At the end of September, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that 65% of the "unknown" economic losses suffered by the businesses it represents were due to thefts that occurred in their establishments in 2022. These businesses lost a total of more than $112 billion.
The association released a report on the cities and metropolitan areas where retail businesses suffered the most last year due to theft. The top two are located in California.
NRF National Retail Security Survey 2023_Voz Media by VozMedia on Scribd
Los Angeles
In 2022, retail businesses in the second most populous city in the United States suffered the most organized crime in the entire country. Public concern reached the point that local authorities were forced to take concrete measures to combat this type of theft.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced in mid-August that a specific plan was being launched to combat organized retail crime. It consisted of the creation of a police task force with the goal to "aggressively investigate these incidents and hold individuals that are responsible for these crimes fully accountable."
This group includes members of different public agencies such as the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol, among others.
San Francisco Bay Area
After Los Angeles, next is the San Francisco and Oakland metropolitan area. In recent months, different businesses have applied measures to combat crime. Some grocery stores and pharmacies have chained their shelves and refrigerators to prevent theft.
Other famous retailers have been forced to leave San Francisco, such as Target and Nordstrom, which closed the last of its stores located in the city at the end of August.
Houston, New York and Seattle
The NRF placed Houston as third in its ranking of cities where retailers suffered the most from theft, with New York in fourth place and Seattle in fifth.
Next are Atlanta; Sacramento, Calif.; Chicago; Denver; Miami and Albuquerque, N.M.
