Due to a recent rash of robberies in which staff members were unable to identify perpetrators because they were wearing masks, one store in Beverly Hills, California has banned guests from wearing them.
Kitson, the proprietor of the upscale clothes business, claimed to have observed a troubling rise in the use of masks by people seeking to hide their identities.
Fraser Ross said, “The mask mandate may have begun as a health precaution but we believe it is now being used by some people for nefarious purposes. To that end, we enacted our own mandate of sorts.”
“We do not allow the wearing of masks in the store during regular business hours. Those people who wish to wear masks are free to set up an appointment for a personal shopping experience or visit our website.”
The recent crime wave at the store, according to a salesperson there, has deterred some customers from making purchases.
In an effort to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses around the nation have imposed mask recommendations or mask mandates for clients.
Hemenway added that one problem—masks—has made it difficult for even their top-of-the-line cameras to identify the perpetrators in recent crimes.
“Especially in the last few weeks, we’ve had multiple events where people have come in using masks and have chosen to steal or try to steal assets from our store which is very unfortunate. We definitely have security guards at all of our stores and we’ve installed high-security cameras, but the mask covers their face, the most important part of their face that we need to use when showing the police,” Hemenway noted.
The salesperson claims that nearby stores are experiencing robberies as well, prompting several to close.
