understand.
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'It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s what I had to do'"
"Retailers have historically been most concerned about staff when it comes to what they call 'shrink.'"
"Workers are typically behind about a quarter of the $25 billion in global losses reported each year, a category that includes lost merchandise, stolen cash and employee errors, security experts say."
"That changed with the pandemic as customer shoplifting became more pronounced, especially in areas with high joblessness, said Fabien Tiburce, chief executive of Compliant IA, which provides loss prevention software to retailers."
"'There is a well-known historical correlation between unemployment and theft,' he said, a connection that is more entrenched in the United States than in countries with more robust safety nets like Canada and Australia."
"Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, which often are concentrated in low-income areas, have seen 'increasing instances of theft' during the past year, according to spokeswoman Kayleigh Painter."
"In Philadelphia, reports of retail theft jumped about 60 percent, year over year, just after President Trump declared a national emergency in March because of the pandemic. They remained at elevated levels through at least July, according to local police data."
"shoplifting tends to spike during national crises — it jumped 16 percent after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and 34 percent after the 2008 recession, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, which tracks data from U.S. courts"
"Because tracking is spotty, shoplifting is chronically underreported, according to more than a dozen local police departments and sheriff’s offices contacted by The Post."
"Very few monitor and report shoplifting data publicly, and those that do often don’t keep tabs on what types of items are stolen."
"Demand for uniformed security guards and undercover loss prevention experts has risen 35 percent during the pandemic, according to Zisner of Aegis."
"Nearly 26 million adults — or 1 in 8 Americans — reported not having enough food to eat as of mid-November, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau."
"That figure has climbed steadily during the pandemic, and has hit record highs since the government agency began collecting such data in 1998."
lol Interesting to see, in the Jeff-Bezos-owned Washington Post, a woman named Alex admitting that she shoplifts from Whole Foods & says that she doesn't "feel too bad about taking $15 or $20 of stuff from Whole Foods when Jeff Bezos is the richest man on Earth."
