I think you're getting the wrong takeaway from OP's comment...

?

Given the breathless reporting of "MAJOR CHAIN STORE SHUTS DOWN SINGLE BUSINESS DUE TO EXTREME THEFT", yeah.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/as-retailers-close-stores-...

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/28/1202264923/major-retailers-bl...

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/19/target-store-closures-theft-...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/target-closing-stores-2023-san-...

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/business/target-retail-theft-...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/target-stores-theft-1.69794...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11965589/The-stores...

------------------------

However, on the actual wage theft side, is scattered articles about a single bad company, or policies from stuffy think tanks and "boring" and non-sensationalized sources.

https://www.cohousedems.com/news/wage-theft-prevention-passe...

https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2024/2024-10.html

https://www.propublica.org/article/wage-theft-law-new-york-v...

https://blog.dol.gov/2024/02/07/protecting-workers-rights-at...

https://calmatters.org/politics/capitol/2024/01/wage-theft-c...

It gets even worse than just the media. A bunch of legislation has been proposed or passed specifically to target "organized retail theft." In Virginia, legislation upped the designation for "stealing several thousand dollars of stuff with other people" to the same felony category as stabbing somebody while jack shit is done to crack down on wage theft.

If people don't care about the $ severity of the crime, what is it they care about to keep this going as it does?

The Target store closings (in Seattle) were not due to violence/theft but rather a cost cutting measure; Target lied.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/19/target-store-closures-theft-...

That article proves nothing of the sort. Shutting down stores that have too much theft is a cost cutting measure, and keeping stores open that have more theft but far more sales doesn’t invalidate it.

I live two blocks from that store (the ballard one which was shut down). It was the worst targeted store i've ever seen. It was about 1/3 'groceries' while sitting within a block of two larger and cheaper grocery stores. All the stock that people would actually be interested in, home goods and the like (because the neighborhood lacks a store for that), were extremely thin on the shelves. Either because they didn't stock items are they were always sold out because they were meeting a neighborhood demand.

Was there theft at that store.. I don't doubt it but never saw it in all the times i was in there searching, often without success, for some home item that would suit my place.

It was just a bad target variant store that was plopped into the middle of a neighborhood that ended up being specialized in the wrong thing, if any target mucky muck had ever walked the neighborhood before putting the store in it could have been very successful (because we could really use a store where I can buy various home goods without jumping in my car and driving 10-15m).

I lived in 65th for the first half of COVID, so I want to that Target moderately regularly. Yes Ballard Market had better groceries (among the best in Seattle actually), but I’ve never seen Target as a grocery store. For the home goods we needed it was adequate, though my roommates Amazon subscription had to fill in some gaps. To your point about it not having the items you needed, I wouldn’t be inclined to separate that from the theft problem. If your stuff keeps getting stolen, you’ll be inclined to stock less stuff, especially if you don’t have sufficient sales to afford retrofitting locking cabinets everywhere and staffing sufficient to tend to them all.

I'm not sure people are stealing a lot of shower caddies or little office/bathroom garbage cans...

The entire "Theft is driving up prices" narrative was bullshit. The national retail federation, the very group that is the lobbying voice of the retail industry, found that a majority of retail stores complained about theft, but if you look at the reported shrink numbers, they have been the same for 30 years. There has not been widespread increase in theft, by their own numbers.