There is a reason that theft can carry the weight of jail time. By making the punishment harish it deters people from stealing. But on the west coast, Liberal states like California and Oregon don’t understand that and have practically made theft legal when they neutered the punishment to a minor fine. So now we have businesses like Lowes in Oregon that have shoplifters leaving with full carts without worrying about any sort of consequences.
Watch The Clip Below.
2 people walk out of an Oregon Lowe’s with carts of stolen merchandise.
Employees look on and are unable to do anything. pic.twitter.com/bHBy1M8HVK— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) September 5, 2021
“The incident unfolded in broad daylight on Aug 25, with the video showing two men pushing shopping carts loaded with electric wire walking out of the Lowe’s doors as two employees are helpless to stop them.
A Lowe’s employee standing at the door asked the men to show their receipt as they approached, but they kept moving. Another Lowe’s employee is then seen approaching the men in the video, to which the first employee said, “Hey don’t do this. It’s not worth it.”
“I think these guys have done it before because they seemed to have a good system. One guy with the car and two guys with the carts. They knew no one was going to touch them,” said Sullivan, who also recorded the men loading a red Subaru with the merchandise.”
“Lowe’s eventually reported the incident, and an investigation is ongoing, but Keizer Police Lt. Andrew Copeland noted that in Oregon, many jails aren’t taking offenders such as shoplifters, in order to cut back on their populations during COVID-19. ”
“Copeland said that many Oregon chain stores prevent retailers and their staff from stopping theft, adding that such offenders would likely not be incarcerated and would only receive fines and citations as penalties.
“Once you’ve stolen from Lowe’s once and know they can’t stop you, there’s no real consequence,” he said. “Second thing is, these people know they can’t go to jail.”
States ranging from Oregon to Washington to California have seen a surge in shoplifting recently, at least partially triggered by state laws that inhibit or outright prohibit stores from enforcing against robbery.
For instance, California’s Prop 47 lowered the punishments for shoplifting, raising the incentive for lawbreakers to steal merchandise from stores.”
Lowes in Oregon is about to get expensive to cover any of its losses. Really they should just threaten to leave the state if theft is practically going to be allowed. These shoplifters got away with at least $2000 worth of wire and employees were not allowed to do anything more than ask them to stop. I guess Lowes is going to need to hire a security service if they want to stay in business on the west coast.