LOS ANGELES, CA – The woke City of Angels has seen a significant increase in violent crime which coincidently corresponds to when city leaders decided to defund their police department.
Violent crime has deterred law-abiding citizens from buying products and stores to lose thousands due to theft.
It should be no surprise to anyone that this has finally taken a toll on the businesses in the city as they are beginning to close down.
#BREAKING Starbucks to close 6 stores in LA area amid concerns for safety issues like drug use, mental health crisishttps://t.co/MGSXdAooBS
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) July 12, 2022
If there is any city in the United States in which a Starbucks should be located beyond Seattle, Washington, it is Los Angeles.
The rich and famous people that live and work in the city are known for their love of expensive coffee, pastries, and lattes.
Even though the demand for the product is still high in LA, the rich and famous will have to look harder to get their fix as a total of six Starbucks will be closed in the coming months.
Why, one might ask? The answer is simple, the employees and customers are feeling unsafe due to the unfettered crime at these locations.
Some believe it is exacerbated by the company’s public restroom policies enacted in 2018 which became effective after the company came under scrutiny for a manager refusing two black men use of the bathroom as they were not paying customers in Philadelphia.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is considering ending the policy citing the mental health epidemic occurring in the country. During a New York Times DealBook event, Schultz said:
“We have to provide a safe environment for our people and our customers. The mental health crisis in the country is severe, acute, and getting worse…We have to harden our stores and provide safety for our people. I don’t know if we can keep our bathrooms open.”
While no one can factually argue that there is not a significant issue throughout the country with mental illness, the facts are that crime of all kinds is increasing in large metropolitan areas.
Something that is gravely apparent when looking at the crime statistics from the Los Angeles Police Department which notes that more people have been killed by guns in the first six months of this year than during the same period of any of the last 15 years.
6 Starbucks locations in LA area to close amid safety concerns https://t.co/LPjRq91xfi pic.twitter.com/yifJccKe8g
— L.A. Daily News (@ladailynews) July 13, 2022
Since the Los Angeles Police Department has lost a significant number of police officers through attrition and defunding from 2020 to current, crime trends have shown an increase as homicides have increased by over 25 percent, stolen vehicles have increased by over 26 percent, shooting victims increased over 51 percent, and robbery and assaults have increased over 16 percent.
Residents and customers of Starbucks in Los Angeles do not need statistics to know that the area is becoming more dangerous. People like Jorge Tellez, who spoke to CBSLA about the violence and closures said:
“You have to have your head on a swivel because [you] never know what’s going to happen to you.”
Starbucks is having to close 16 stores in high crime democrat cities
Obviously 3rd world Portland, Oregon is on the list
Along with LA, DC and Seattle etc
Notice they call it “challenging incidents”
They’re afraid to say the word “crimes committed by thugs” for some reason pic.twitter.com/16js0uHD3Q
— ULTRA MAGA Merica (@MericaMadness) July 13, 2022
Another person, Liz Venz, a Hollywood resident, noted she does not feel safe at all in the area. She said:
“I can’t get coffee. Like, it’s crazy, you can’t walk to work, you can’t live comfortably.”
A former employee of a downtown Starbucks, Julia Lenci, noted not only the safety concerns for the employees and customers but the amount of theft that the stores realized. She said:
“People would come in with duffel bags and take all of our merchandise and run out…It’s gotten progressively worse.”