Another drugstore theft in SF as foe lashes out at Newsom

San Francisco - It's happened again.

Four women ran off after stealing from the CVS pharmacy at Van Ness and Jackson in San Francisco at about 5:50 p.m. Monday.

It's the latest grab-and-go crime in a city that has seen many drugstores close, partly in response to widespread theft.

A man who captured the aftermath on his cell phone told KTVU he feels sorry for the workers who have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced because of what he called "out of control" shoplifting.

Organized retail theft has become such a hot-button issue that it's now a point of focus in the upcoming gubernatorial recall election.

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On Tuesday, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer spoke outside the shuttered Walgreens at Larkin and Bush in San Francisco, blasting the governor.

"A governor who has supported the lessening of laws when it counts to stealing items under $950, lowering those consequences," said Faulconer, a Republican.

At a news conference last week in Los Angeles, Newsom said he's signed a new law that maintains task forces across the state that crack down on retail theft.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, who attended the news conference, supported the legislation.

"When they see these things go viral, the perception of lawlessness, the perception that anything goes, really, that has to be overcome too," Scott said.

Three of the top 10 cities for organized retail theft in the United States are in California. Los Angeles is at the top of the list. San Francisco ranks fifth, and Sacramento is No. 10.