I'm well aware that some of the takes about DC being a crime ridden den of iniquity are bait. But DC is currently in an overlapping state of people claiming that things are out of control, and therefore shampoo in the drug store has to be locked up. And therefore we need a teen curfew, and to restrict teens shopping in supermarkets. And therefore we need armed National Guard to patrol the streets and hang out in metro stations.
Never mind that crime stats indicate crime is overall going down. Never mind that shampoo is not locked up at the grocery store. One of the drug stores I frequent has a security guard, and everything on the lower level (which you can only access by stairs or a very slow elevator) is locked up, except the antihistamines. The drug store two blocks over locks up the antihistamines. Since I shop off antihistamines a lot, I go to the one where I don't have to ring the bell and wait for an employee who is always grumpy they have to do this, to unlock for me.
But anyway, the stores are saying they have to do this because of the crime. Not because it gives them clearer data on people's buying decisions, since they can track the shelf opening and closing. Not because they can do things like lock some things up at one store and others and another and compare and contrast.
People used to like to point out the story about the one drug store near the hockey arena that got robbed four times. Except, it turns out that was an inside job.
So my point is this is a chicken and egg situation. They are all claiming the crime came first. But really, they are just doing what they want to, and blaming the need for it on crime. And here's the other thing, my friends who live in states that are not DC. You might think this can't happen where you are. And I'm going to point you to Minnesota and Mississippi where it already is.