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21st CENTURY SPAM FOLDER: New York store forced to lock up staple amid spurt in crime

The $3.99 meat product is locked up at a Duane Reade inside New York City’s Port Authority bus depot, along with $1.89 cans of StarKist tuna

Grocers are taking precautions to protect their precious stocks as inflation and crime are getting worse in New York. The latest to get locked up is the cheap meat Spam. Shoppers and social media users find it hard to believe that the $3.99 canned meat product is locked up at a Duane Reade inside New York City’s Port Authority bus depot, as per reports.

As quoted by New York Post, Jenny Kenny, 43, who was visiting from Louisville, Kentucky, couldn’t believe the sight of “so many things in boxes.” She said, "Some of these things are pretty ridiculous." One cashier, who was among the employees, tourists and store regulars who were puzzled to see that the iconic blue-and-yellow cans are now being kept under lock-and-key, said, "I’ve never seen that before!" Some were confused as to why the product, along with $1.89 cans of StarKist tuna, was enclosed under plastic, while pricier foodstuffs like $5.49 cans of Amy’s soup were not. One of the shoppers, Dennis Snow, said, “To put Spam in a cage is stupid, and kind of insulting to the customers that would buy it."

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Soon, a photo was tweeted with the caption, "The thoroughly revamped loss-prevention regime at the Port Authority Duane Reade has finally created something of beauty, a sort of Jeff Koons homage." The tweet quickly went viral, leaving netizens in splits.

One wrote, "Instead of investing in inefficient security systems supermarkets should lobby for a more equal society where people didn't have to steal to eat." Another quipped, "Next Duane Reade will have laser trip wires inside the store. I am also envisioning an Oceans Eleven style heist to plunder Spam and all the other canned meats and fish." One individual said, "This is your periodic reminder that the most pilfered items in the most prosperous nation are the bare necessities that the poorest need in order to survive."

As per NY Post, a spokeswoman for Walgreens, which owns Duane Reade, refused to say why Spam was locked down at this particular location, but claimed installing anti-theft devices is done “in response to theft data.” Dariel Cepin, 23, an employee at a West 44th Street Duane Reade, said, “Here, we lock up ice cream.”

Crime in New York City 

According to Fox News, New York's crime rates are up this year in six of seven major categories. The New York Post reported that, compared to last year, petty larceny complaints are up 52 percent in the precinct where the Port Authority is located. In addition to the rise in crime, inflation spiked to 9.1 percent in June, which the outlet explained has created a market for thieves to sell stolen discounted goods to cash-strapped consumers.