Shoplifting Epidemic

[C-Lion]

The last few days I have been reading articles online about the UK’s ‘shoplifting epidemic’. I am really not surprised. My close friend (we went to secondary school together) lives in Hazelmere. I have been sending her the online articles for it.

Today in the Daily Mail they have an article saying that ‘middle class females’ are pilfering from Waitrose and John Lewis in significant numbers. Some are even trying to blame the menopause.

It’s really shocking. No wonder the prices of everything is going up - it’s to cover for all the losses!

 

[donna255]

My local Co.op, a neighbour told me that they have all their meat security tagged. An elderly well-dressed man was found to have loads of meat stuffed down his trousers after they started doing it. He was a regular customer and always friendly with the staff. So who knows how much he had got away with?

 

[Vienna]

My son and daughter in law were in town one day and just entering a store when a young woman tried to confront a male shop lifter as he was leaving the shop. She wasn`t trying to physically stop him but was telling him she knew he`d taken goods plus he was on CCTV so to drop the goods and leave. The male shop lifter turned around and punched her hard in the face and then ran.
My son saw red and ran after the shop lifter, rugby tackled him to the ground and sat on him until the Police arrived. His wife told him off, telling him the shop lifter could have been carrying a knife or even a gun but as an Army Officer of almost 3 decades he just leapt to the young lady`s defence. He said he wouldn`t have chased the guy if he hadn`t turned to violence especially as the young woman wasn`t trying to restrain him or touch him. The young lady was bleeding badly from her nose and from her lips where her teeth had cut into them and she was in total shock.
It isn`t just shop lifting where people are ripping off others or threatening them. Mr V is a part time taxi driver and he regularly picks up someone or several people and they`ve done a runner without paying or threatened him when he`s asked for payment. The likes of Uber you pay online before your journey but Mr V works for a small local firm who don`t have that technology. Mr V now has a small card machine and tries to ask for card payments rather than cash and most people prefer paying by card anyway. It means he`s now carrying only small amounts of cash so if someone threatens him they`re getting away with next to nothing plus he has internal and external cameras in his cab so records every fare. Recently one of his colleagues collected a young woman who refused to pay at the end of her journey so he locked her in the car, rang the Police and when the Police arrived she accused the driver of sexually assaulting her. Luckily the driver had internal camera too and was able to show the Police Officer the entire journey proving he didn`t assault her. Mind you the poor driver ended up with a warning because he`d locked her in his car whilst waiting for the Police and the young woman got carted off to the Police station but would probably have been sent home after a couple of hours.

 

[C-Lion]

That’s appalling Vienna. Really shocking. They are telling shop staff not to intervene because of potential violence.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I can't help wondering if they are influenced by the fact that parts of the US have become a shoplifter paradise where they are untouchable up to a certain value. I think it's as high as $1,000. All over social media you can see footage akin to looting or black Friday... very aggressive and entitled.

Do we really want to return to the days where every single item has to be served to you from behind a counter? Like the old-fashioned grocers of yore.

Or have to put down a deposit to enter and shop?

I know Amazon fresh shops have had mixed success over here (my nearest one closed a year ago), but you had to have the app. linked to your Amazon account and therefore a method of payment. You had to scan in to shop... maybe a version of that needs to be a thing?

People may try and use the excuse of the cost of living crisis, but I think it's more a rejection of social norms and laws for some... and it's not fair for those who have to scrimp and save to shop and put food on the table if part of the reason it's a struggle is price rises caused by people who think they are "sticking it to the Man" but are actually kicking struggling households in the teeth.

 

[C-Lion]

I think from what I have read that the police will not deal with it if the value is less than £200.00.

John Lewis and Waitrose are being targeted by the so called middle classes.

I do think that we are going to get served from behind a counter if this goes on. I have thought it for a while. Either that we order it paid for ahead and collect it from a locker.

 

[Wanderer]

I think from what I have read that the police will not deal with it if the value is less than £200.00.

John Lewis and Waitrose are being targeted by the so called middle classes.

I do think that we are going to get served from behind a counter if this goes on. I have thought it for a while. Either that we order it paid for ahead and collect it from a locker.

