to tell the store manager that I saw someone shoplifting?

[tulpe]

I was in a well-known Spanish owned high street store today when I saw two women stuffing items of clothing into their young DCs coats.

My first thought was that it was nothing to do with me. However, as I continued browsing the store I felt so bad that not only were these women stealing clothing but they were using their children to do so.

As I paid for the items I selected, I told the sales assistant what I had seen. I said I didn't want to get involved any further. Both she and the store manager expressed their gratitude and went to deal with the situation.

Was IBU to tell them what I had seen? What would you do in the same situation?

Stealing is stealing. I hate this moralising that "oh it's food they're stealing, poor them they must be so hungry ". Of course it's awful if someone can't afford to buy basic groceries, doesn't make stealing any more acceptable though.

YANBU to tell but you should have told them sooner.

I have told in 2 different shops when I have seen people stealing.

YANBU - had to be done

DH once rugby tackled a shoplifter legging it out of Asda with a DVD player. The manager offered the DVD player to DH as a thank you, but he declined

I worked at Boots once and someone brought a steriliser back for a refund. No box, dirty, bought from a car boot..

Another time a boy came in to Whsmiths when I worked there and stole a computer game and then took it with a receipt to the till. We had new security in that day...

Baby bottles, formula, children's toothbrushes, a bar of cheap soap, a loaf of bread, a pint of milk, a packet of tampons ... I can imagine turning a blind eye, or even slipping someone the funds to pay. Yes, it's stealing, but I shudder at the consequences for them of simply making my own conscience feel better, or allowing myself to feel moral and upstanding.

Clothes stuffed up children's coats? Nah, they've got it coming to them. I might even have shouted that they were stealing if I thought I could get away with it.

I sincerely hope that I never witness anyone shoplifting again but I agree with Fab and the others who say I should have said something immediately. I won't hesitate should there be a next time.

Threepwood - agree that it is hypocritical, judgmental and moralising to say that "it's okay to steal food but not clothing". As I said, I grew up in absolute poverty but my mother believed that you didn't need to have money to have standards - which included not being a thief, no matter how hungry you were. However, I am afraid that having been desperately poor, I can totally empathise with those who do make that step to stealing food even though I would never do so myself.

what boffin mum said.

Agree Boffin. If they have to steal that sort of stuff, then they must be utterly desperate and have my sympathy. There but for the grace etc..

I have been about as poor as you can be as a UK citizen in this country. I say UK citizen because I had access to benefits and milk tokens.

I never ever stole a thing and wouldnt have ever done it.

I wouldnt want to see someone hauled in front of court for stealing bread - who would. But tbh I have seen loads of nicking in my time and have never seen anyone stealing basic food stuff.

Its always higher value stuff. You can only sell things for a fraction of their value so you have to nick the most expensive stuff.

Higher end razors are always popular which is why they are mostly kept behind the counter. Small things that are easy to pocket are also high on the list, these are not nicked for sale, they are nicked because they can be nicked. My local tesco just gave up and shut all their makeup displays.

I went in my local chemist a while ago. The staff are wonderful. We use the place a lot.

Two girls strolled in and just started taking everything off the display directly infront of the door. It was like a bloody ram raid. Cheeky little cows. They were laughing and saying 'oh do you want some more tanning lotion' and taking bloody handfuls.

I went a bit mad at them. It was so greedy and craven I couldnt stop myself. They got a right mouthful and were really shocked I had said anything. They tried to be mouthy but backed off.

My OH was a security guard in Kilburn M&S when he came out of the army. It was a hidious and dangerous job and the shoplifting was pretty non stop.

We must make a big loud fuss at people taking the proverbial, and chase them off, as frankly that is one hell of a deterrent IMO. Certainly a whole shop full of customers doing it to a couple of vapid teenagers.

It's nice that those who say when you are poor might be entitled to milk tokens and benefits. But that's not always the case and I as a single woman have found myself before entitled to NOTHING. Not even a fucking milk token.

Imagine if you were to find yourself in a shit situation, e.g., out on your ear/in a women's shelter and it's going to take 72 hours to get you some (financial) help. What are you going to do? Tell the kids it'll all be OK in a few days?

i wouldn't have said anything - although i recognise that this is morally wrong ofcourse

DH works in retail, and the amount of stealing that goes on is unreal. He had stocktake a couple of weeks ago and over £19,000 of stock has been stolen over the course of the year. He works for a large retailer, and I know some people have the attitude that "It's a big business, they can afford to take the hit" Well it's always the staff on the ground who bear the brunt of sstealing. The value of stock lost comes off his profit, which means that no-one gets their bonus (and retail aren't particularly well paid to start with)and he has to look at cutting costs; ultimately it means that someone may lose their job through no fault of their own.
So no YADNBU

I wouldn't have said anything either

Penguin73 for a citizens advice to be lawful the arrestor has to have grounds for suspicion and in the case of shoplifting this would mean he had to

' To establish a solid base for probable cause, and prevent unlawful arrest claims, there are six universally accepted steps that a merchant should be follow before detaining someone suspected of shoplifting:

1.You must see the shoplifter approach your merchandise
2.You must see the shoplifter select your merchandise
3.You must see the shoplifter conceal, carry away or convert your merchandise
4.You must maintain continuous observation the shoplifter
5.You must see the shoplifter fail to pay for the merchandise
6.You must approach the shoplifter outside of the store '

I don't think temping in a shop makes you the fount of legal knowledge !

Font of legal knowledge - nope, but staff training in dealing with shoplifters, experience in court as well as in store and experienced police and solicitors in the family gives me an inkling. You?

and all as a temp !!

If what you say is true then you should have been told about the perils of 'wrongful arrest'

Nope, not all as a temp, and what makes you think I don't knwo about the 'perils' of 'wrongful arrest'? The person here isn't asking about whether they should have arrested anyone but whether they should have informed the store of what they saw. Different issue, different response.

Errr, Princess, when I worked in a shop on a temporary basis as a teenager I had training in all Penguin mentions. Why so rude?

I work in a famous high street chemist & we recently had a spate of teenage girls coming in from the local high schools with shopping lists from the other girls.

They mostly liked to take Maybelline make up,particulary the dream mousse foundations,luckily one of our staff members saw them & we called the police where they were taken back to school in a police car,their parents called,& they have to write a letter of apology to us & are now banned from the shop.

Just yesterday we had 2 drug addicts coming in & out for about 1 hr,they knew we were watching them as we have the shop link radio & had been forewarned & in the end they gave up but its a constant battle.

well done. YANBU