KRON4 reports that in response to a “shoplifting epidemic,” San Francisco businesses are introducing new shopping systems to thwart would-be criminals.

Fredrickson's Hardware and Paint is reportedly experimenting with a one-on-one shopping experience for several hours a day. The agency said customers will be waiting to be attended to by employees as entrances are blocked off, and employees will escort individual customers through the store as they shop. chron 4.

The system is intended to deter potential shoplifters by making the theft more complex, encouraging them to leave the area and try their luck with easier targets, the newspaper said.

Fredericks manager Sam Black said the stolen base was the worst he had seen in his 24 years at Fredericks, the newspaper reported.

“It's a pretty bad situation,” Black told KRON4. “So the money is pretty high. They're now using tools to snatch entire displays. So it's becoming a dangerous situation for employees and customers.”

Black argued the measures were necessary in part because he did not receive enough support from police and city officials, the newspaper reported. (Related: San Francisco politicians reverse course on police defense bill: Report)

Last night, teens robbed a Walgreens at the West Portal store in San Francisco and took all the cosmetics. There is a lot more crime in the city because the mayor is lying that crime is going down.help @MarkFarrellSF We need you as Mayor! pic.twitter.com/6AMb0twFsG

— Asian Crime Report (@activeasian) February 22, 2024

California voters passed Proposition 47 in 2014, which reportedly reclassified some crimes, such as shoplifting, from felonies to misdemeanors. The Daily Caller News Foundation reports that, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and other Democratic politicians are currently backing a ballot measure to repeal the proposal in favor of harsher penalties. It is said that there is.