Robbing from Tesco with impunity *edited by MNHQ*

I saw two big, scary looking men in my local small Co Op open a massive holdall and scoop every bit of meat off the chiller shelf into it. I immediately went into the next aisle and told a member of staff. They said the security guard knocked off at 6pm and as he was on mimimum wage, he wasn't going to tackle them.

I was absolutely gobsmacked.

Three days later I was opening my front door when a gaunt, jerky young man came up and asked me if I liked steak. I said I didn't, I preferred burgers, and he said "We have some of those as well." I asked where they came from and he said "the Co Op, but they are all in my mate's freezer so they have not gone off."

Nah…. I may have sympathy for you (even though I don’t know you from Adam), but I have little sympathy for a very large corporation that is destroying small businesses while paying peanuts to its staff, putting them in danger, the meanwhile it’s top executive are massively rich.

Sorry but your “one size fits all” approach doesn’t cut it for me.

This is the orders that the police have had from the cps. It costs too much money to arrest and prosecute them only for them to be given a slap on the hand.

I read on BBC that Co-Op said some areas are becoming no-go areas for shops. They are losing too much to keep some branches open.

Agreed.

It used to happen in a small town I lived in.

95% of the crime was due to the actions of about a dozen individuals who were in and out of jail (fines hadn't worked) but unfortunately they weren't all 'banged up' at the same time.

Then someone dropped a blooper and 'did' a house belonging to someone's granny. Some other gang members jumped him down an alley and beat him to a pulp.

A big trial ensued resulting in several GBH convictions, substantial sentences, and a significant drop in the crime rate.

I suspect the Police are quite aware who these yobs are. They are probably waiting for them to 'up their game' and then they'll come down hard.

And of course the problem is that if all shoplifters were caught and sentenced to a spell in prison then where do they all go and who is paying for that?

As for all the ‘Tesco are bastards, good on them’ types, remember that when it’s your car that’s nicked or your house that is burgled.

Yes, I do think we are heading towards anarchy unless we do something to stop the wealth divide getting wider and people feeling a sense of injustice so that they are able to kids themselves that what they are doing is justified and reasonable

I feel like this comment is just such a fucking cop out.

So much of this entitlement is down to material acquisition and is being exacerbated by the relentless spending on kids. Stop constantly buying your kids stuff!!! Honest to god you are thinking back to simpler times when times genuinely were simpler.

The main spend was housing and food. Now it’s Apple and Nike and fuck knows what the latest thing is as I’ve zoned out. Once we made capitalism God then morality went out the window. Stop blaming everything thing else and look what’s happening in your own family first. Then your community and then your country. You can always make personal changes to help society. It’s so much easier to blame everyone else and do absolutely nothing yourself.

Phobes not phones

There was an interview on R4 about the bank and Farage.
It seems that a few years ago the Gov, I think Cameron’s introduced guidelines on inclusivity to companies in the U.K. so rather than making money your aim is to be seen to be inclusive and kind and must produce evidence of this.
Similarly the Gov are all about reducing sentences for non violent crimes, not punishing young people etc But being hard on racism and phones.
So this is where we are.Tescos hand are tied (can’t punish the shoplifters) the police hands are tied -no point spending hours building a prosecution as slapped hand is the result. So we have to live with it - perhaps a mass writing to MPs might make them look at legislation again.

And where do you buy your food? Would you be ok with people shoplifting from there?

*same

So much of the criminality is linked.

It’s a nice idea to imagine a Tiny Tim situation where some starving child is stealing a Turkey for a family Christmas dinner. Don’t cry into your hanky for too long. I’m sure the thread would nicely run through shoplifting, drugs, child exploitation and human trafficking, domestic abuse, prostitution, and much much more. All in the sane stable and the human suffering is immense.

I think technology has to take some blame. The fact that we're all reading this, being made aware of how prevalent it is becoming, just makes it easier for the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" type of people to start doing this with no thought for the lack of morality involved. Or they follow idiots online who spout a load of nonsense about "taking what's yours"/rich controlling us, and get spurred on to do it.

Before the advent of the internet, most people didn't really have anything much to do with people living in other areas. Their sense of "elsewhere" or "other" was more heightened than it is now. "That London" was seen as either "where the posh people live" or "where you'll get mugged." Now, people mix online all the time with people from all over the world. They are much more aware of what actually does happen elsewhere. Things "catch on" very quickly and easily, and this can be something inane and harmless like the latest TikTok dance, or highy dangerous attitudes and ways of life eg Andrew Tate, or the changing idea of morality eg the idea that shop lifting is not that bad and is in fact quite easy to do. Groupthink is not a good thing.

Basically the world had a bit more ignorance before the internet. Rumours were widely believed eg if you were told as a kid by your parents that you'd go to prison for shoplifting you probably believed them. Now, kids just go online and can google statistics and see reports and now footage of people getting away with this stuff.

Getting rid of staff in shops was such a terrible, terrible idea. Spending millions on developing self-scanning systems was a waste of money if it just means that fewer staff in shops gives people an increased sense of confidence that they can get away with stuff.

Yes, I do think we are heading towards anarchy unless we do something to stop the wealth divide getting wider and people feeling a sense of injustice so that they are able to kids themselves that what they are doing is justified and reasonable. Technology has generally NOT helped.

Makes me feel wistful for holidays to rural backwaters where honesty boxes in local shops are a thing. Or do people steal from these now too?

And they do. It’s the same organised gangs

It’s not their profit margin that takes the hit though

Yet in my shopping centre I watched security chasing a group of what looked like 13 year olds around a few months ago because they were being a bit loud 🤣 worlds gone mad.

Yeah I saw a security guard run after someone in my local Aldi (in a decent area) recently. I’ve also started being asked to pick up my bags/look in them at the checkout in Aldi so they can check nothing is hiding in them before they start ringing things through (something they did for everyone, not just me looking dodgy!).

There's generally a threshold for the police to take action where shoplifting is concerned. And I guess there's a fine line to tread when it comes to tackling shoplifters to ensure you don't put yourself or others in danger, and you maintain propriety when physically dealing with them, lest you be accused of being heavy handed, harassment or being inappropriate. To many shops it just isn't worth it.

👏

Yep. The heart of the problem. Justification for crimes.

Interesting. Where do you draw the line?

We have drug users in our area who argue and fight at the chemist waiting for their meds. And shops get windows smashed on that street. When we owned a book shop. We had a drug user smash our main window, and hanging baskets. He got refused entry at the tavern opposite. We had to close until the window got repaired. The police insisted on taking finger prints from the blood on the broken window. Result five minutes in court them looking at the pictures of damage, and a comment of they can claim on insurance. We know where he lives, and he is still smashing shop windows.

I have absolutely no fucks to give about someone shoplifting from there in broad daylight.

Don't come crying when the same emboldened scumbags rob your house then.