Retail theft at all time high

A lot of places basically accept a 5-10% loss due to pinching as the price of doing business and normally you can write off the cost to offset taxes so until it reaches a magic number that makes it worth hiring security and dealing with the chancers running to the papers saying the security guard groped me which doesn't look good for PR.

Too much stealing actually becomes its own worse enemy as the more you steal the lower the price on the black market becomes meaning that the shop doesn't need security as the stuff aint worth stealing even by the most desperate druggie.

Have known where stores have basically let them do what they want as the book price of the item is higher than the sale price when clearing old stock out below cost price just to get rid of it as well.

a reply to: rickymouse

This kind of behavior in society is not good. I think parents in the last few generations did not properly punish their kids for taking things and the kids did not learn to respect the rights of others like we were taught to do. This is bad for society, parents are working all the time and leaving the kids in daycare and the kids are not being conditioned right. Spanking is now illegal, timeouts rarely work and sometimes long timeouts are crueler than a little quick spank on the butt.

If kids were caught shoplifting the parents punishment used to be worse than law. Now it's reversed and neither is that bad. Some adults are now even getting kids involved.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: JAGStorm

Except we aren't paying for this. Maybe in a small store, but for large stores, they're paying $5.00 for an item that retails for $100.00+.

Stores get worked up about retail theft at Christmas every single year in hopes it will scare thieves into not doing it, it's propaganda in a way.

maybe if you were stealing directly from the manufacturer. But you'd have to go to China or Haiti or not the US to do that.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
I don't know what happened, but sometime in the last 5 or so years retail theft changed. It appears that
there is little to no punishment for retail theft anymore. Shoplifting is everywhere and it is openly done and very brazen.
The thieves know there is no punishment so they are going crazy (at least here) Store workers aren't allowed to stop anything.
-snip-
Is this just our area or is this happening everywhere?

It is everywhere that has ceased prosecuting such crimes.

Why surprised? If you want to complain, complain to your local Sheriff/Mayor/govt that decided they didn't want to be 'mean' and prosecute retail theft as a crime.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Every time you buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, part of the price you pay is added on to make up for the thefts. Stores operate on tiny profit margins and yes, those thefts do harm you and all the customers. It hurts the working poor the most.

Why are you so quick to defend pond scum? In fact you are championing them? Thieves don't give a damn whether they are stealing from a big box store or breaking into your home to steal from you. Addicts steal from their own families and friends.

Borrowing from JAGStorm's Link-

Most shoplifters try to rationalize their crime by thinking the large retailer can afford the loss.

Stealing is wrong, period end of subject and it does not matter whether or not a store can cover the loses or not. Even children know stealing is wrong and morally reprehensible.

Big cities in the US are run by democrats who believe enforcing the law is somehow racist. They have so much violent crime that theft is off the police radar and directives have been mandated by city councils telling police to not enforce shoplifting laws. This will work out just fine I'm sure.

a reply to: Atsbhct

People aren't charged for these petty crimes because it costs the stores more to go to court than it does to replace the stolen items. It's not about morality, it's just a money game, and the only way it's affecting you personally, is that you seem freaked out about it.

Yes, but no.

Plenty of retailers are willing to show up in court and participate in the legal system. Others aren’t. Either way, it’s entirely irrelevant to the issue of “decriminalizing crime.” As more places increase felony larceny thresholds and decrease penalties for theft, theft skyrockets in a proportional manner.

The area I work in has shut down two pawn shops in the last two years. At the time each shop was shut down, over a million dollars of stolen property was found in each shop. Who were the shops’ primary customers? Low level drug users who were boosting to feed their habits. Who’s selling brand new merchandise in Facebook marketplace? Gang members that have figured out they’ll spend less time in jail, if any at all, for stealing $900 worth of Nike in three minutes and reselling it than they would catch jail time for selling narcotics. They then turn around use that money to fund further gang activity.

You can try to simplify this down to a “no big deal” issue but rest assured, this type of theft very much indeed has an effect on you and your community. Organized retail crime is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. So is petty retail theft. The more people like you shrug and turn a blind eye to it, the worse it gets and the more it effects your community.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

They have so much violent crime that theft is off the police radar and directives have been mandated by city councils telling police to not enforce shoplifting laws. This will work out just fine I'm sure.

This will proceed one of two ways or a combination of both.

1-Club cards will be required for entrance. That won't totally eliminate shoplifting but it can help deter it.

2-Online shopping for almost everything. We are almost there now that grocery is on board.

