… to think shoplifting is really bad?

Yes, it's somehow seen by many as 'a bit naughty' rather than as a crime - a bit like stealing work supplies for your own personal use at home.

I wonder how it came to be known as shoplifting, rather than just plain old shop theft?

I think what find most difficult to forgive is when a right thinking lucid mp to remember(with staff) fails to remember to registrar business interests ..

My brother works in retail insurance and said that some of it is insurance scamming. The shops can get paid out for stock that wouldn't sell.

Most theft of nappies and baby formula is to sell it, rather than a parent stealing out of desperation.

Shop lifting isnt acceptable. Imagine if we all did it, the shelves would be ransacked.

M&S are piloting a new route to get shoplifters prosecuted. I think i read the guy they got and paid for court actually got sentenced, after the sentencing it came out he had loads of slap on the wrists but kept doing it as its low level crime. This time he got sentenced.

It's all very well when it happens to somebody else, but when an habitual thief is on their way home from Tesco with their haul and passes your house, and they spot your kid's new bike leaning against the fence and figure why not just help themselves again... then you might care.

Yes, and you also get some thieves who will deliberately present as vulnerable so that, if caught, they can turn on the waterworks about being a single mum on benefits needing formula for their baby - even though they've already had a dozen cartons of formula that week to sell on, that they haven't been caught with.

You'd have to have a very hard heart to throw the book at a genuinely very poor person stealing the basics in order not to starve; but just like with people begging on the streets, a lot of bad people who are not at all in need have seen their opportunity and decided they want in as well - if anything learning to act more convincing than the genuine ones, as the latter may feel a sense of shame and indignity at needing to do it, whereas the former are happily giving it their all for maximum profit.

You'll get posters coming on here to tell you it's no big deal and that they themselves are habitual shoplifters.

Of course shoplifting is awful, scumbag behaviour which inflates the cost of products and makes shopping unpleasant for everyone else who must endure more suspicion and the inconvenience of anti-theft measures taken by stores.

When I was a teen it was seen as “normal”, if slightly rebellious. When I was around 13 I stole pens from WH Smith, makeup from Superdrug. I’m not proud but I did a lot of things as a teen I’m not proud of. Mostly through peer pressure, hormones, etc.

Would find it very odd if I knew an adult who shoplifts now, especially if they admitted it. But I know some get a rush from it just like drugs or gambling.

It’s not something I care about at all, if I’m honest.

I disagree that funding addiction is an acceptable reason for someone shoplifting. Maybe it's understandable if someone genuinely needs something to survive but seriously, what percentage of shoplifting do you think is done by people stealing the bare minimum they need to live, that is to say if they didn't steal it they would die? And of those few cases, do they make sure they steal the cheapest items?

Looking at the court results in our local newspaper or online, it's rare you see prosecutions for very low value items. The shoplifters seem to have expensive tastes. Nobody needs to steal a joint of beef worth £15 and a bottle of Prosecco worth £12.99. The value of items is low but they are not essentials. Alcohol isn't essential, if you're an alcoholic you can get treatment. I can't afford to spend £15 on a joint of beef and I work fulltime.

Most shoplifting in my area is done to order anyway. One of the neighbours openly operates a steal-to-order business to support their drug-dealing income. Tell them what you want and they'll get it for you at half the shop price. I'm not exaggerating, they often do it while the customer waits.

Most shoplifting is done for profit. Very few people steal to survive. It's wrong.

Though shalt not steal.
It is never okay to steal.
It’s theft. End of.