Viral Sign
This past weekend, an X thread posted a photo of the unofficial street sign with the caption “average sf street sign.”
Source: Transmission11/X
The post would go on to get over 7 million views and over 41,000 likes as the X user documented more instances of the signs being posted throughout San Francisco, California.
Urban Revival
Some commenters online caught on to the satire angle of the sign, with one lauding it as an urban revival program.
Source: Joshua Sortino/Unsplash
“it’s a brilliant urban revival program, putting these signs up ensures only luxury retailers with items >$950 value open up,” said X user Michael Bacarella.
Inflated Prices
Other commenters jokingly suggested that businesses should make the price of everything $950 to compensate for the rule that doesn’t seem to penalize people stealing under that amount.
Source: Alexander Grey/Unsplash
“The minimum price for goods is now $950. Need milk? $950. Need diapers? $950. Need toilet paper? $950,” said one X user.
Working in Retail
One user shared their experience working in the area where the signs were posted in, complaining about multiple incidents of shoplifting that they felt horrible about.
Source: Christian Wiediger/Unsplash
“yea I worked in luxury in sf union square. our little boutique store got shoplifted on multiple occasions. none of the culprits were caught, and if they were, they were released the next day. it’s a revolving door. security legally can’t do sht. it was horrible for my wellbeing,” said one X user.
Real Signs
KRON4 reported that the signs were not officially posted by the city, but they are real in the sense they were actually put up and weren’t photoshopped or AI-generated.
Source: Hardik Pandya/Unsplash
“A San Francisco Department of Public Works spokesperson told KRON4 the sign was not put up by the city. The spokesperson added that a city worker was sent on Sunday to check out the sign,” said KRON4.
Proposition 47
The sign appears to take satirical aim at California theft standards passed by voters in 2014 known as Proposition 47.
Source: Arnaud Jaegers/Unsplash
Under Prop 47, retail theft that is under $950 is only prosecuted as a misdemeanor even after repeated offenses. In recent years, critics of the proposition have been concerned it has led to a surge of retail theft seen in viral videos online.
Contradicting the Claim
While the sign seems to be making the point that California’s lax standards for charging criminals for shoplifting are unique, Gizmodo reports as many as 34 other states have higher dollar thresholds for charging someone with a felony.
Source: Pete Alexopoulos/Unsplash
This includes Republican-run states like Texas which only charges shoplifters with felonies for over $2,500 of merchandise and South Carolina with $2,000.
Shoplifting in California
According to the Public Policy Institute of California last year, retail theft and robbery rates have risen recently.
Source: Katangais/Wikimedia
San Francisco has the second highest rate of shoplifting per capita among California counties, having around 333 shoplifting incidents per 100,000 residents. This number has increased by 24% since 2019.
Why is Shoplifting on the Rise?
Experts have blamed soaring retail theft primarily on fear Americans have around inflation and the economy.
Source: Tobias Tullius/Unsplash
“A community might be struggling with heavy job losses and people can’t easily find another job. Now they can’t afford basic necessities,” said Read Hayes, a criminologist at the University of Florida and director of the Loss Prevention Research Council,
Ballot Initiative
In response to increased shoplifting in many California areas, a voter initiative that received over 900,000 signatures will be on the ballot in November that will roll back parts of Prop 47 and increase penalties for shoplifters.
Source: Element 5/Unsplash
If the measure passes it will eliminate the $950 threshold outlined in Prop 47, meaning anyone caught stealing three times regardless of the amount will be charged with a felony.