A Target store in the notoriously left-wing city of San Francisco has taken drastic measures to protect its merchandise by placing its entire product range behind security glass.

A video first posted on TikTok showed all items in the store are now locked away from customers, sparking concerns about the safety and security of retail establishments in the area. Geotagged imagery has proven that some products at this particular store have been behind glass since at least October of last year.

“Like other retailers, organized retail crime is a concern across our business,” a company spokesperson said. “We’re taking proactive measures to keep our teams and guests safe while deterring and preventing theft.”

They continued:

These mitigation efforts include hiring additional security guards, adding third-party guard services at select locations, and using new technologies and tools to protect merchandise from being stolen. We are working with legislators, law enforcement, and retail industry partners to support public policy that would help achieve our goals of creating a safe environment in our stores and keeping our doors open in communities across the country.

Industry groups have admitted that theft is a major issue, with the National Retail Federation estimating that organized retail crime costs stores approximately $100 billion annually, as per a 2022 survey. The same survey found that there was a 27% increase in theft carried out by criminal rings in 2021. As a result, retailers have invested more in safety and security measures to safeguard their stores and employees.

Earlier this month, Whole Foods announced the temporary closure of one of its flagship stores in San Francisco, just a year after opening. The decision was made due to concerns about crime in the area posing a threat to the safety of the store’s staff. A similar move was recently taken by Walgreens, which had to close down some of its San Francisco locations in 2021 due to theft issues.

A spokesperson for Whole Foods said that the closure of the 65,000-square-foot grocery store at Trinity Place in the Mid-Market neighborhood of San Francisco was a difficult decision made to ensure the safety of the store’s team members. However, they emphasized that the closure would only be temporary, and all staff members would be moved to nearby locations during this period.

The flagship store, which opened in March last year, was designed as an homage to the classic San Francisco style and showcased over 3,700 local products from Northern California, including produce from local farms and a wide selection of wines from local vineyards.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey, who represents the district, wrote on Twitter that he was “incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods.”

“Whole Foods’ closure — together with many other safety-related challenges we’ve seen recently — is Exhibit A as to why San Francisco can no longer afford not to solve our police understaffing crisis,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them.

I’m incredibly disappointed but sadly unsurprised by the temporary closure of Mid-Market’s Whole Foods. (1/7) https://t.co/lthpC90xTL

— Matt Dorsey (@mattdorsey) April 10, 2023