Labor

‘Smash And Grab’: Portland Target Employee Reveals ‘Dangerous’ Working Conditions Amid Surging Crime

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UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from Target.

A Target employee says working conditions have become dangerous due to an increase in shoplifting and crime, according to Fox 12 News.

The Portland, Oregon, Target employee revealed that since the pandemic, the area and store have seen an increase in theft making her job so dangerous that her family worries about her safety, according to Fox 12 News. The employee stated that shoplifting has increased and thieves are using weapons to commit their crimes.

The identity of the employee was concealed because “she’s not allowed to speak of behalf on Target,” the outlet stated.

“We will have people who will fill up backpacks, suitcases, wagons and just walk out the door,” the employee told the outlet. “Some guests will do a smash and grab. They take a hammer, or sledgehammer of some sort and smash the glass doors that are protecting the electronics and grab what they can and walk out.”

The employees of the Target are instructed to allow the shoplifting to happen, if they touch a cart of a customer as they are walking out, the employee is put on a “final warning,” Fox News 12 reported. Another warning results in termination for the employee.

“It’s frustrating,” the employee said. “As a whole, I’ve talked to a lot of people, especially in my department, about how frustrating it is – how upsetting it is – we are working so hard to make everyone’s experience there enjoyable and then we have people walk out and we have guests who are shocked that we can’t do anything.”

Regardless of Target’s theft policy, thieves are bringing weapons into the stores to conduct their crimes, Fox 12 News reported.

“We had a guy a couple weeks ago, he showed up after we’d closed the doors and he had a big knife, looked like about a 12-inch knife and I don’t know where he went, if he was waiting out there,” the employee told the outlet.

“Safety is Target’s highest priority, and in response to elevated incidents of theft in the Portland area, we’ve taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of our team and guests,”Target told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This includes hiring more security team members, installing more security cameras and using a third party to provide additional security in select stores. We invest time and resources in our store leaders and security team members so they can protect themselves and de-escalate potential safety issues. We also work directly with law enforcement on an ongoing basis to address organized retail crime.”