Detergent, diapers, razors behind security walls turn retailers and grocers into ‘inconvenience’ stores

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, April 28. I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Retail theft leads to product lockup.
• USC cancels ‘main stage’ commencement.
• USC’s Caleb Williams taken No. 1 in NFL Draft.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Glass curtain has descended across the continent

Stroll into your neighborhood grocery or convenience store and it’s easy to spot a growing trend: larger portions of retail space and the products they’re stocked with are being kept behind security glass and plastic walls.

Theft is the reason given for businesses turning to this remedy. But is the cure worth the cost?

National chains eagerly point to retail theft as a significant drag on profits but are reticent to publicly discuss internal numbers for theft and other types of losses or specifics of new anti-theft measures.

Additionally, the media report retail thefts daily and the issue has been politicized, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where elected officials are looking to combat a problem they see as only worsening.

Retail theft has become a priority for California leaders

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent $267 million to cities and counties to increase arrests and prosecutions of organized retail crimes.

That followed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ announcement of a task force focused on such crimes. A string of robberies at high-end stores Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent garnered a flurry of media attention and helped further cement one phrase into the zeitgeist: A smash-and-grab.

Then last week, the coalition behind a tough-on-crime ballot initiative that would roll back California’s landmark Proposition 47 by stiffening penalties for some retail thefts submitted enough signatures that it appears the measure will go before voters in November.

The initiative was bankrolled largely by Walmart, Target and Home Depot.

Security trade-offs

David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, said locking up more merchandise is “an unfortunate necessity” to combat theft. He said organized retail crime and violent incidents in stores are on the rise.

Retailers know that the additional supplies and labor needed to lock up more merchandise cut into their bottom line and frustrate customers, Johnston said, but some have decided it’s a necessary trade-off to keep shelves stocked.

Joe Budano, the chief executive of Indyme, a San Diego company that makes call buttons that alert sales associates to specific aisles, estimated frustration over waiting for locked merchandise leads to a 10% to 25% reduction in sales. Budano called the cages “the bane of retail.”

Budano’s company has developed technology that allows shoppers to open cases themselves using personal information such as their cellphone number or by scanning their face.

What the numbers say

The Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan research organization, tracked shoplifting trends in 24 cities from 2019 to the middle of 2023. It found shoplifting rates went down in more than two-thirds of the cities it studied. New York and L.A. were the two biggest exceptions, where shoplifting rates increased 64% and 61%, respectively.

However, shoplifting incidents in L.A. County in late 2022 were actually lower than in 2014, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank that analyzed state Department of Justice statistics.

During that eight-year period after Proposition 47’s passage, three of the state’s 15 most populous counties — all in the San Francisco Bay Area — experienced increased rates of shoplifting, which under the proposition categorized the stealing of goods valued at less than $950 as a misdemeanor.

The debate on whether these security cages are worth their trouble will probably only increase as they take up more real estate in stores. For more information, check out reporter Marisa Gerber’s full story here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Campus protests and reactions

• 13 days that rocked USC: How a derailed commencement brought “total disaster.”
• USC cancels “main stage” commencement ceremony.
• Pro-Palestinian protests grow at California campuses as opposing demonstrators clash at UCLA.
• At USC, arrests. At UCLA, hands off. Why pro-Palestinian protests have not blown up on UC campuses.
• Amid Gaza protests and “hateful graffiti,” Cal Poly Humboldt closes the campus through weekend.

Crime and courts

• California leaders asked for a Supreme Court homelessness decision. Will it backfire?
• Accomplice in shooting death of 6-year-old Aidan Leos pleads guilty, sentenced to time served.
• Riverside County deputy, 14 others arrested in drug trafficking bust.
• Person stabbed after argument spills out of L.A. Metro bus, police say.
• Southern California woman pleads guilty in $150-million counterfeit postage scheme.
• Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 tabloid deal came up at Trump’s hush money trial.

