“Not sustainable”: San Francisco’s Walgreens leaves netizens concerned as video of chained up freezers to stop shoplifting goes viral

A San Francisco Walgreens recently went viral for chaining up their freezers. Video of the pharmacy bolting their freezers shut is circulating all over social media. Walgreens employees confirmed that this has to be done in order to prevent frequent shoplifters.

A tweet regarding the subject was reposted by CBS reporter Betty Yu on Tuesday, July 18, on Twitter. The tweet has amassed over 2.1 million views and a ton of replies, including one from Elon Musk.

Attached to Betty Yu's tweet was a video that showcased the locked freezer in the Walgreens located at 16th/Geary in San Francisco. The video showed visuals of various products locked inside freezers using steel chains. Products that were not locked were kept behind plastic shelves and were also tightly protected.

Betty Yu wrote about the rapid rate at which these stores are being hit:

"Workers said normally shoplifters clean out all the pizza and ice cream every night. They’re usually hit 20x a day. The whole store is virtually locked up."

The news was originally shared by former mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg.

Netizens were concerned about the state of San Francisco and the rampant rate of robberies in the city. Upon seeing the safety measure implemented by Walgreens, one netizen also pointed out how such a solution would not be effective in the long run.

The Golden Gate City has seen a staunch rise in shoplifting figures, an increase of 20% from 2019 to 2022.

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Netizens air their frustration at the need for Walgreens' protective measures and San Francisco's condition

Betty Yu's tweet gained a lot of traction, even attracting the attention of Twitter owner and CTO, Elon Musk. He replied to the tweet with a concerned question:

In response, Betty Yu confirmed:

When another user asked if the shoplifting had stopped due to this measure, Betty Yu had more bad news:

Netizens were alarmed and frustrated by San Francisco's current condition. They targeted their anger at those who run the state and criticized them for letting things get to this level. The alleged lack of law enforcement response and punishments for committing shoplifting was also put into question.

Some users had a few suggestions for the problem. The most prominent one was to just close the shop and leave the area. Some suggested a few creative ways to prevent shoplifting.

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Walgreens issued a statement about the rise in shoplifting

A Walgreens spokesperson provided a written statement to KPIX News about the rise in retail crime:

"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," the statement read.

It further added:

"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."

An ABC News report on the Walgreens situation stated that one of the people who shoplifted calmly took their time in doing so, and when asked why he did it, he simply replied:

"It's San Francisco bro."

The report confirmed that customers who wanted to buy products that were locked up had to press a button next to the freezer, which prompted a message on the overhead speaker. The message would be answered by an employee who will unlock the freezer. According to a Walgreens employee, workers can't challenge shoplifters according to company policy.

A Walgreens employee told the outlet:

"The problem is that they are not punished."

Sergeant O'meara from the San Francisco PD, who was Patrolling the area during the ABC News investigation, told the outlet:

"It's getting worse. Yes because more and more people are coming into the West side of the city on the 38 bus line and they are getting off and they are stealing out of this store."

He added:

"People were getting into the store and taking products. If they cross the door if they cross the threshold we can put them under arrest."

The officer stated that he had arrested eight people the day before. He also confirmed that the perpetrators eventually returned the stolen items.

Furthermore, he added that the store did not push for arrests as they only wanted their products back.