To have said something re. shoplifter...

[escapedfrommordor]

This has been playing on my mind since this morning.
I was doing the food shop and I saw a lady in the baby aisle. You know when you radar sort of goes off? Her behaviour just seemed "off" and I saw her pick up a bunch of baby food pouches and walk off to the next aisle. Straight after that I saw her walk between two tills and out of the exit. She didn't have any bags or anything and there were no other tills open.
I said to the lady on the till "Sorry I think that lady has just left with a load of baby food and not paid..." and she just kinda shrugged it off! She said "Oh I'll remember her face for next time."
I went back to my shopping and then paid at the till the member of staff was on and we chatted about it. She seemed to be of the opinion she must be desperate if she's stealing baby food and that it was sad.
Would you have said something or assume she was in dire need and ignored it? Wondering if I'm just a bit heartless..

Formula is one of the most shoplifted items in our shop (along with meat and laundry products). High value and easy to sell on. Most of the shoplifters we catch are addicts stwaling to fund their habit.

Stealing is breaking the law, and in our case directly stealing from me, no difference to coming into my house and taking something from there. If there's a law against it it should be enforced.

Apparently you wanting to feed your family isn't as important MrsSparkles

Thanks persephone he really is. When people judge a book by his cover he looks rather intimidating, however he is just a big teddy bear. Don't get me wrong he is hard as nails but he'd have sacrificed a weeks pay to help that man feed his children, and helped him find a job.
Shoplifters who do it to fund a lifestyle are scum, but when people have to turn to theft because they're in such dire straits of poverty it really is sad. Many a time have I ended up in tears explaining poverty to my kids, it's so sad

He sounds lovely but is working as a security guard really a good choice for someone who can't bear dealing with thieves if they are just doing it to feed their families? It sounds stressful for him and surely his attitude doesn't help him or his employer?

Hmm a moral dilemma. Given the nature of the goods I would have thought "there but by the grace of God" and stayed Schtum.

The reason the staff weren't noticeably bothered can better be explained by an event that happened recently. The manager at my last place of work was caught stealing. So caught you wouldn't believe. After she was invited to leave, the area manager of the store came back and has berated the staff for blowing the whistle. These are high worth goods that many people have to save hard for. And the people that cared enough to act are in trouble for it.

Makes your u think really doesn't it?

And everyone who does it is doing it to find their lifestyle in some way - whether they are stealing to sell for drug money or they are doing it to feed their child.

Livia he isn't in the job any more. But he was more than suited to it - where we are from the local shoplifters are well known and he is an amazing judge of character. Believe me the man he pitied was absolutely telling him the truth. He had worked security in many environments and been on the bones of his arse himself - he knew what he was looking at. And the man arrested actually came back later on that year and told him he'd found employment. And thanked him for his empathy and compassion.
Sometimes it's about seeing the good in people. Because let's be honest some of the biggest thieves in this country are in Parliament. And managing banks. And they don't need to steal to feed their families.

It's not the job of the security guard to sympathise though - presumably the shop employs him to apprehend shoplifters and call the police. It up to the courts to decide whether there are mitigating circumstances or whether the thief is just a scumbag.

Sometimes it's about seeing the good in people. Because let's be honest some of the biggest thieves in this country are in Parliament. And managing banks. And they don't need to steal to feed their families.

This a thousand times.

Yep and we all know that the legal system in the UK is absolutely spot on every time don't we.
That's why all the MPs who STOLE expenses knowingly from the tax payer were apprehended accordingly.

Thanks Fedora
I'm a big believer in karma and I think compassion for others in need is absolutely crucial in this day and age

The legal system IS shit but that doesn't excuse shoplifting - or don't customers who have to swallow price hikes, or people who rely on a shop to make a living, matter?

Of course they matter. But do you seriously expect someone who is panicking about where their child's next meal is coming from to worry about anything else? It's not a matter of wrong doing it's a matter of survival and I'm fairly sure anyone in that situation would be able to think of nothing else BUT feeding their kids

Compassion is fine but don't be surprised when people take advantage. Because unlike in MN land, where people have the best motives for acting badly, people are more than capable of being lying cheating shits.

If someone steals that is still their choice - it's up to them but when they get caught they can't expect people to be compassionate to them just because they have a family.

Everyone talking about price hikes like poor mums are to blame! If there are mums out there that have to shoplift to feed their kids and that adds an extra penny onto my shopping bill, because even that is an overestimation on the amount it costs supermarkets, I am honestly fine with it

Meh, I probably would have thought about it all day but not said anything. I work in the food bank and know that despite our best efforts, we can't feed all of the people all of the time. We are there for crises, so 3 vouchers in any 6 months unless dire, and many people just need more help.

Hopefully you never end up in a position where you feel so desperate. Just saying like. My DH acted more than appropriately to a desperate father who had not a penny to feed his children, and I am damn proud of him for that. Too many people would turn a blind eye to those in need these days and it's downright disgusting because you never ever know what hand life is going to deal you.

i don't know if i would or not. I think because you didn't actually see her steal it you have no proof she could of just dumped it on another shelf.

I'd never report a shoplifter. One step away from vigilantism IMO. Why take the side of tesco over some random woman? Makes no sense to me.

Staff usually aren't allowed to approach suspected shoplifters. That's what the security guard is for.

I wouldn't report someone I saw shoplifting. They all get caught eventually.

I'm not blaming mums - I'm blaming scumbag shoplifters - I don't give a shit whether they are young, old, men, women, whatever.

Is it vigilantism if you report someone for stealing a car? Mugging someone? Or is it more important to establish their motivation first?

We don't know if she left the packs, took them or whether she was struggling to feed her kid or she was a drug addict. When you start to care about that sort of thing, it clouds the issue.

But baby food is in no way helpful to a drug addict. It's for feeding a baby. Even if if the woman was a smack head who'd spent all her money so was stealing the baby food, most people's heart strings would be pulled by the thought of a baby not getting the food it needed. And that's a normal reaction.

If it was a small local shop and I didn't think I'd be putting myself or the staff at risk I might say something.

If it was a large supermarket chain like Tesco I wouldn't say a word.

Maybe - doesn't make it the right one. Its up to her to feed her kid - if that's how she does it, then she has to face potential consequences.