Stagecoach 2024

• Stagecoach 2024: How to stream Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert and other sets at home.
• The differences — and similarities — between the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals.
• Stagecoach 2024: Goldenvoice’s Stacy Vee on country music’s moment in the sun.
• Coachella and Stagecoach sound guy Dave Rat reveals the secrets to keeping the music crystal clear.

Music, art and entertainment

• A guide to everyone Taylor Swift sings about in “Tortured Poets Department”— and their reactions.
• Art Deco and dignity inspire multi-hyphenate comedian Katie Cazorla’s new club, the Kookaburra Lounge.
• This photographer has documented Southern California’s street gang culture for 40 years.

Education

• Carvalho faults alleged actions of school safety worker who failed to stop fatal fight.
• Serra High space team seeks to turn school into science destination.

Transportation

• LAX plans to update terminal and gate numbers ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.
• Metro board ponders facial recognition, other security measures after subway killing.
• Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race underway for 76th year.

More big stories

• RFK Jr.’s third-party threat: Does it hurt Biden or Trump more?
• L.A. supervisors oppose plan to eradicate Catalina deer by shooting them from helicopters.
• More migrant families with children sleeping in tents on Skid Row test official response.
• Shohei Ohtani gets booed by Toronto fans, then smacks a homer to spark Dodgers’ win.
• “Disability Intimacy” starts a long-overdue conversation.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Cole Burston / Getty Images)

It began with one post tracking a private jet flying from Orange County to Toronto; one that online sleuths deduced must have been taking baseball free agent sensation Shohei Ohtani to meet — or sign — with the Blue Jays, a known finalist in the sweepstakes for the free-agent star. “Oh my god, here we go,” Carlos Osorio, a Toronto-based freelance photographer and proud Blue Jays fan, thought to himself as he followed the plane’s taxi to a hangar tarmac. “We’re gonna have the first pictures of Ohtani.” When the door opened, however, it was Canadian businessman and television celebrity Robert Herjavec who descended the steps. In a mix-up of epic, social media-fueled proportions, the reality of the saga suddenly became clear. Ohtani wasn’t on the plane.

More great reads

• After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name.
• An NDA and a prayer to John Lennon’s ghost: How an L.A. guitar repairman fixed a Beatles relic.
• How a migrant farmworker built generational wealth, penny by penny.
• How L.A. Chess Club is giving nerd culture a Gen Z makeover.
• How Tijuana leather designer Kiko Baez ended up working with Latin music’s biggest stars.
• You’re gonna need a bigger number: Scientists consider a Category 6 for mega-hurricane era.
• Op-Comic: You can cry if you want to.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

(Illustration by Lindsey Made This / For The Times; Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Going out

• 🎤 TikTok-savvy songstress Laufey gives us her perfect Sunday, starting with coffee and then a visit to the Farmers Market.
• 🍕 More than 20 Southern California pizza shops descend on LA Live for Pizza City Fest to battle for supremacy, beginning at noon.
• 🚲 Walk, bike or run through South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel during 626 Golden Street, starting at 9 a.m.
• 🌱 Forty unique plant and garden vendors are present at the 34th annual Southern California Spring Garden Show at the South Coast Plaza.

Staying in

• 🎞️ Cat King helps capture a familiar queer dynamic in “Dead Boy Detectives,” debuting this weekend on Netflix.
• 🐢 The latest video game iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles saga “Wrath of the Mutants” was released this week.
• 🧑‍🍳 Happy National Blueberry Pie Day! Nowhere makes it better than Maine. Here’s a recipe for this sweet treat.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Samantha Silverman / For The Times)

He introduced himself in broken English as Daniel. He had just moved to Southern California from Italy to be a chef at a local hot spot. I felt like I was stepping into the pages of a Harlequin romance. Pretty soon he’d be shirtless on a horse, and I’d be behind him, holding his abs so I didn’t fall. Like I really needed a reason.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Joseph Serna, deputy editor

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