PHOTO: Walgreens Puts Chains on Freezers in San Francisco Pharmacy

Walgreens has put chains on freezers in a San Francisco pharmacy location to deter theft, the company confirmed this week.

The story of the chained freezers was broken on Twitter by local activist Richie Greenberg:

Local news outlets followed up, and the company confirmed that the pharmacy had chained the freezers.

CBS San Francisco reported Tuesday:

According to employees, the store sees more than 20 shoplifters every day, with items such as pizza and ice cream being cleared out every single night.

…

In a written statement, a Walgreens spokesperson told KPIX that retail crime is one of the top challenges facing their industry.

“We are focused on the safety of our patients, customers and team members. We continue to take preventative measures to safely deter theft and aim to deliver the best patient and customer experience. And we are working closely with law enforcement, elected officials and community leaders to draw greater attention to and improve our response to retail crime,” the spokesperson said.

San Francisco has recently seen an exodus of high-end retailers from its downtown area, thanks in part to crime that makes both shoppers and employees reluctant to come to the area.

As Breitbart News and others noted last month, nearly half of the retail stores in downtown San Francisco have left since 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.