CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - It was announced last week by ABC news that the Big Lots department store, which has been located at 8525 Auburn Blvd in Citrus Heights since 2019, will be closing its doors in January of 2023.

According to Big Lots external communications director Josh Chaney, the corporate retailer is routinely reviewing its many stores and decided “for a variety of business reasons, to close or relocate.”

But the news has raised several concerns among residents and shoppers one of which is that homelessness and crime in the area may have played a large part in forcing the retailer to decide to move elsewhere.

The Prop 47 loophole in law enforcement which allows thefts up to $950 to be classified as misdemeanors was advanced from an anonymous employee as part of the overall reason for the closure.

When asked about this, Citrus Heights Police Department’s commander Jason Russo said there wasn’t an “unusually high amount of theft” reported in that area in the last year.

Statewide retailers and local shoppers have been expressing the need for a stricter approach to protect local businesses from shoplifting, said Rachel Michelin, President of the California Retailers Association.

The department store will be vacating a retail section once occupied by K-Mart which liquidated and closed in 2016 long before the current smash and grab trend.