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Shoplifting and looting becoming more common


Myles

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In Chicago:

In Chicago on Friday night, as many as a dozen suspects stormed into a store in the city’s Chatham neighborhood and grabbed as many items as they could carry, according to a report.

All of the suspects got away and police are looking for them, FOX 32 reported.

During the past month or so, thieves have struck at least seven times at stores in the city’s most upscale neighborhoods, according to the station.

George Cardenas, a city alderman, says such incidents are part of a "crime pandemic" sweeping the city. That pandemic also includes a murder rate that is up 3% so far over last year and 59% over 2019, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

That rise in murders comes despite Chicago police Supt. David Brown making a murder-rate drop one of his chief goals after taking the job in April 2020, the newspaper reported.

Cardenas is calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to dump Brown and his leadership team if the situation doesn’t improve soon.

"They need to step it up in a big way and stop this crime pandemic themselves," Cardenas told the Sun-Times last week. "They need to find a way to recruit more people. That’s on them. The mayor can only do so much."

"You’ve got to make changes when things aren’t working out," he added later.

Lightfoot, however, dismissed the criticism from Cardenas, blaming the city’s crime problem, in part, on the coronavirus pandemic.

"The statements attributed to Alderman George Cardenas are ill-informed and lack an appreciation for the complexities of public safety in this time of COVID," the Democrat said in defending Brown, whom she appointed.

 
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26 minutes ago, Myles said:

In recent months, more people have been casually shoplifting without fear and violently looting stores without fear.  

Thankfully it's only happening in a few of the larger cities.  There were about twelve people who tried to get people stirred up here, but our police nipped it in the bud rather quickly.

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https://www.orsurety.com/blog/30-p

Losses due to embezzlement affect small businesses especially hard, because they cannot afford to absorb the losses. Nearly 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft according to the Better Business Bureau.
Corporate security experts estimate that 25 to 40% of all employees steal from their employers. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), companies lose 5% of their revenues each year to employee fraud. Based on information gathered from the ACFE's 2014 Global Fraud Study, the median loss caused by a single case of occupational fraud is $145,000. The study also revealed that companies with less that 100 employees had 28% higher fraud losses than larger companies.ercent-of-business-failures-are-caused-by-employee-theft

No riots needed

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People need to start shooting these thieves before this becomes too popular.

n Lakewood, a group of suspects ages 15 to 20 stormed a Home Depot store around 8:30 p.m. and grabbed tools such as crowbars, mallets and sledgehammers before getting away in vehicles that were waiting outside, FOX 11 of Los Angeles reported.

One entire section of hammers was completely cleared out, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies told the station.

As many as 10 vehicles pulled up outside the store and the thieves donned ski masks before launching their spree, KCBS-TV of Los Angeles reported.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/los-angeles-looters-home-depot-bottega-veneta-black-friday-smash-grab-flash-mob-robberies

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I really wish you'd stop making an issue of this and denigrating these otherwise upstanding groups of people. Climate change, racism and covid are forcing these folks into desperate situations. If you'd just vote for more democrats, pay more taxes, stop being a SWM and succumb to the New Normal none of this would be happening.

Edited by F3SS
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2 hours ago, Myles said:

People need to start shooting these thieves before this becomes too popular.

n Lakewood, a group of suspects ages 15 to 20 stormed a Home Depot store around 8:30 p.m. and grabbed tools such as crowbars, mallets and sledgehammers before getting away in vehicles that were waiting outside, FOX 11 of Los Angeles reported.

One entire section of hammers was completely cleared out, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies told the station.

As many as 10 vehicles pulled up outside the store and the thieves donned ski masks before launching their spree, KCBS-TV of Los Angeles reported.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/los-angeles-looters-home-depot-bottega-veneta-black-friday-smash-grab-flash-mob-robberies

You have got to wonder why a large group of people need sledgehammers for....

 

Edited by Gromdor
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19 minutes ago, Gromdor said:

You have got to wonder why a large group of people need sledgehammers for....

 

Cause thick glass windows aren't always as easy to break with hammers, rocks and garbage cans as one would think. 

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1 hour ago, F3SS said:

Cause thick glass windows aren't always as easy to break with hammers, rocks and garbage cans as one would think. 

The places they have been robbing have been 24hr stores where they just walk in and grab stuff.  Stealing something heavy and realitively cheap like a sledge hammer makes me think there is a part II.  Perhaps it is random vandalism and smashing and grabbing at a mall or the like as you say.  

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46 minutes ago, Gromdor said:

The places they have been robbing have been 24hr stores where they just walk in and grab stuff.  Stealing something heavy and realitively cheap like a sledge hammer makes me think there is a part II.  Perhaps it is random vandalism and smashing and grabbing at a mall or the like as you say.  

