Unintended Consequences of Higher Crime

Think before you "smash and grab" may be the anthem of the next 10 years at least if the robbery trends continue to move in the direction they are currently going. For example, Mid-Atlantic grocery chain Food Giant is looking at closing the doors to some of its stores due to increases in theft of all products from fish to deodorant. Food Giant has attempted to curb some of the theft by implementing new rules such as only allowing 20 items or less at self-checkout lanes, but so far that has been met with some resistance. In fact, Food Giant suspects that the rates of shoplifting have increased somewhere between 5 and 10 times over the last 3 years alone. In addition, Food Giant saw an increase in negative patron behavior such as drug use and assault (on each other and on Food Giant workers).

Food Giant was not the only retailer impacted. Other large retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens, Amazon (including subsidiaries like Whole Foods), and Foot Locker have all had to close stores over the last few years due to a number of issues with increased crime being one of them. Of course, some of these retailers are dealing with bankruptcy proceedings (Bath & Body Works, for example) while others are simply trying to decrease costs. It makes sense that the stores with the most crime would be the first to hit the chopping block. While the impact to large companies is minimal, for smaller companies closing stores also hurts profit.

In addition, the impact on the communities in which stores are closed is not being adequately considered by companies nor those who are causing the stores to close. Imagine, you used to have a Walgreens 15 minutes from your house where all of your prescriptions were filled, but due to store closures now you have to go 45+ minutes to get what you need. For some, that can be the difference between life and death, especially if they have a strict work schedule or other responsibilities that cannot be left in order to have an increase of 30+ minutes to pick up medicine.

With lack of access comes a whole slew of other issues since many of the stores closing have items that consumers need for their households and not just wants.

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