Shoplifting food

[Bananavape]

What's your opinion on someone shoplifting food, sometimes the more expensive items within their weekly shopping (cheese, sauces etc), or sometimes when they're out and starving but no money to actually buy anything to eat (a sandwich or wrap etc), if they genuinely can't afford to feed themselves?

This is laughably immature. The church and the law both listen to mitigation.

Nope. Personally I wouldn't from small businesses as I realise they have their own families to feed but if I lived somewhere with only independents and was in this situation I would have to.

But the poster I replied to thinks it's OK to steal lobsters, steaks, basically anything they want if they're clever enough to get ot out of the shop.

You obviously have a prescribed list of rules of what people can steal and from where. What happens if shoplifters don't keep within these rules? Do you report them then?

Still wouldnt report them. As I said if anyone is desperate enough to risk it then there is clearly a reason.

So in actuality you're OK with anyone stealing from anyone else, no matter what hardship that inflicted on them. The only difference is you might feel a bit of guilt about stealing from someone who's just scraping by?

Something similar happened to someone I knew. She refused a caution (she didn't really understand it all) and ended up in court.

I suppose I am then. The real problem is that even shop owners are barely scraping by as well as the other people having to take from them.

I honestly could not care less. I also don't care if it's 'the basics' or steak/alcohol. You don't know what that person's situation is - if they're stealing steak etc to sell because they really need to buy something else that they can't steal, so what? And with alcohol, unless you've seen someone who is a serious alcoholic (as many people on the streets etc are) go through alcohol withdrawals then please don't judge this. Alcohol withdrawals can literally cause death and do every year.

One of my friends years ago used to steal a full rucksack of food from the supermarket weekly. She was a care leaver, no family support, mental health issues, receiving benefits that didn't cover even half of the cost of her room in a shared house (hugely inflated rents around here). And yes, she stole alcohol and 'luxury' goods too, and things to sell on. She did what she had to do.

I would never condone stealing that affects an individual person (pickpocketing/burglary/stealing from family run corner shops etc). When it comes to chains I just really don't care. And yes, I know it means the prices go up for the rest of us - still don't care.

How are you now? Is life better for you and your brother. And your mum? Is she well. I’m sorry you went through such a hard time as a young girl and I very much hope you’re in a better place as an adult and that you have peace of heart and mind.

@determinedtomakethiswork that's so sad isn't it. Who knows what you'd do if you or your kids were really hungry and desperate.

But all people who steal risk being caught, don't they? Shoplifters aren't be definition desperate people. So you would never report any shoplifters in case they were desperate?

DS1 was paying for his petrol when he saw a man about to steal a pack of sandwiches and a bottle of water. DS1 told him not to, and paid for it for him instead. If I saw someone about to steal basics, I’d do the same, tbh.

Correct

So where is your cut off point between which shops are OK to steal from and which aren't. Say you have a family corner shop, which you think is a no no to steal from, and they always have new Mercedes cars and go on exotic holidays, etc, would they change status and become OK to steal from?

Agreed.

If I was in a position in the future where I could do this I 100% would

And what happens if they stole jewellery from the shop. They can't eat that but they could sell it to buy other stuff it maybe that the children to a day out. Would you report that?

If you see people stealing food of any description, you didn't see anything.

Nappies, formula, intimate care, you saw nothing.

And if you choose to see something, keep your mouth shut.

My housemate was in out local "small" branch of a nationwide chain of supermarkets at 8.30pm. She saw two men come in, open a huge holdall, then sweep ALL the meat off the meat shelf into the bag. She was scared to say anything, but hot-footed it to the till when she went up close to a male assistant and told him quietly what was happening. He literally shrugged and said there was nothing they could do as the security guard goes home at 8m. She said to call the police but he said they won't come out for shoplifting, and, anyway, by the time he got through and they got here the thieves would be long gone.

She then stood and watched the two guys walk straight out without being challenged.

She's absolutely outraged because she shops there all the time and everything is 25p to £1 more than anywhere else, and she's convinced this is a sort of "tax" on the rest of us to cover for these theft losses.

A couple stole a whole grocery shop at the self checkout in front of my husband the other day. They waited until the attendant was dealing with another customer’s issue and bolted. I understand the supermarket chains have actually calculated it’s cheaper for them to cut cashier jobs and put up with a small amount of shoplifting at the self checkouts than it is to employ people. So in that sense although I think the individuals are wrong to steal (unless there are some major extenuating circumstances such as abject poverty) I also think the supermarket chains are in the wrong for cutting cashier jobs.

I'd be more shocked to see someone making a point of reporting someone in a store for shoplifting, keep your nose to
yourself you never know what someone else is living through.
Also, many foodbank's open very limited hours and aren't always easy to get to.

What thefts, of any nature, would you report out of interest?

I worry about the poor people who work there who feel obliged to get the goods back from the thieves.... how desperate are these people? Desperate enough to pull a knife?

Why must one 'keep their mouth shut' in the event of witnessing criminal activity?

Stealing is never right but I do understand if it's truly because someone is hungry.

To those saying food banks shouldn't be necessary, the reasons people need them are complex and varied but the common theme in my personal experience is debt, both due to change in circumstances and not being able to afford the payments and more alarmingly because they borrowed more than they can then afford to pay back (irresponsible lending).