Brazen shoplifting

[Breadcat24]

I know this has been in the news but I am a bit shocked witnessing it.
I was in the trolley self check out bit of Tesco. There are 8 trolley check outs and 10 basket check outs man by 2 staff,
It gave me an an error about using my own bag so I was looking around for the member of staff and saw the guy next to me just putting his stuff that was in his trolley in a bag. I nearly said you need to put it on the scale but a member of staff was heading my way so I did not.
Mentioned it to staff member and it seems he only scanned a loaf of bread and put the 3 packs of budweiser beer, meat and crisps straight in a carrier bag. Did not pay for the bag.
Staff said he would contact security but the security guy was tiny and the 2 guys manning the self serve just young kids.
I can quite see have they would not want to risk themselves.
But it was the casual way they were doing it that shocked me.
Is this what we have come to? Such brazen casual theft?

Yes. It's worth the risk for some people. Threaten the staff or the police don't show up etc.self checkout relies on staff vigilance. Would you want your son or daughter on a Saturday job to face someone who doesn't give a ?

Because, the police will do nothing about thefts under £250 (this used to be the amount when I worked retail)
Staff on minimum wage, staff with no training to deal with shoplifters
You have no idea what the shoplifter will do if they are approached.....
Is it worth getting spat on? Hit? Knocked to the floor? Stamped on?
Followed home?
I see the same folk day in day out stealing and it's not always "chavs"

Can’t believe he didn’t pay for the bag.

I can imagine there are people stealing to feed their kids in these hard times.

There are but others do it because they can. I'm sure someone on here will have tales of shoppers who could afford to buy the items

A common theft is Nespresso pods. Often see the pkts of 10 open and 1 missing. So someone has pocketed a few pods. A struggling family isn't drinking Nespresso.

All shoplifting is wrong, even if you're stealing to eat (which I imagine is a very low number of people). But if I were a member of staff then I wouldn't be challenging them either. Too many tales of staff being assaulted or worse (saw one clip of a car hitting a member of staff). It isn't worth it. But shoplifting pushes up the cost for everyone. I am struggling but would never steal.

On Budweiser?

Twice in the last few weeks I have watched load bags packs of chicken and meat into carrier bags and just walk out of our local Tesco express. Both occasions I have alerted the manager who shrugs his shoulders and says they can't do anything. On the last occasion he had a cursory look out of the door after the shoplifter then shrugged his shoulders and said ' we missed him. I guess it is policy not to try to do anything but it's the total apathy like it happens multiple times a day and they are past caring.

I know staff are told not to challenge shoplifters, in case they’re attacked, but this really is not a victimless crime. We all pay through increased prices because people choose to help themselves.

People stealing Budweiser are not doing it to feed their children.

I think we should all do this as a social experiment to see how the shops respond. Can you imagine loads of people just piling trollies up and then leaving the store? There'd be chaos.

I can't understand how there isn't technology to prevent shoplifting now.

Quite. Imagine if everyone did it.
It's become too acceptable.

I witnessed a couple using the scan as go in tesco once. So brazen just pretending to scan. Trolley was rammed . They went through just before me. The staff were chatting saying they can't check them unless till prompts. Till didn't ask for a check.
Their total was around £30. I saw 3 x vodka 2 gin go in alone.

Not this again. It’s not true. I can assure you that thefts under £250 do get prosecuted, although not nearly enough.

And there are also a lot of people who shoplift for reasons far less ‘noble’ then this. The person OP was talking about was taking Budweiser.

Actual lol

I've seen ti twice. Someone just walk into Pret pick up a sandwich and walk out. He was in a suit and carrying a briefcase so I am guessing not on the breadline stealing to feed his family.

The other one was at a self service and they scanned everything then walked out. I have become friends with my Aldi lady and she said it happens circa 4-5 times every time she is on shift.

This in a smallish rural area.

Because, the police will do nothing about thefts under £250

Don't know where this figure comes from. We get calls for shoplifting of £10/£20 & they get dealt with. If someone's detained for shoplifting police attend here regardless of the amount. If they're not detained a report will still be taken but probably over the phone.

When I worked in a supermarket 95-00 it was brazen even back then - joints of meat, coffee and baby milk was the most common. Then they would try and sell it back to us in the pub later that night! We were too young to intervene and I don't think the police would have cared even if we did.

I've worked in retail, and shoplifting is rife, especially now with self service tills. I lost count how many times people under rang their items, and when you told them that they'd not scanned their two boxes of dog food for instance, they'd usually just say that they hadn't realised. Of course they hadn't 🙄

People tend to think that there's a stereotypical look of a shoplifter, but there isn't. It doesn't matter what type of person they are, shoplifters could be anyone. It's very common for people to have their flash cars parked outside, and will still steal if they get the opportunity to It's not about the lack of money for most shoplifters I don't think, it's about them having a sense of entitlement that they can take what they want, and they have no qualms about doing it.

Loads of supermarkets have security staff now.

Before Christmas, I was in Boots and the staff started shouting " Get out! There's nothing here for you! Put it down!" A man had walked in and just started taking the big gift bags off the shelf and walked out. I thought the staff were great for challenging him. They said he came in regularly.

I was in the same shop a couple of weeks later and the same man came back and tried to do the same but this time was arrested by the police who had been waiting for him! It was good to see they did actually do something about this obviously known shoplifter.

@WinterMorn when I worked retail security , the police should not come out for under £250 ( this is a good few years ago) we had a private security team who worked the city centre , police very rarely would out, last week when reported a shoplifter to the manager in B+M they said the police dill not come out retail thefts unless someone was hurt.
This is my lived experience yours may differ.
We were expected to deal with shoplifters by our manager, myself and others were hit and spat at/on.
On a staff night out I got punched in the face leaving a bar by a well known shoplifter and another member of staff had a glass thrown at her by the shoplifters boyfriend

I was in coop and the thing didn't register the pack of asparagus I put on the scale which id scanned so I put it straight in the bag I was holding I was immediately approached by a member of staff and had to show id scanned it so I'm not convinced it's that easy

@scrapsontheside I worked in the Court system over the last year and there were numerous prosecutions under £250. Sorry to hear about your situation, it’s simply not good enough.