to think that the Crown Prosecution Service should have better things to do ..

[bonvivant]

than prosecute people taking unwanted food from a skip?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/28/three-charged-vagrancy-act-food-skip-iceland

Iceland gives a vast amount of its waste food to places like the Salvation Army anyway. Or atleast the or I used to work at did. It's reductions. They climbed into an empty carpark, at the back of an empty store, no one was in danger, to take food that was destined to end up in a landfill. What's the problem? That's what wrong with this country, it's a victimless "crime" and people think it deserves prosecuting.

won't lose too much sleep over it.

They scaled a wall and trespassed. They're also squatters so, very possibly, the sort of people who don't believe in paying for anything.

Can you really deprive someone of something they've already willingly discarded?

Maybe the decision to prosecute is to test exactly that. Perhaps the three men welcome the chance to argue that point.

It's going to a magistrates' court though, and they're usually less sympathetic to defendants than juries.

Louise I'd be very surprised if Iceland still give away vast amounts of food. I work for a large retailer and 10-15 years ago we gave away loads but now almost nothing as the charities will not take it. For the reasons above it isn't worth their while, we've tried repeated options but are totally stymied by regulations.

If the food was past it's 'sell by' date (as it probably was), it had no commercial value and therefore can't be worth £33 as the article says.

bonvivant you are not being unreasonable. I was shocked by this story as well.

To those posters who have said that the people who took food from the bin are squatters and trespassers, I would like to point out that they are not being prosecuted for squatting or trespassing, so I don't think this is relevant.

In fact the CPS seemed to have struggled to find a law that applies to the situation at all. The food was taken from the men and returned to Iceland (who presumably threw it away again!) and the men were held for 19 hours before being released. They are now being prosecuted under the 1824 Vagrancy Act (see below)

^Persons committing certain offences to be deemed rogues and vagabonds.

...every person being found in or upon any dwelling house, warehouse, coach-house, stable, or outhouse, or in any inclosed yard, garden, or area, for any unlawful purpose..being subsequently convicted of the offence for which he or she shall have been so apprehended; shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond…it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace to commit such offender (being thereof convicted before him by the confession of such offender, or by the evidence on oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses,) to the house of correction, . . . for any time not exceeding three calendar months^

which rather smacks of desperation to me.

If the unlawful purpose is alleged theft of the food then it would be a defence for the men to say that it was their honest belief that they would have Iceland's consent if they knew of the circumstances.

YANBU absolutely crazy waste of public resources.

It was in an enclosed space on their property. Not on the street

The vagrancy act is that they were in an enclosed space up to no good

You're not a huge food supplier that might have poisoned them and made themselves liable

Total red herring. People are entitled to put out of date and rotting food in their bins, these bins could only be accessed by climbing a wall. There is no chance whatsoever that Iceland could have been liable if the accused had become ill.

Extraordinary that we still have the Vagrancy Act on the statute books: why on earth, in 2014, do we still have an offence of being deemed a rogue or vagabond? If they didn't think they'd succeed in a prosecution for theft, they shouldn't have prosecuted at all.

Caution maybe, but prosecution for "stealing" from a bin? Food that was going to be landfilled? Food that had been discarded and was "waste" to its original owner? What are we, Elizabethan or Victorian England - smacks of sending people to the colonies for stealing bread. Makes me ashamed. I hope 38 degrees or someone takes this up or a petition is started.

YANBU - it's ludicrous! That food was in a skip waiting to go to landfill. We're meant to be trying to reduce the amount of waste we produce. What's criminal IMO is perfectly good, edible food being thrown away because it's passed some arbitrary date on the packaging.

Someone has started this - www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/crown-prosecution-service-cpsuk-drop-charges-against-hungry-men-taking-food-from-supermarket-bins

Thanks Alanna1, I've signed the petition.

I cannot fathom (having lived ina squat while working) how these men were hungry. The main man mentioned in the article has a job.

Is there any evidence to say they were hungry?

CPS are such a bunch of useless wankers!

Regina V's 3 Starving chaps, Ironic isn't it?

Unfortunately it will take a long, long time and a lorra larra taxpayers money before the sensible judge will more than likely throw it out.

I was a "victim" of the CPS and it took 18 months for my stupid trial to come to court.

Instead of admitting they made a mistake and dropping the case, this bunch of willies will throw the book at these lads.

& No! It often doesn't matter what the crime is, they literally don't have better things to do, apart from being seen to protect crown and country.

(ooh, and they're all very young....?)

I should add whether they were hungry or not, it's NOT in the Public's interests to prosecute

Taking into consideration that rape cases are under prosecuted, I think the CPS should be finding better things to do with their time.
Bloody waste of taxpayers money.

latest development from Iceland

I suspect that Iceland are appalled at the bad publicity.

A complete waste of time. It is a victimless crime.

So glad Iceland responded as they did. It is a sad world when this is an offence. It was refuse awaiting collection. A victimless crime is right.