To think that shoplifting is becoming more socially acceptable?

[Ipayformyshopping]

I’ll preface this by saying I do live in a ‘rough’ area which might have something to do with it but shoplifting seems to becoming more and more socially acceptable.

There are no legal consequences anymore just a talking to so it might aswell not be a crime. Articles on social media are getting more and more comments defending shoplifting than I’ve ever seen before. Christmas, cost of living, shops making too much profit so can afford it etc . Even a lot happily saying they give shopping lists to their local ones. As a retail worker I don’t understand it but it seems to more prevalent than ever.

So AIBU or is shoplifting starting to become socially acceptable? Or is it just a local area thing?

How is it 'easy to shoplift'? Not that I have ever tried to or ever would, but the self checkouts in my local supermarket are sluggish and glitchy and I have sometimes put things on the packed side which haven't been scanned properly: they always make you scan again! Plus it certainly isn't 'socially acceptable'. It's still theft! I'm really surprised by some of these responses, blaming the cost of living etc.

They said shoplifting fuels price increases - that's something different entirely.

It’s definitely not socially acceptable in my circles. My teens avoid those type of people too.

Increases in shoplifting will fuel prices. They've accidentally left out the second "increase" i.e. it should be "Increases in shoplifting will increase fuel prices" but I can't see any other way to read that sentence.

Fuel as a verb can mean to increase, strengthen, or intensify.

The police wont do much unless high value good are stolen or violence is involved. So shoplifters see it as free game to carry on with no consequence.
The Greggs in my town centre gets stuff nicked all the time. I can sit in their for 30 min with my paid for tea and sausage roll (more expensive to eat in too), and see several shoplifters in that time. Some are frequent and are local addicts. They take one thing. Some people come and take loads. Don't tell me that they are hard up and it is due to the CoL. They do it because they can.
I think the cheekiest fucker was one who came in and took a load of donuts and sausage rolls, then came back in, ordered a coffee and drank it in store.

This simply is not true.

There are around 100,000 shoplifting convictions in this country per year.

Of course a lot of them get away with it but it isn’t because the justice system simply lets them.

The police wont come out if someone nicks a pack of sausage rolls from Greggs, so the staff wont even call them.

My son works in retail and most of the shoplifters he encounters are drug addicts. There's a couple of pubs in my area that turn a blind eye to thieves selling on the goods that are stolen. Lots of people seem happy to buy stolen goods - they're as bad as the shoplifters.

It’s commensurate with the general public becoming more and more thick. It’s a wider malaise.

The fact that they think that shops are too making too much profit. When supermarket, especially, run on like 2% margin. And theft is something all customers end up paying for. Including these hard of thinking folk.

A greater proportion of society thinks that the world owes them a living. Whether it’s those who want benefits on tap, those always looking for ways of to from the public, or the growing number now justifying shoplifting.

This is what happens when you infantilise people and tell them they don’t need to take any responsibility and that other people will take care of them.

In other news though, if you want the police to come out to deal with a burglary or shoplifting, just misgender someone. They’ll be down to your house in no time to book you for a non crime hate incident. Then you can try and get them take a look at the actual crime at the same time.

In my local Primark you can’t get out of the self service area without a receipt. I thought this is a very clever idea

Maybe Gen Z think it's OK. But it isn't.

I don’t know anyone who would think shoplifting was acceptable. And definitely not anyone who would give them a shopping list, FFS!

The vast majority of shop lifting is not committed by people desperate to feed their families. It is committed by addicts and organised gangs or families of predominantly Eastern European descent.

Not amongst my friends it isn't.
I would judge anyone doing this unless they were were. desperate

Stacy Dooley did a programme on it last year

Chat GPT says that's not correct.