Thieves are hitting a Target store in San Francisco at least 10 times a day, employees estimated.
Workers told The San Francisco Standard that items such as lipstick, nail polish, food, and diapers are regularly swiped in handfuls.
"I'd say 10 thefts a day," said one person who works at the Target at the Metreon, a mall located near San Francisco's Union Square.
Pointing to empty shelves, which had been stocked with nail polish, one Target worker said: "They were stocked this morning, and now they're empty."
A Target spokesperson said: "Retail crime is an urgent issue that is increasingly impacting the team and guests at Target and other retailers. It's an issue that affects all of us, limiting product availability, creating a less convenient shopping experience, and, most importantly, putting our team and guests in harm's way."
Crime has taken a toll on retailers in downtown San Francisco.
Nordstrom will close both of its stores in the downtown area because of worsening crime, the New York Post reported. Nordstrom announced that closures are coming this summer at its Westfield Mall store and at nearby Nordstrom Rack.
A Whole Foods store also is closing its doors in the downtown area, the Standard reported.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, owner of the Westfield Mall, where one of the Nordstrom stores is closing, said retailers are leaving because of unsafe conditions despite pleas to city officials for help.
The Target store is locking items like shampoo, deodorant, and beef jerky behind plastic barriers, the Standard reported.
One worker said people who appear to be homeless are stealing food and eating it inside the store. Another worker said empty candy bar wrappers and liquor bottles are found around the story multiple times per day.
The Standard reported that the Metreon mall and the San Francisco Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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