Safeway installs new security gates, requiring customers to scan receipts before exiting store.. ... Washington, D.C. supermarkets have started installing high-tech security gates in an effort to prevent rising retail theft and crime in the nation's capital. Over the past week, Safeway grocery stores in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan have installed new security gates that open once a customer scans their receipt. ... The security gates come as retail thefts continue to climb. ... The Safeway in Columbia Heights recently experienced an overnight theft in which thieves broke into the grocery store’s ATM to steal the cash and ordered...