‘I’ve had it’ with Target says sheriff after public disagreement over the best way to end self-checkout theft

A SHERIFF has called out Target over a disagreement on anti-theft procedures as self-checkout-based crimes continue to sweep the nation.

In California, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper vocalized his experiences on social media as a law enforcement official working with retail giants to end high theft rates.

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Cooper took to Facebook on November 9 to express frustrations with Target after a location in the Sacramento area allegedly prevented a joint operation from catching shoplifters due to concerns over negative media coverage.

“I can’t make this stuff up. Recently, we tried to help Target. Our Property Crimes detectives and sergeant were contacted numerous times by Target to help them with shoplifters, mostly who were known transients,” the sheriff wrote.

“We coordinated with them and set up an operation with detectives and our North POP team.”

“At the briefing, we were told by their head of regional security that we could not contact suspects inside the store; we could not handcuff suspects in the store; and if we arrested someone, they wanted us to process them outside… behind the store… in the rain,” he claimed.

“We were told they didn’t want to create a scene inside the store and have people film it and put it on social media.”

He continued that Target allegedly “didn’t want negative press” if suspected thieves were stopped.

Cooper called the supposed concerns “unbelievable” and cited an instance where officers were seemingly forced to sit back and watch as a woman allegedly grabbed several items from shelves and took them to customer service to return them without ever paying in the first place.

“Our deputies watched a lady on camera bring in her own shopping bags, go down the body wash aisle, and grab a bunch of Native body washes. Then she went to customer service and return them!” he exclaimed in the post.

“Target chose to do nothing and simply let it happen,” the sheriff claimed.

He also criticized Target’s ongoing anti-theft tactic of locking merchandise behind glass.

“We don’t tell big retail how to do their jobs, they shouldn’t tell us how to do ours,” Cooper argued.

As The U.S. Sun previously reported, a supposed former asset protection employee at the retail giant also echoed claims that Target would avoid negative press at all costs.

TikToker and ex-employee GreenHouse Props (@degreenforrest) claimed in a video that the retailer would allegedly settle disputes outside of court for large sums of money in situations where customers were wrongly accused of shoplifting to avoid potentially negative social media attention.

“Target doesn’t want the bad press of their asset protection specialist accusing regular customers of stealing,” GreenHouse Props claimed.

“They will settle out of court for thousands, tens of thousands of dollars just to keep you quiet.”

It’s unclear if there’s truth to the ex-employee’s claims.

The U.S. Sun has contacted Target for an official comment on the claims from Sheriff Cooper and the alleged former employee.

Cooper also wasn’t frustrated with all retailers.

On Sunday, the sheriff also praised chains like Safeway and the California Grocers Association for proactive efforts to collaborate with police and investigate specific retail theft instances.

“KUDOS to Safeway and the California Grocers Association (CGA) for continuing to be active partners in the fight against retail theft,” the sheriff wrote in a post to Facebook on Sunday.

He further explained that Safeway’s security team, dedicated to preventing theft, contacted detectives who created a joint operation to apprehend some suspected shoplifters at the stores with the highest crime rates.

“Safeway’s Organized Retail Theft Management team recently reached out to Sheriff’s Property Crimes detectives regarding ongoing theft issues at a number of their Sacramento store locations,” Cooper noted in the post.

“Detectives worked with Safeway management to [identify] a number of stores with the highest occurrences of thefts.”

The sheriff added: “Detectives setup a shoplifting blitz operation, where Safeway loss prevention officers identified theft suspects who were then taken into custody by detectives and issued misdemeanor citations (per the current law).”

Cooper also criticized the current laws in place for the consequences of those who are found guilty of shoplifting and explained that the suspects they caught allegedly said they thought retail theft wasn’t a big deal.

“Suspects were also issued notices of trespass at all Safeways, which forbids them from returning to Safeway,” he wrote.

“None of the suspects were homeless and indicated they simply didn’t think theft was a big deal and that other people are stealing all of the time.”

He continued: “This is a prime example of how this law went completely sideways.”

Cooper argued that consequences for shoplifting in the area need to be more severe than a citation for items stolen below $950, per Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA.

As far as working with retail giants is concerned, the sheriff said he’s fed up.

“I’ve had it with them,” he told the outlet.

For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of why shoppers called out the supposed irony of the Pair of Thieves brand of underwear being locked behind glass at Target.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on Target’s decision earlier this year to close at least nine store locations around the United States due to theft rates.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/9633263/target-sheriff-public-disagreement-end-theft/