Aaron Jones did not mince words.
"You will be met with resistance or deadly force, if you create a situation that causes that to be justified," Jones, chairman and CEO of International Protection Services, said.
DON'T MISS: Vanguard sees recession coming amid stubborn inflation
Jones was speaking in July about theft and other types of incidents-including active shooting situations and violent armed robberies-at retail outlets in in Albuquerque, NM, where shoppers are often met by armed guards.
"Criminals have become so brazen, because of the lack of policing, the lack of laws in place to basically prosecute them," he said in an interview with KOAT TV. "It seems like things are possibly getting better with some new legislation that's come into place, but that will take a while before that goes into place."
At one time, Jones said there was “no way in heck” stores would have an armed guard because they were worried about liability.
"Now, they're too worried about the liability of not having it there," he said.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,400 miles away, customers at Jim's West in Philadelphia will see a private security guard standing guard over the recently reopened establishment with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Retailers alarmed
"Our lines are down the block, so while you're standing here in line, connecting with other people you may not know, we have security right here just to keep you guys safe," Saul Landers, chief financial officer of Jim's West, told WPVI.
"The violence has spiked," co-owner Cortez Johnson said. "It goes up and down. You want people to feel safe and be safe. So when they come out and eat, they don't have to worry about no type of harm."
Retail theft and violence has become a major issue, as video footage of brazen shoplifting and flash-mob raids on stores have flooded the internet and the airwaves, including a video of two employees of a Stockton, Calif. 7-Eleven beating a would-be shoplifter in August.
Some of the country's largest retailers, including Walmart (WMT) -), Target (TGT) -), and Home Depot (HD) -), have been outspoken about the problem, sounding alarms that their bottom lines are hammered by a rise in theft and crime.
“There have been tragedies," Matt Shay, chief executive of the National Retail Federation, said. "There have been people killed, badly injured. The level and incidents and violence that goes on now that we never saw at this level before.”
However, Walgreens' WBA CFO James Kehoe said in January that the company may have overstated its concerns about theft. Kehoe said shrinkage—retail jargon for theft--was about 3.5% of sales last year, but the number is actually closer to the "mid twos."
In Illinois, State Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D) introduced the “Armed Security Protection Act,” which would require businesses to hire their own security to cover all the hours they are open to the public.
Jones who is also the Mayor of Calumet City, told NBC Chicago in February that the act is necessary to deter crime while Chicago is still experiencing a wave of carjackings.
'Not family friendly'
“The data shows it's bad,” Jones said. "Carjackings are happening in grocery stores, carjackings are happening in gas stations, Women in particular are afraid to come out at night and sometimes during the day, because of these carjackings that are happening in places like this.”
The act only applies to municipalities within the state with more than two million residents. The only city where the law would apply would be Chicago.
Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said the “legislation wrongly shifts the responsibility of public safety from government agencies to individual retailers, which already pay significant taxes to fund law enforcement.”
There are roughly twice as many security guards employed in the U.S. than there were 20 years ago, Time reported in May, citing the Security Industry Association, though the nation’s population has only grown 16% over the same time period.
By 2021, there were about two police officers but 3.1 security guards for every 1,000 civilians.
And how do customers feel about the presence of armed guards? The reaction at Jim's West was reportedly mixed.
"If it deters (crime) I can't complain," one customer said.
Another person on line said the presence of an AR-15-toting guard at the location was "a little overkill."
"It's not family friendly," he said.
- Get exclusive access to portfolio managers and their proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.
