With theft on the rise, these are the 'hot products' - including Spam - that drug stores are most likely to lock up

• Drug stores are targeted by thieves for the variety of 'hot products' they offer.
• Companies opt for plastic anti-theft cases as employees are prohibited from stopping shoplifters.

As inflation rises, concerns about theft are increasing, too — and stores are opting for more security to address the issue.

Spam, the canned meat product priced at $3.99 for 12 ounces, is the latest item to be locked up in an anti-theft case at a Duane Reade location in New York City.

A can of Starkist Tuna — $1.89 — is also locked up at the city's Port Authority bus depot, located in an area where crime is up 52% according to Fox News.

"To put Spam in a cage is stupid — and kind of insulting to the customers that would buy it," shopper Dennis Snow said in the Fox News report.

In a viral tweet, one patron compared the cased product to the work of neo-pop artist Jeff Koons.

—willy (@willystaley) July 28, 2022

Grand larceny has gone up 41% in New York along with robbery and burglary going up 34% and 36%, respectively, Fox News reports.

The most commonly stolen items from stores include cigarettes, over-the-counter medications, contraceptives, liquor, teeth-whitening strips, and health and beauty products.

Retail loss expert Adrian Beck explained to CNN that drug stores are targeted for carrying these "hot products," and stores must protect the "vital few" profitable items over the less lucrative "trivial many."

Many companies prohibit store employees from stopping shoplifters, but the plastic anti-theft cases only go so far.

"I don't think they stop anything," a store clerk said to Fox News about the anti-theft cases. "It's security theater. If you really needed it, you would stomp on it."