Well if this is some type of multi-level event these are the things you'd want for destruction. You could be right. 

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1 hour ago, Gromdor said:

The places they have been robbing have been 24hr stores where they just walk in and grab stuff.  Stealing something heavy and realitively cheap like a sledge hammer makes me think there is a part II.  Perhaps it is random vandalism and smashing and grabbing at a mall or the like as you say.  

Maybe they're planning on hitting jewellery stores.sledge hammers would come in handy.

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2 hours ago, Gromdor said:

The places they have been robbing have been 24hr stores where they just walk in and grab stuff.  Stealing something heavy and realitively cheap like a sledge hammer makes me think there is a part II.  Perhaps it is random vandalism and smashing and grabbing at a mall or the like as you say.  

I saw several videos, in the last few weeks, where they were having a difficult time smashing the jewelry cabinets in the stores with regular hammers. Nordstroms, Louis Vuitton and Best Buy are open 24 hours with cheap stuff?

Sounds like you've been reading up on the media that is minimalizing and down playing the amount of destruction and the expense. They aren't going into the neighborhood bodegas stealing chewing gum and candy before they set them on fire.

Edited by Michelle
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So was listening to the local new this morning while driving to work and they were talking about the seasonal uptick of another form of robbery- porch pirates.  Apparently they just grab stuff and sell them online.  

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3 hours ago, Gromdor said:

So was listening to the local new this morning while driving to work and they were talking about the seasonal uptick of another form of robbery- porch pirates.  Apparently they just grab stuff and sell them online.  

There's tons of YouTube videos about them. Some seem fishy though cause people put out packages just to catch a thief and it works like birdseed. Someone will inevitably steal the package. There's one guy who puts together some pretty elaborate glitter bombs with cameras inside so we can all see the results. Pretty entertaining. But yea, package thieves are scum. 

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The laws need to be strict on theft more strict than they are. Build a prison for these trashy people and make them work their a$$ off 24/7 to pay for it. 

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On 11/27/2021 at 3:40 PM, Gromdor said:

You have got to wonder why a large group of people need sledgehammers for....

 

56320a.jpeg.9f376a3da2599484a4f3dce16d5b9aef.jpeg

Regular hammers just won't do the job.

Edited by itsnotoutthere
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20 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

56320a.jpeg.9f376a3da2599484a4f3dce16d5b9aef.jpeg

Regular hammers just won't do the job.

Especially if you’re using the claw side. GOOD LORD MAN, use the damn thing correctly.

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Another one in Chicago.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/smash-and-grab-chicago-car-showroom-steal-watches-millions

 

Armed smash-and-grab looters broke into a high-end exotic car dealership in Chicago, stealing millions of dollars in watches. 

"We're here to run a legitimate business, not be a western shootout," Joe Perillo, co-owner of Gold Coast Exotic Motor Cars

Two men reportedly entered the dealership, which boasts a showroom of Lamborghinis and Bentleys, around noon on Saturday. One man was armed with a gun and stood by the entrance of the dealership while the other man used a hammer to smash display cases and allegedly stole about eight luxury watches, Fox 32 reported.

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So I was listening to NPR and they had a story somewhat related to all this.  It was talking about smash and grab, porch pirating, and shoplifting.  There were three points that I thought was particularly enlightening.

1) There is nearly a 0% investigation/arrest rate for retail theft.  Police simply don't bother to investigate these so it is pretty much a crime without punishment.  Smash and grab is only just starting to make the headlines and wouldn't even get a second look if it wasn't for the blatant violence and property damage.

2) The advent of the internet has made it easier to off-load this stolen merchandise- even if it is a normally obscure item.  (The interviewee on the show gave an example of over the counter drugs of which the host promplty searched for on an internet marketplace and found plenty of.)

3) Organized crime is involved.  People were being paid $500 to do things like smash and grab or shoplift regularly.

This isn't a political issue, but rather the logical evolution of crime based on our current laws, legal enforcement, and technology.  

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On 12/6/2021 at 10:26 PM, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

Especially if you’re using the claw side. GOOD LORD MAN, use the damn thing correctly.

Careful. People will say your White Privilege is showing. 

Its "racist" to assume the right way to use a tool. Any real Woke individual will tell you so.

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On 11/21/2021 at 8:46 AM, Myles said:

In recent months, more people have been casually shoplifting without fear and violently looting stores without fear.  

 

Not to mention that due to jail/bail reform, even if they are caught they are released that same day. Not even an overnight for such people.

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