Local shoppers in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood spotted new security gates installed at the checkouts at a nearby Safeway, opening only when a receipt is scanned.
A resident named Terry sent in photos to community news site PoPville Friday. They also noted that the store had previously added a special police officer for added security.
The Safeway grocery store in question is located at 1747 Columbia Road NW, given the nickname of the “Spanish Safeway” due to the neighborhood’s historically Hispanic population, according to Washingtonian.
Adams Morgan realtor John Murray posted on X that a gate was also installed at the entrance, presumably to stop shoplifters.
A CVS location in nearby Columbia Heights is due to close later this month, having made national headlines for its shelves, left bare by shoplifters. Watching thieves get away with it has led other customers to follow suit.
“All the customers, they try to take [something] for free. They’re watching another customer and seeing that they didn’t pay, so they’ll tell us, ‘Why didn’t he pay? I’m not paying,’” an anonymous cashier at the Columbia Heights location told The Washington Times on Jan. 24.
A commenter on the Washington D.C. forum on Reddit said that there were already similar gates at a Safeway location in Southwest D.C., their local grocery store.
“These are easily pushed open, they’re not really keeping anyone inside. Otherwise it would be a fire hazard and enormous hassle for employees. … I can’t attest to their efficacy when operating, but they’re broken or malfunctioning 90% of the time I’m in there,” the commenter wrote.
Other posters added that gates like these are common in Europe, and are meant to create a single point of exit that is easier to monitor.
Albertsons Companies, the parent of Safeway, has not yet responded to a request for comment.