Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed last week that widespread theft in San Francisco is not actually a problem.
“A lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out,” she told the Washington Times. “I believe it’s a Walgreens in California cited it, but the data didn’t back it up.”
AOC is flat-earther-level crazy. pic.twitter.com/JUwf1cY70d
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 6, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez seemed to be referring to data from the San Francisco Police Department that shows the number of police reports filed regarding retail thefts has remained below pre-pandemic levels. But, as Read Hayes, a criminologist at the University of Florida, pointed out, many retailers have simply stopped reporting thefts because of how often they occur.
Several retailers have had to close down business locations because of the rampant “organized theft.” Earlier this year, Walgreens announced it was shutting down five more locations, bringing the total number of stores it has closed in San Francisco to 22.
Last month alone, robbers stole more than $1 billion worth of goods from stores, and at least one man was killed during a robbery attempt. The rising crime rates even led California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a leftist Democrat, to demand that local mayors “step up” and hold perpetrators “to account.”
“Respectfully, the Congresswoman has no idea what she is talking about,” Jason Brewer, Retail Industry Leaders Assocation senior executive vice president of communications, told Fox News.
“Both the data and stack of video evidence makes fairly clear that this is a growing problem in need of solutions,” he said. “If she is not concerned with organized theft and increasingly violent attacks on retail employees, she should just say that.”
