BBC News Story: Cost of living started my shoplifting

[Nickersnackersnockers]

'Ash' says they shouldn't have to make the choice between buying food and going out with friends. So they shoplift as they refuse to accept it.

Lola steals coffee because its £7 a jar and she doesn't want to buy a cheaper brand as she is used to the expensive one.

I am staggered at the entitled behaviour of these people. Surely you have to just cut your cloth to suit your purse. End of.

Can you link?

On the face of it, they are unreasonable and I can't imagine many people feeling much sympathy for them, but news outlets do like to whip up outrage.

Ah, the unbiased reporting of the BBC doing just what it's designed to do.

BBC News - 'The cost of living started my shoplifting': Why stealing goods is on the rise
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66049150

Yeah, I read that and had the same reaction.

I have noticed that the BBC are really bad at this; they do manage to pick people who are harder to sympathise with.

I’m rolling my eyes at the claim that there’s nothing free to do in London though….

It’s a poor article that doesn’t tell us anything. It would be better if it looked at the psychology of shoplifting - rather than the lazy ‘I put a shout-out’ on social media.

An academic expert would be able to say why people shoplift, I’d expect to know if more women than men go to prison for it (undoubtedly) and the journalist could have easily gone to the local magistrates court to hear some cases for a day and find out who has been prosecuted and for stealing what.

The cost of living is bound to have increased thefts, as have self-scan tolls and then some, like Winona Ryder, presumably do it for a thrill.

Yes.

And for what it’s worth, a friend is a manager of a branch of a national supermarket - according to her most shoplifters are women who are stealing nappies and other basics. She feels very sorry for them, as opposed to those who steal bottles of alcohol.

Of course people should cut their cloth.

I lost my job before covid through illness and then wasn't furloughed because I only just started back at a new job. It was bloody hard but I didn't resort to stealing! I've pulled myself back up to full time and in a better job now. More coming in than ever before, but in reality don't feel much better off. Better off than I would have been though I guess, which is frightenting really. I don't condone it at all, and still would never steal, but I can see why people are pissed off and there'll be a lot more of them out there.

So many of the illustrative ‘real life’ stories on a range of topics that the BBC News site carries are like that - they choose really peculiar examples of people who complain they are in some way suffering because of a particular reason when their life choices are also massively contributing. It annoys me because it’s lazy and inadequate journalism and must infuriate people who are genuinely affected purely because of a policy or circumstance.

The people that have apparently said those things are greedy, entitled twats who will fully deserve criminal records that prevent them from getting jobs.

They're not stealing for survival.

I remember DH telling staff in a high street shop that we had seen a man stick a load of toiletries in his jacket (he was still on the premises). The shop assistant watched the man stick some more in and said, ‘isn’t it sad that people can’t afford to pay for toiletries’ and left him to it.

I was torn between admiration and disappointment.

I suspect that the man stole to sell rather than stole what he wanted/needed but obviously I only had a snapshot of his life.

Have the BBC always been this bad?

Yes, it's far more what you'd expect from a tabloid. It could have been insightful.

Yep
White collar rather than blue collar target....
And lifestyle rather than basic living needs ...

The middle class against the working class and also the middle class🤪

Bad at what. Having a go at people who are entitled. As a pretty bourgeois organisation not usually.

I attended a village community meeting the other day and the police officers present explained that the village has a problem with certain people going into the coop and just taking stuff then walking out with it. The staff there can't challenge them and they know they can get away with it.

Do you know why the staff can’t challenge? Is there a new law?

Boo hoo. As if supermarkets aren’t making a tidy profit with their massive price rises.

Having worked in retail, most shops didnt have security guards, so it was left to the staff, I have been pushed down stairs, been threatened with a knife, punched, screamed at, generally abused.

Thats why staff wont challenge

Yep.

Could've spoken to people who are actually shoplifting because they can't afford food, but why do that when you can do this instead and manipulate the public into thinking there is no crisis, people are just being greedy.

I wouldn't be challenging shoplifters if I worked in retail. They could have a knife or anything. Shop staff aren't paid to be security guards.

Absolutely!
They are pushing the price up for everyone. If I can't afford to shop for food and go out, I don't go out.

I used to manage a convenience store. The law is (or certainly was) that you can't challenge for shoplifting until they actually leave the premises which makes it very difficult. You can observe and follow them around however as no actual crime is committed until they cross the threshold they have the defence that they were still going to pay until that point.

Shoplifting has always been a major issue though. Some police turn a blind eye as apparently they see it as "understandable" if that's how someone supports themselves (yes, this is a direct quote ).

I think the point of the article was to show its not just desperate mums stealing nappies and baby food, but also entitled youngsters who have never had it rough, but been brought up with all their needs and wants met.

We have done this, as a collective society, to our children.