Of course when that happens, there will be a lot of moaning and crying that it isn't fair, yada yada.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Asktheanimals

They have so much violent crime that theft is off the police radar and directives have been mandated by city councils telling police to not enforce shoplifting laws. This will work out just fine I'm sure.

This will proceed one of two ways or a combination of both.

1-Club cards will be required for entrance. That won't totally eliminate shoplifting but it can help deter it.

2-Online shopping for almost everything. We are almost there now that grocery is on board.

Of course when that happens, there will be a lot of moaning and crying that it isn't fair, yada yada.

Online doesn't help because instead of stealing from the store, they steal the box off your stoop.

a reply to: Edumakated

Online doesn't help because instead of stealing from the store, they steal the box off your stoop.

They are already thinking of ways to combat that. Delivery inside of garages. Lock boxes on porches similar to mail boxes. Also when drones/driverless cars start happening you'll be able to time delivery for when you are home.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Edumakated

Online doesn't help because instead of stealing from the store, they steal the box off your stoop.

They are already thinking of ways to combat that. Delivery inside of garages. Lock boxes on porches similar to mail boxes. Also when drones/driverless cars start happening you'll be able to time delivery for when you are home.

Yeah, but just like a retail store, all those measures still cost money and indirectly add the cost of the product.

Leakage has always been a problem with retail. Some people are just dishonest and like stealing. There is nothing we can do about it. A sizable part of the population is just morally corrupt.

a reply to: Edumakated

Yeah, but just like a retail store, all those measures still cost money and indirectly add the cost of the product.

Yes there is cost but thanks to Amazon that ship has already sailed. People love ordering online and having it delivered.

Leakage has always been a problem with retail. Some people are just dishonest and like stealing. There is nothing we can do about it. A sizable part of the population is just morally corrupt.

That's the issue, shrinkage has always been factored in, but at some point there is a cracking point. I think we are going to reach it sooner than later. What do you mean there is nothing we can do about it?

There are tons of things we can do about it. Chop off people's hands? Ok maybe that's too much, but you get my point.

a reply to: JAGStorm

It is very similar in the UK where it is not worth prosecuting shoplifters ,By the time a company pays for a employee to go to court over many dates it is cheaper just to ban that person from a store or retail centre and in the pound stores here they just visit and get all the videos of cctv to see who is shoplifting rather than try to catch them they wait till that person ends up in police custody then hit them with the charges for shoplifting with the video evidence .

A friend of mine manages a store and told me years ago that this junkie was basically allowed to do this for months what they call Kamikaze shoplifting, Running in and grabbing what they could hold and they were not to apprehend him in case he got violent , when they eventually busted him months later all he got was 6 months jail time for well over 100k of stuff and in the UK that means he was out in 3 months cleaned up at the taxpayers expense .

If i worked in retail in America i would happily shoot every shoplifter dead

a reply to: stonerwilliam

If i worked in retail in America i would happily shoot every shoplifter dead

I'm not for death, but it is obvious we need to be doing something differently. At the very very least make them pay back
what they took.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I am old school and detest thieving big time , If anyone was caught stealing on a building site their hands were broken, and they never worked again in the area , i only ever witnessed that happening once in my life when i was younger but everyone just understood it .

But times are changing and not for the better

originally posted by: stonerwilliam


If i worked in retail in America i would happily shoot every shoplifter dead

Is that a reasonable punishment for materialistic items, i have no problem with the death penalty for murder or other serious crimes but death for stealing is not something that makes sense to myself.

Anybody who steals some little worthless item from a store is just too stupid to teach himself how to steal billions by hacking the Internet, which pretty much always goes unstopped and unpunished. And even if you did get caught, if you're any good at it the people you've stolen from will probably just hire you for beaucoup bucks just to help prevent other people from doing it.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
And even if you did get caught, if you're any good at it the people you've stolen from will probably just hire you for beaucoup bucks just to help prevent other people from doing it.

actually that's true, my company hired ethical hackers, ie- the very best criminals

A reply to: UpIsNowDown

A sign on the shop door , Shoplifters will be shot would make you think twice about doing it we are far to soft on these criminals .

I was raised to believe in,Ask and you will receive, as most folk are kind-hearted by nature

originally posted by: Blue Shift
Anybody who steals some little worthless item from a store is just too stupid to teach himself how to steal billions by hacking the Internet, which pretty much always goes unstopped and unpunished. And even if you did get caught, if you're any good at it the people you've stolen from will probably just hire you for beaucoup bucks just to help prevent other people from doing it.

So true... the company I work for does a lot of IT training to preventing hacking since we deal with a lot of personal and financial information. They often hire consultants for training, etc. One of the training programs was run by Kevin Mitnick, world famous hacking legend. LOL.