The Art of Shoplifting

[GenXguy]

BTW, IMO it is generational thinking... talking with some young people about someone shoplifting who was caught outside the store with the goods in hand... "They did commit a crime because they did not get away with anything".... And it was not just one person...

I pointed out that with their definition then nobody is committing a crime because if you get caught the store gets everything back and if you do not get caught you do not get charged with a crime... no response...

That looks like a contradiction. "Did commit" vs. "nobody is commmiting".

Nothing about this is new.

Is it right that people steal? Of course not. No argument there.

Why do you even have to ask that?? And this situation is quite new compared to the 80's.

Is it worse today? Maybe, or maybe we’re just more aware of it because of cameras everywhere and social media.

You have to ask that? It's much worse.

 

[savory]

The thread mostly, except perhaps once, does not speak to the people buying stolen merchandise. Perhaps, the growth of shoplifting is being catapulted by all the easy ways to sell the merchandise online.

The buyers, who likely know how they are getting such a great deal, decide to support the shoplifter for their own gain. In my mind, the entire marketing chain should be addressed. Please do not misunderstand that I am accusing a purchaser of knowingly breaking the law. Having said that, purchasing an item on FB or similar online site, from a total stranger at a price that is well below a sales price, should not be ignored in this conversation. Many of us or people we know might own some responsibility for keeping the shoplifting business alive and well.

 

[MichaelB]

Nothing about this is new. My wife managed a sporting goods store in the late 80s and early 90s and dealt with the exact same problem. They were trained not to engage or confront or pursue shoplifters then too. Safety of the employees and other customers always came first. Merchandise can be replaced.

Is it right that people steal? Of course not. No argument there. But robbery has been going on for as long as people have been around. Is it worse today? Maybe, or maybe we’re just more aware of it because of cameras everywhere and social media.

It would be nice to see some real data. Here’s one source, the Hayes International Annual Retail Theft Survey https://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/. This survey shows shoplifting accounts for 40% of retail “shrink”. The other 60% is employee theft and stock damage,. One new source of retail loss is the self checkout line.

There is no doubt that easy and little scrutinized selling on Ebay and Amazon make this problem worse.

 

[Montecfo]

These things are new:

Decriminalized theft
Organized "shoplifting" rings

This will stop when we the people demand it.

The folks running these cities and crime-tolerant prosecutors will have to be replaced if we want change.

I read that two-thirds of charged crimes are not prosecuted right here in our nation's capital.

When we insist on change it will be granted.

 

[NW-Bound]

...Heck, multiple times I've accidentally neglected to scan something when I was checking out...

When using the self-checkout registers, we always take care to be sure that we scan everything slowly and carefully.

Would not want to be stopped and accused of theft.

 

[brett]

Last month, for the first time in about three years, I went into a department store to buy a dress shirt.

Walked around three area including suits and casuals. No one was on the floor. One sales register was open. It was across a main aisle with no light of sight to where I was.

I had the feeling that I could have walked out with two or three racks of clothing. I did walk out...no sales assistance whatsoever.

 

[marko]

It would be nice to see some real data. Here’s one source, the Hayes International Annual Retail Theft Survey https://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/. This survey shows shoplifting accounts for 40% of retail “shrink”. The other 60% is employee theft and stock damage,. One new source of retail loss is the self checkout line.

There is no doubt that easy and little scrutinized selling on Ebay and Amazon make this problem worse.

+1. We've all seen the videos where 15 or 20 hoodlums run into a store, grab everything they can and run out. Nordstroms last week. And just last week Dick's Stores reported a bad quarter due to rampant, group shoplifting....I think they said $2billion but could be wrong.

These are organized enterprises that then sell their loot online. Some financial station yesterday stated that between Target, Walmart and several others, these groups are lifting $90 billion a year nationwide.

 

[Montecfo]

Self checkouts have enabled theft. Our local store no longer uses the door nearest the self-checkout area.

The reason is not hard to figure.

 

[Breedlove]

Ok everyone , did anyone here remember the old Criswell Predicts comic book . Back in the 1960s ? There were only a few of them but as a foolish kid I would always grab them . He predicted people would steal from each other like a pack of wolves . The final one I remember was people would eat people . He was to a kid fun but really just another writer.

 

[NW-Bound]

We see more and more brazen robberies like the following. I called it a robbery, because there was no attempt to conceal the act.

If a guy can do this, the next thing is he can also walk up to you and yank your phone off your hand, or lift your wife's necklace off her, and calmly walk away.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the interesting discussion.