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?

How do you know he was desperate and not just entitled? If he was desperate (starving) wouldnt he steal some food? Bread or biscuits or something? What was he desperate for, a cup of tea?

I know people that steal 'just' one random item for the thrill of it, sandwiches, condoms, batteries, chewing gum etc. They can afford them but there's no fun in that.

They caught him. Police will be called and if he is in need and has someone back home hungry, then social services will be called. So better outcome that just stealing one bottle of milk.

I work in retail. A lot of people who can well afford to pay steal. And its usually items like milk or a bottle of pop or tins. They do it for the thrill.
Our security guards know the familiar faces.

Perhaps you could have gone over and offered to pay op?

@user1471565182

oh and also milk actually is a common shoplifters item. A lot of people thought it was a good idea to get a big bag of shopping for homeless people rather than money. Well drug dealers then started accepting bags of shopping instead of money for drugs. Meat is another big one.

Heard about meat business but not woth drug dealers. There was a scene in a shop year ago when guy claiming to be homeless and sleeping rough stole gammon joint. Some woman was arguing with security that they are cruel bastards and he is just hungry. I so wanted to point out that he has no way to cook it so it's obviously not for him...

In all my years of work Iv had one case I can think of where a guy was genuinely breaking the law to get a bit of food. He was polish, barely spoke english and had a job offer fall through with no house and no idea how to access services in a foreign country and been living on a wasteland trying for weeks to get stuff together but had to resort to theft and begging. It obviously was affecting him badly having to resort to that.

Thats not to say we should help drug users and beggars. But there are right ways to go about it.

yeah most brown and white drug dealers are also alladin's caves of knicked stuff that they're very good at getting rid of. Theyll sometimes spend a weekend night selling the stuff off in pubs or they'l even just use it themselves to save money. Meat, makeup and batteries are big ones.

You're naive. You've assumed he's poor, broke, hungry; based on what? Maybe the lies he shouted at security?

. For all you know he has plenty of money and routinely steals his milk supplies; or wine or a steak or whatever fits inside his jacket.

Maybe because DH and I just lost our jobs ourselves with young kids which is why I felt sympathy - we are ok and have help from family if we needed but others might not have.
He was escorted into the back area very quick another passer by was trying to catch the security's attention in offer to pay but he was having none of it. I guess once he's caught the thief and it's on camera he's caught him he has to follow through with procedure.

Where's the vote? I want to vote

OP I'm more interested to know what you did afterwards or during. Did you offer to pay or chase the man down and offer to buy something for him? Or is this other people's jobs?

Stealing stuff is wrong, whatever the reasons., if he didn't get caught, he would probably try again and again to steal. I used to work in a supermarket years ago, and all kinds of people use to steal things off the selves daily. Most of them got nabbed, but I am sure some got away quickly with the tricks of their trade so to speak..

It's easy for people to feel sorry for someone who has to steal some milk or bread etc, but they could probably get some help with getting some food if they were desperate for basic things. It is awful though, as supermarkets dump lots of good stuff in the skips at the end of the day.

@Sideorderofchips

Theft is theft

Dear god, this is such an unintelligent comment.

Even the criminal justice system disagrees with you hence why mitigating factors are taken into consideration.

Clearly theft of extremely expensive jewels or bank robbery would be treated more harshly than a starving person stealing a loaf of bread.

Stealing stuff is wrong, whatever the reasons

The reason is really crucial information.

Stealing because you're dc are hungry is very different to stealing out of greed

My dad was in an isle in Tesco. There was just him and another guy, the other guy put his basket on the floor and put everything in to a backpack, everyday essentials my dad said. Then the guy walked out the door quite causally. My dad just stood gobsmacked

Wouldn't expect security to turn a blind eye, but I would .

If they turned a blind eye to him, they would have to turn a blind eye to everyone doing the same thing.

YANBU

www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/10/pandemic-shoplifting-hunger/

Let me put it another way, if you saw someone stealing baby formula, would you turn a blind eye thinking ahh they must be desperate to steal that because they had a baby, or would you think, a drug dealing using it to dilute heroin.

I have no idea if milk can be used in anything like this, but never take it on face value

what a typical mumsnet romanticised view of what is theft

idiot should pay like the rest of us

I believe any one of us on here would steal food if we were hungry enough. There but the grace of God, go I.

Do people use baby formula to dilute heroin?

It's really for the police to decide whether pursuing this is in the public interest.

Oh sorry, just read your post again.

kicking him out ,banning from the store and circulating his photo amongst local retailers is far more effective than police involvement