How online retail encourages shoplifting

San Francisco Just before Christmas, San Francisco Mayor London Post had no choice but to declare a state of emergency. At that time, dozens of thieves fell on luxury retailers in the heart of the city, the windows of huge stores, each costing 20,000 dollars, were smashed, as well as the showcases of jewelry stores or luxury boutiques such as Yves Saint Laurent.

Anything that can be towed ends up in getaway cars waiting on street corners and sidewalks with their trunks open and their engines running. Screaming and frightening staff and customers roamed the streets or tried to hide.

When the state of emergency went into effect, a mobile police operations center headed to Central Union Square. In the evening, police cars parked sideways blocked the intersections so that the fleet of escape vehicles could not board. The massive police presence has calmed the situation in San Francisco, but the phenomenon behind it affects far more areas of the United States.