What do you think of people who steal at supermarkets?

[chroniclesofj]

Have you seen it happen?
Doesn’t seem like police or security care

Goodness me, what an oddly aggressive comment! I explained up thread when someone - far more politely - asked me the same question.

I understand what you are saying. I would certainly be less judgy of a desperate young parent like this trying to take food than some other people who shoplift . It all depends on the situation really

What a nasty response. Love to know how saintly you are.

I'm glad I don't have such low standards as you.

I saw 4-5 young men jump the barrier ( see I'd be shite in a Police ID Line-Up) , one had a bottle of JD .Totally brazen . The others probably had bottles of spirits too so potentially £100-£120 of theft .

Then recently in a small Tesco Metro , someone escaped through the fire doors with alcohol.

None of them looked on the bones of their arses , just opprtunistic.

Like the schoolboys who pushed through the barriers at the train station (in uniform) , one laughing "It had to be done "

Sainsbury’s made billions in profit last year. You might think shoplifting just raises the cost for the rest of us, but it’s chump change to them. They could keep their prices stable whilst adjusting for their losses if they wanted to.

A good question, and honestly I have no idea. I was only explaining what I saw and how I felt about it. I suppose if a 30 year old man was desperate and doing it for his baby and there was some way of knowing that, people would feel similar sympathy, but it certainly wouldn’t be as obvious in the moment.

It obviously wasn’t something she did a lot, because she did it so badly, she hadn’t even managed to hide it well in the carriage under the pram. I just felt awful for her.

You're just making up what you want to believe here.

You have no idea how often she does it, or if she's so thin and bad at it because she's off her tits on drugs.

It might not have even been HER baby!

I actually dont care and l worked in a few supermarkets years ago.
They cut the security staff and l wasn't about to tackle a shoplifter. Customers used to tell me on a sunday' there's a msn filling his bag with meat...there were literally 3 staff in the shop to save money and l was on the till, l always just said thanks for letting me know and ignored it.
The police weren't intrested if we reported it.

What do you mean?

TV screens for sale are being placed by the door and then stolen?

AIBU to wonder why the OP hasn't come back after 90 minutes to update her post or give us her opinion?

She has a history of putting up an OP (asking a question on which she gives no opinion) and then coming back once or not at all.

I’m not remotely saintly, and I don’t pretend to be. Turning a blind eye to theft is just contributing to the problem

Once M&S under charged me and a group of people over 50 pounds for groceries . We went back in a couple of days later and explained. They said it wasn’t worth their while charging us and that it would involve too much hassle and paperwork basically. I’m not that bothered about someone who is poor and desperate stealing a bit of food from a massive retailer . Call me what you like but there are far worse things going on in the world.

Maybe. Though that certainly wasn’t my sense of it at the time and it appeared the staff member thought the same. And while it is perfectly possible you are correct in your assumptions, it is at least equally likely that I was correct in mine.

This is unbelievably naive. Most people who steal aren't doing it because they're desperate, they're doing it to sell stuff on. There are gangs of Eastern Europeans who come to the UK to steal from our supermarkets. They also come and burgle houses and steal cars, chop them up and ship them overseas. Organised crime has a huge presence in this country. Those huge piles of waste dumped in the countryside? Also organised crime. Wake up!

I work in loss prevention so seen it all.

It does vary by location but there are many food banks, charities and Safeguarding services that support with food, baby milk, hot meals, toiletries.

I very rarely stop someone who has stolen essential items that they genuinely can't access elsewhere. On the rare occasions that's happened they are safeguarded & referred to appropriate agencies.

Some do it for the 'thrill' some do it because they believe they have some sort of entitlement & supermarkets have more money than them. Some do it because they want things they can't afford.

Buying to sell on for drugs or drug debts is also common, or alcoholics stealing alcohol.

There are also criminal gangs which steal to order large quantities of products such as baby care, chocolate or cleaning products that are then sold on to independent 'mini marts' across Europe.

Yes supermarkets do a lot to deter & disrupt criminal activity & work together with other retailers & police & national crime agency to tackle the most prolific offenders.

It does seem mad to put the big ticket things so near but they probably never think people are so brazen.
If they were further back then they could be damaged .
At the front you have the security with the CCTV and the Lottery/Tobacco Booths as well as the Self Service and Checkouts .

I saw a bloke go into The Range , wait till the doors were opened by someone coming in and walking out with a microwave oven.
Ok , he could've bought it but their was no bag or tape and he was acting oddly .
I didn't say anything and I doubt anyone instore would do either .

Anyone stealing actual food out of desperation and hunger would get the same level of sympathy from me to be honest. Yes stealing is wrong that’s a fact but in all honesty I think having no sympathy for someone in such a desperate situation shows a total lack of empathy.

I used to work in a cash and carry and the regular customers would conceal stuff - specially adapted jackets with bottles of whiskey down each arm, items hidden in big crisp boxes, stuff crammed in the space under a beer keg.

These were business people and identifiable - they checked in, we had their addresses on file yet they still felt it acceptable.

Thieves are grubby people without integrity.

Yeah I’ve seen it happen. Once with a load of meat and once a woman with a full basket of shopping, just walked out without paying at self service till (I was behind her).

I guess I know some of the local junkies in my area by sight and if it looked like someone a bit less skaggy and they had a baby and I saw them put one thing of baby milk in their bag...I guess I'd be less likely to be annoyed.

But the main issue is it almost normalises it. I think normal folks now will be encouraged to steal because they see how easy it is.

I think people who steal from supermarkets are really scummy and nasty individuals that make everything worse for everyone else.
I wish there was more done to stop them.
I think the same of anyone that steals things or commits fraud. I judge them and I think they are bad people.
People that try and justify it are almost as bad. If you are going to steal then at least be honest about it 😅

If they are stealing due to penury then I couldn't care less. If anyone asks I didn't see a thing and I'm happy to pay the supposed price imcreases if it means people can feed themselves.

I've seen it a few times in Waitrose, mainly women who are well dressed, put it all through the self checkout get approval for wine, then just waltz out without paying.

Aso saw a guy in Boots steal all the shampoos, he just walked in with a holdall and swept it all in.

Then in our local M&S I saw a homeless chap (junkie) steal loads of steaks. The staff gave chase and he hopped on a bus, I hopped on the next bus and when I got off at my stop there was the thief.

Then in Aldi I saw a woman steal a load of stuff the staff at the door apprehended her and she yelled abuse and bit the security guard on the hand, then hurled a jar of instant coffee at his head. Truly awful.

But it’s not normal .most people who have enough money to get by wouldn’t just start stealing cos they saw a junkie doing it unless they have poor morals or an inclination to be dishonest in general. Or there are the type that do it for a thrill etc .which is a different issue altogether.