Yes, it got worse when the limit was raised as they know they can get away with it without repercussions.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-shoplifting-gangs-exposed

A few months ago I was offered a few carrier bags with boxes of big brand washing powder in by someone, but I had an inkling of where it came from so said I wasn't interested.

 

[C-Lion]

Yes, it got worse when the limit was raised as they know they can get away with it without repercussions.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-shoplifting-gangs-exposed

A few months ago I was offered a few carrier bags with boxes of big brand washing powder in by someone, but I had an inkling of where it came from so said I wasn't interested.

That sounds to me like they were selling on to fund other criminality - possibly for drugs!

I think that the police are having to take a more proactive approach now. There is something in the national media everyday about shoplifting.

 

[C-Lion]

It’s the middle classes - the ones that you least suspect that are up to it big time now by all accounts.

 

[C-Lion]

My local Co.op, a neighbour told me that they have all their meat security tagged. An elderly well-dressed man was found to have loads of meat stuffed down his trousers after they started doing it. He was a regular customer and always friendly with the staff. So who knows how much he had got away with?

Read this:-

https://mol.im/a/14358437

 

[Wanderer]

Read this:-

https://mol.im/a/14358437

£26,000 losses per year for a small-business is bad. What people forget is that those losses need to be paid for out of any profit you make, so you need to sell a whole lot more items to make up that amount.

 

[candycane]

Where I used to live there was a Morrisons with their fruit and veg right by the front doors. Gangs of kids used to come in and fill up their pockets and walk straight out the door without paying. The security guards did nothing. Staff are told not to stop people stealing in case they have knives. I've seen on TV gangs ransacking the alcohol aisles and just running out. It's just common place these days. Why do people need to steal food? There's plenty food banks now that you can just turn up and get your shopping for free.

CC

 

[C-Lion]

Where I used to live there was a Morrisons with their fruit and veg right by the front doors. Gangs of kids used to come in and fill up their pockets and walk straight out the door without paying. The security guards did nothing. Staff are told not to stop people stealing in case they have knives. I've seen on TV gangs ransacking the alcohol aisles and just running out. It's just common place these days. Why do people need to steal food? There's plenty food banks now that you can just turn up and get your shopping for free.

CC

It varies in food banks by all accounts you can have four per year accesses - but that is not set in stone.

I think people are just stealing because their attitude is I want it but I don’t want to pay for it. The fact that the law is pretty lax on it has turned into epidemic proportions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14342221/The-brazen-shoplifters-caught-camera.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-surge-record-high-ons-crime-statistics.html

 

[maymorganlondon]

Unfortunately if you let so much slide, you are just overseeing decay all around… and increase the number of don’t give a f*** people. Great way to promote the collapse of society.

 

[Vienna]

The taxi company Mr V works for have a small town centre office, it`s basically a portacabin. They have several staff who work part time manning the phones and dispatching the jobs to the drivers. Every day they get shoplifters trying to flog their products to the staff and the drivers to pay for their drugs. Some will even steal to order ie tell him/her you want a specific perfume/shampoo/razor blades etc and they`ll nick them. It seems Boots is one of their favourite targets. Supermarkets are popular too and they`ll steal joints of beef, washing pods, bottles of spirits, anything they can lay their hands on. Mr V works from home because he`s only part time so he isn`t interested in nor close to the office or the shoplifters and wouldn`t buy anything anyway. The girls in the office do and the drivers who work from the office buy stuff too.
Before I retired I was a Manager of a mens hostel and many of our clients were drug users or alcoholics and they also stole things to get enough money for their drugs or cider. The staff were all told it would be a disciplinary offence if they were found to be buying stolen goods off the residents but both sides were crafty and used to conduct their negotiations off the premises. You can`t feed a £50- £100 a day drug habit off a single person`s unemployment benefit so many of them view stealing from shops the lesser evil than bag snatching or breaking into peoples homes and cars.
There`s no way I ever entertained buying from them and one of my sons is a Police Sgt so it certainly wouldn`t go down well if either me or Mr V were found handling stolen goods which is technically what people are doing when they buy stuff from the shoplifters. I`ve gone 70 years through life without a criminal record and don`t fancy gaining one for a bulk buy of Persil laundry pods !