To think security should have let thief stole?

[User271947]

Was doing my food shop earlier and happened to see the scene of a man getting caught stealing milk. Just a bottle of milk.

My heart broke for this thief, if he wasn't desperate he wouldn't have stolen... it wasn't anything he could gain money from.

I thought if security just turned a blind eye and let him walk home with it he might have fed himself or someone, or at least took away that bit of hunger. Yes it's their job but I think sometimes humanity should be above.

Would you have compassion for this or am I being naive?

Guys😂 x2boys is on our side, not on the "omg poor souls". How was I the only one getting it. We are weirdoes @x2boys

You are reading it the wrong way @Vanillaandhoney I agree with you! When I said naive I think people are naive in thinking all theives are desperate !

If they are taking him in the back room he's not necessarily going to get charged. He could be warned not to do it again or banned from the shop, the shop could pursue civil action against him, or they can refer it to the police for criminal proceedings. Most shops would not go straight to the police for a low cost item and first offence. So for a crime like stealing a pint of milk the result could be anything from a telling off to a prison sentence, depending on the persons previous offences both in and outside the store. It can also help to build a profile for somebody who later goes on to commit a more serious crime, or in other civil proceedings or when applying for a job. If you make milk un-prosecutable where do you draw the line? Is a big of oranges acceptable? What about a box of chocolates? Or a multipack of crisps? Or a frozen pizza? Etc. Most shops use their discretion, as do most police officers and courts. There will be plenty of people who have attempted to shoplift a minor item and just been warned not to do it again. Others with a shop ban or police caution. But the shop have to be able to catch every shoplifter or none.

@x2boys

You are reading it the wrong way *@Vanillaandhoney* I agree with you! When I said naive I think people are naive in thinking all theives are desperate !

Ahhh! I'm sorry then - that was my bad.

I think I need to take a nap

It sucks op, but theft is theft. There are food banks that supply food to people so there are options he could have tried first. Plus he may have been one of the ones suggested by others, does it for the buzz. A winner from the great British bake off was caught stealing cheese, you'd think she would have known better.

If he isn't one of those kinds, he needs help to find better ways of getting food. Hopefully they might have put him in contact with some places, I would have.

Don't be ridiculous, you have no way of knowing if he stole it out of hunger.

We have a prolific shoplifter round here that lives in his own house , looks pretty well fed yet is constantly thieving from all the local shops. No idea why he keeps getting away with it, as he's always being shared on cctv.

@sobsanta

As a lawyer I can confidently say that anyone stealing essential food/baby items is exempt from prosecution for theft.

Okay, that's a joke but it stands. If I see someone stealing essential food/baby items, no I didn't.

Baby essentials have a nice little resale value, including the nice big tubs of formula.

YABU
you saw a small snapshot of a situation. You don't know if this guy is regular shoplifter. If its just milk this time but has previously been more. Whether he burgles peoples houses also to make ends meet. Why not let him have your TV OP. He may be a druggy and spend his money on the obvious and then go out robbing to eat. If you were that bothered why didn't you offer to buy him some essentials and help him out if you feel so bad for him, instead of turning a blind eye at the time and then posting about how bad you feel fro the guy on an Internet forum.
If you genuinely feel bad spend an extra few quid each week when doing your shop and drop the items off at a food bank so people who can't afford to feed themselves can collect some essentials for free without resorting to crime, which we all end up paying for

Resurrection of a thread from last week only because this story made me think of it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55522825