Shopping cart thefts: A problem with solutions

Stolen carts littering city streets and arroyos cost businesses money, clutter neighborhoods and make shopping less convenient because stores lack carts for customers.

It’s a Santa Fe reality, and though it’s of little comfort, we are not alone. National estimates put the annual cost of stolen carts to retailers at about $800 million.

Collecting carts after they are off store property is expensive. A city of Santa Fe pilot project that started in September brought in 3,000 carts, with a contractor paid $17 per individual retrieval. That’s a ridiculous sum, especially when more can be done on the front end to prevent theft.

To combat the problem, Mayor Alan Webber and Councilors Carol Romero-Wirth and Amanda Chavez have introduced a measure that would ask retailers to pay to get their carts back after the city picks them up.

Not so fast, say the initiative’s critics, who equate the move to penalizing crime victims instead of the perpetrators. Under the ordinance as presented, businesses would pay $150 for every cart the city picks up. The measure is modeled after similar laws in place around the country, with many cities charging considerably more than $150.

Here’s the approach one city took just this year: In May, San Luis Obispo, Calif., adopted an ordinance that makes businesses responsible for their belongings. The plan calls for three things — cart identification, outreach to the community and putting in place loss-prevention measures. Businesses had 60 days to submit their plans to comply.

There was a carrot in the mix. The first 12 businesses to turn in their plan could receive a $5,000 grant to put measures in place.

The Santa Fe ordinance, which we predict will be rewritten, needs more carrots and more communication with businesses.

The current measure calls for cart identification — that’s key, so carts can be returned promptly. In San Luis Obispo, all carts must carry the name and number of the business. When carts are spotted, businesses are called and retailers receive a fine only if they fail to pick them up after three days. The charge is a more reasonable $50.

San Luis Obispo requires signs to be posted in parking lots telling customers they can be fined if they take carts. That’s part of the community outreach. The Santa Fe ordinance also will require notification that cart removal is prohibited.

Loss-prevention measures in the California ordinance can include installing wheel locks on the carts; hiring guards to prevent people from removing them; locking up carts at night; and other initiatives designed to keep the carts where they belong. Prevention is the best way to approach the problem — no business will have to pay a fine, whether $150 or $50, if carts never leave the lots.

Having an on-site “cart wrangler” in Santa Fe parking lots could have the added bonus of cutting down on panhandling — please. That would improve the shopping experience for customers.

Many citizens want to know why cart thieves aren’t arrested and charged with a crime — carts can cost between $200 to $400, depending on their features. The answer is simple: Police time likely is better spent on more serious crime. That doesn’t mean it is OK for carts to be wheeled away from businesses, but it is reality.

But there are other solutions.

In Salt Lake City, retailers band together to pay “cart wranglers” to bring in carts, even if that means stopping people and having them unpack their possessions from the cart in the parking lot or street. There’s a number citizens can call to report abandoned carts, and they are picked up regularly.

Officials in the Utah city also have gone beyond the symptom — stolen carts — to treat the root problem. People without shelter need a place to store their goods. That’s why they steal shopping carts. Salt Lake City has opened a facility called A Place for Your Stuff, which allows people to secure their belongings and retrieve them as needed.

These are some of the solutions Santa Fe should consider — and should be included in any new draft of the Webber/Chavez/ Romero-Wirth bill. Treat the root problem, help businesses safeguard their property, and find less expensive ways to retrieve carts before going straight to the “incentive” (who are they kidding?) of a $150 fine.