A pattern of store thefts - not just one-off petty shoplifting incidents, but more serious planned and brazen heists from pricey luxuries to everyday products – has retailers on edge across the country. In some cities like San Francisco, retailers are closing up shop, pointing the finger at crime. But it’s not just big coastal cities grappling with the problem.
“Almost every time a suspect is caught, we find drug paraphernalia on the person. It’s shocking to us when we don’t find it.” Fentanyl addiction is a particularly urgent problem in Kansas. Kansas logged the nation’s second largest percentage increase in drug overdose deaths in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with most overdose deaths involving fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine or heroin.