Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

people stealing

77 replies

Sportslady44 · 08/01/2022 16:39

Why do people keep stealing in general. All the time in the paper or local facebook groups, its my car has been broken into, my bike has been nicked, my shed has been targetted, one estate where i live is particularly having a problem with cars being broken into a night at the moment. They do have cameras and they post the footage etc.

Its everywhere though, whats wrong with people why do they keep taking things that arent theirs? Why have they no morals.

How would they like it done to them?
They are a nuisance all the time to law abiding people and keep causing upset?

Why cant people stop taking what is not theirs? Dont they think of how the people they are stealing from are going to be affected by their actions?

Grrrrr. Sick of seeing it all the time!!

OP posts:
NewBrownMouse · 08/01/2022 16:51

Easy money, they don't see the damage or upset to the person, they see an opportunity. Many assume that the person they are stealing from is better off or can claim on insurance and don't think of the wider implications such as increased premiums and the inconvenience of time off work for repairs or to deal with stress. Some also just don't care if the person will suffer and just see it as something they are entitled to do.

MrsFluffyBum · 08/01/2022 16:57

The majority of acquisitive crime is committed by those addicted to hard drugs-namely Crack Cocaine/Heroin and more commonly now 'Spice' (a synthetic cannabis). I have quiet a lot of experience speaking to people for whom this type of 'petty crime' along with shoplifting ect is a daily way of life. In general no, there is little regard for the victims and is done out of sheer desperation to obtain money that days 'fix' so the goods will be 'fenced' on to a buyer, maybe to order or taken to Cash Converters where few questions are asked. It is hard for the average person to understand how these drugs truly rule these peoples worlds, those I've spoken to have said that things like robbing sheds is amore faceless crime than say burgling a house, or they might say 'well they're probably insured...can afford the loss'. My point is that without the addiction these people wouldn't do those things.

mrsbyers · 08/01/2022 16:57

Addiction

BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation · 08/01/2022 17:21

Drugs. The addiction totally clouds their judgement and acquiring money to buy more drugs is all that matters. They'll even steal from their own family. Addiction is a terrible thing. I don't know what the answer is.

TheHoptimist · 08/01/2022 17:25

They are drug addicted
I do a bit of volunteering with a food charity.

90% of the time people are fine (I see our clients out and about) but then suddenly I am walking down the street and get a pile of abuse- they need a fix . I dont take it personally.

AnnaSW1 · 08/01/2022 17:26

Vast majority of it is to feed drug addiction

XelaM · 08/01/2022 17:28

My dad's brand new car was stolen right in front of my house Sad Police did absolutely nothing, even though there was CCTV.

The fact that police do nothing is a big reason why it keeps happening.

waitingpatientlyforspring · 08/01/2022 17:31

I don't get it either op. A neighbour posted some video this week of a woman walking past her house through the night. A minute later she was back and stole a christmas decoration from the door.

There is no way she stole it for money as who would buy it and if someone did it would be a pound or two at very most. I'm certain it wasn't stolen as she was hungry and had no way to feed herself.

Scum bags is what thieves are.

haribofiend · 08/01/2022 17:35

I doubt it’s a morals problem, more of an impoverished society problem. Thank you Tories.

Ozanj · 08/01/2022 17:39

These crimes are opportunity based. If ppl locked doors / kept bikes indoors or in sheds / didn’t leave keys in cars & kept automatic keys in rfd wallets many of wouldn’t happen.

BachAndByte · 08/01/2022 17:42

@Ozanj

These crimes are opportunity based. If ppl locked doors / kept bikes indoors or in sheds / didn’t leave keys in cars & kept automatic keys in rfd wallets many of wouldn’t happen.
Why blame the victims?

If people didn’t feel the need to take something that’s not theirs then it wouldn’t happen.

DeepaBeesKit · 08/01/2022 17:43

Where I live it's mainly car theft and it's an organised group, they primarily steal newer range rovers. It's all done with keyless entry, in a bad fortnight recently four were taken. The police are aware of them but they are hard to completely stop - some get convicted and more from the same group replace them.

malmi · 08/01/2022 17:44

That's a minute of my life you've just stolen right there

DeepaBeesKit · 08/01/2022 17:46

These crimes are opportunity based. If ppl locked doors / kept bikes indoors or in sheds / didn’t leave keys in cars & kept automatic keys in rfd wallets many of wouldn’t happen.

Where I live they monitor homes with range rovers and hide outside your property. When come outside and use the key to open the vehicle they log the key signal and can duplicate it to open the car later on without the key.

Chely · 08/01/2022 17:47

It's why we tend to have very little worth stealing. When we 1st moved to our house someone climbed over our 6ft fence to steal a kids wooden bench that cost £10 new. Saw one that looked identical in a garden a short walk from our house not long after, they could be the thieving bastards or bought one from the same shop I did. We never replaced it and don't leave toys or furniture in the garden anymore.

DoctorSnortles · 08/01/2022 17:47

My mother had a plant taken out of her front garden. We were all absolutely astonished. It was a nice plant, but not a prize specimen or anything...yet someone had come under cover of darkness, dug it up and taken it, presumably because they wanted it and therefore felt entitled to just take it.

Fimofriend · 08/01/2022 17:56

A Danish military ship patrolling the waters near Somalia due to the huge problem with piracy in that area was recently in armed conflict with a pirate ship. One of the pirates had to have his leg amputated. A headline in a Danish newspaper "He just wanted to make some money". Oh, the poor baby. He just wanted to earn some money with some piracy. What could possibly be the harm in that?

quicklybeingdrivenmad · 08/01/2022 17:58

Husbands bike got nicked from the shed, we replaced it via insurance and he decided to put it indoors we had shed broken into a further 3 times looking for the bike to nick again, winds me up if you want something fookin save and buy it.

BurntToastAgain · 08/01/2022 18:03

Someone has stolen my recycling bin this week. I’ve had a look and it’s nowhere to be seen. The bins all live in the back lane. And mine has disappeared entirely. It’s emblazoned with my house number and hasn’t just gotten mixed up with one of the neighbours when the bins were collected.

slimshady18 · 08/01/2022 18:06

@malmi

That's a minute of my life you've just stolen right there
hate to inform but u lose a minute of your life every minute cant blame that on op
slimshady18 · 08/01/2022 18:06

@malmi

That's a minute of my life you've just stolen right there
hate to inform but u lose a minute of your life every minute cant blame that on op
BurntToastAgain · 08/01/2022 18:06

@AnnaSW1

Vast majority of it is to feed drug addiction
I doubt the person that made off with my recycling bin was looking to fund an addiction. Or horribly impoverished and struggling.

I’d say that one of my neighbours is just a dick who fancied more recycling wheelie bin capacity.

MajorCarolDanvers · 08/01/2022 18:09

Addiction - drugs and alcohol - accounts for most of it

KatherineJaneway · 08/01/2022 18:09

They don't want to put in any hard graft, they just want things easy.

thegcatsmother · 08/01/2022 23:18

My dh has said that if he were a Somalian fisherman, whose livelihood had been destroyed by huge European trawlers fishing in Somalian waters, and with no other means of supporting his family, he might consider piracy too. Before you all jump on, dh is a retired RN Officer whose area of work included dealings with Op Atalanta, against the pirates.