Letters: Treat shopping cart theft like the crime it is

"All the plans under consideration by San Jose to prevent the thousands of shopping carts from being abandoned around the city place all of the burden on retailers. The costs imposed on them for regulations, fines, security or retrieval ultimately will be passed on to their customers. Price increases will undoubtedly hurt retail businesses, which are already under pressure to compete in a difficult market."

"Rather than force retail stores to absorb the cost of shopping cart security or retrieval, why not place the blame on the people who are breaking existing laws covering the unauthorized taking of store property? There needs to be stronger law enforcement with fines or jail sentences for anyone guilty of this kind of theft. As long as there are no consequences for taking shopping carts, no amount of security or retrieval services will stop the problem."

"San Jose faced major challenges in 2025, but city employees stayed committed to making it a model city. Effective leadership from Mayor Mahan, the City Council and City Manager Jennifer Maguire drove progress across all departments. Special thanks to Chief Robert Sapien of the Fire Department and Chief Paul Joseph of the Police Department, whose teams less than 2,000 strong help keep San Jose one of the safest big cities in the nation."

Municipal plans to prevent abandoned shopping carts would place the financial and operational burden on retailers, with compliance costs passed on to customers. Price increases are likely to harm retail businesses already facing competitive pressures. The proposed alternative is to hold individuals accountable under existing laws for unauthorized taking of store property through stronger law enforcement, fines, or jail sentences. San Jose experienced major challenges in 2025 but city employees and leadership produced progress across departments. Fire and police leadership and teams under 2,000 strong contributed to maintaining the city among the safest large cities. Residents express commitment to continued partnership for improvement in 2026.

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