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?

Instead of letting them steal for 6 weeks (and set themselves up for a life of crime) why not approach ss, parents ( where were they? Kids that young out on the streets all day) or make up a loaf worth of sandwiches yourself for them?

I wouldn’t personally confront anyone who was stealing but working in probation, we see lots of people who deliberately target high end supermarkets (because they don’t have security guards) to steal meat and alcohol to sell on to pay for drugs. This isn’t helpful to the people stealing, those they’re selling it on to (as they’re paying for goods that the thief has got for free), the shop or it’s paying customers.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a couple who had been shoplifting being stopped by security in my local supermarket. They were left at the exit for quite a while as the security guard seemed to have called for assistance.Meanwhile everyone had a really good look at them. They'd basically done a full shop and tried to leave with it. There's only 2 supermarkets where I live so if they're caught in the other one they're in difficulty.

It's nothing to do with me, I wouldn't think anything... maybe they are in a desperate situation. Its not for me to judge though as I have never been in a situation where I need to steal cheese or whatever.

@Godlovesall26 your post is sad to read and it's like some are unable to read. You don't know why someone is stealing I would hardly calling it dressing it up.

Love this 🤣

Have you tried any of the ideas you quote? Can you imagine skip diving at 7pm with hungry cold kids? Too good to go is not free....and you can't get a whole meal. I think spending some time at a food bank would open several pairs of eyes.

How many meals in a row did your mother skip to feed you? Never seemed hungry, eating later etc.

Starving

Where have you seen that documented?

Not many because I used to pretend to be full after eating half my dinner so she could eat the rest while she was pretended to do the dishes. I also used to sell my free dinner tickets to the packed-lunch kids at school then give my mother the money. I'd tell her I'd eaten someone's packed-lunch in school and that's why I wasn't hungry. We lived on chips, gravy and bread & butter. Always had our eyes scanning the footpath for dropped coins. Used to feel down the back of other people's couches for change. Used to wash at the swimmers because the water was warm and the soap was free. Etc.

I know what poor is. I know what cold is. I know what hungry is.

What favour would you do by stopping them having any food that day? ....free hot meals in school holidays only started in Covid thanks to that footballer prior to that social workers and politicians were well aware children were going hungry in school holidays and turned a blind eye.

So, if I was desperate enough, you'd have no problem with me threatening you with violence and taking anything valuable you had on you?

Same here. Always the same ones

How did you make such a leap of logic to presume that?

I think some posters just really enjoy getting themselves angry.

So basically you played your mum's game of I'm okay and went without too....but is that right in the modern world where nurses can't feed their kids?

No, but that's not the question here. The question is about stealing. Is it ok for a nurse to steal meds from work because she can't afford to pay for them at the pharmacy? The NHS is a big company, it's nothing to them if some meds they've paid for go missing right?

My family came from a 3rd world country. My when I was little said how we now see adverts for charities with kids in rags and bloated stomachs, well that was her.

they my DM and DF went on to run their own successful business in this country and they had both finished school at age 8, so could do limited maths and reading. They learnt to speak English and write a little here. Dad worked in foundaries and mum in factories. We never had to steal nor we never went hungry. We had lots of basic food from our country of origin but it was freshly cooked, our great uncle grew some veg we’d cook that. My Gran grew herbs we’d use those.

We didn’t have a lot. But we never had to steal.

*my DM was like one of the poor girls you see in charity adverts with rags for clothing

Actually the question is about shoplifting when you're hungry and have no money.

Bit much to lecture others about going off topic when you yourself have left it in the dust.

Stealing essentials because you don't have money is still on topic.

Not at all. If it's OK to steal from a company, why not from an individual?

Is this someone you know OP? If your user name means you vape, why not give it up and give them some of the money you save?

Our government would LOVE us to aerated about someone stealing cheese to distract us from the dodgy knighthoods and multi million contacts.

The problem is that people who are selling things on are often heroin addicts. There's one woman in my village who stole several bottles of laundry liquid after multiple other shoplifting offences.

I used to live in a rough area and baby milk was one of the things people stole the most, often stealing to order and selling it half price.

There was an article in my local paper today where a skint single mum took a trolley with £370 worth of goods through the self service checkout and simply sisn't pay. She received a 6 month suspended sentence, partly because she said in the pre sentence report that she didn't care because Tesco was a big rich company.

Stealing is not right but how can anyone judge if someone is facing no electricity no heating and no food for several days? We are sold the idea that help is there but it isn't. I have families, working families, coming in every last Wednesday in a month to get warm, do homework and eat, food bank day is Friday 2 buses away. Some have cut up towels as nappies. If one says they had to steal to get some food, nappy cream, calpol I'm not judging any of us could be there in a month or two.