Did you pay for that? What is driving the massive rise in shoplifting?

24 comments

1. The realisation by many that there are no consequences.

2. The enormous disconnect between the businesses themselves and the consumer.

   Nobody feels sorry for a faceless international conglomerate that doesn’t even pay its fair share of taxes.

3. I have seen people driving 30-40k cars stealing. So surely they can afford it. Also working in retail made me realise that anyone can steal.

4. The fact that you can do it as much as you like and get away with it is a biggie

5. In my area, there has been a 500% surge in referrals for crack cocaine use, and county lines have increased nationwide. The majority of shoplifters I encounter are crack cocaine addicts rather than Aladdins who steal to eat.

   One person I spoke with stated that ten years ago he would pay £100 per gram, but now he only has to pay £50 and he can get it anywhere. When inflation is taken into account, prices will drop significantly.

   For the “top boys,” it’s a lucrative business model with little risk.

6. I dunno, I have no idea why the impoverished citizens of a rigidly hierarchical class system would turn to crime, it’s just one of the worlds great mysteries I guess

7. >What about the role of politics, climate change, Brexit, global conflict and a dodgy economy? Might they somehow correlate with the rise in shop theft?

   Its mostly because of immigration, and you can tell the Guardian knows its immigration because its the one thing conspicuously absent from this article. The usual nonsense claim that immigrants commit less crime than natives is too on the nose so they just have to ignore it entirely and hope no-one else thinks about it.

8. I always notice it’s a certain phenotype of person. I also witnessed it at my local Tesco Extra, stealing fucking cereal and then going straight out where a Black BMW was waiting. I suppose they are the cash rich type.

9. Given how many people are broke and desperate these days I’m not at all surprised to learn that there is a big influx of shoplifters on top of the usual suspects.

10. Another good reason is shops around most of us aren’t owned or run by local people anymore. Shoplifting from your neighbour is a much bigger personal and social taboo than stealing from a faceless corporation, moreover a local shopkeeper has a bigger vested interest in stopping thieves themselves.

    The article is pretty thorough otherwise. We’re all poor, loads of us are turning to addiction, there isn’t enough mental health help, the police are no deterrent, corporations are taking us for a ride, and offices as high as the Prime Minister don’t seem to respect the laws so why should the rest of us?

11. Food prices reaching ridiculous heights, meanwhile supermarkets: “Hmm why is shoplifting increasing!?”

    Same thing with bulk waste collections from councils, they keep jacking up the cost and then wonder why fly tipping is on the rise.

    It’s like the people that make these decisions completely lack awareness.

12. I’m sure a lot of it will because of higher prices in rent, food etc…. The fact that generally you can walk in fill up your bag and walk out without fuss or danger of police, also doesn’t help.

    See teens daily doing it (many dressed with branded clothes etc, so definitely not starving)… guessing some form of proving how “hard” they are? Proper naughty boys (loved that in the Gentlemen 😂)

13. Even if youre caught nothing happens, I’ve seen people running out of shops being chased by security, they just ditch whatever they took and run off.

    Even when they aren’t successful there’s no consequences

14. It’s because you can literally steal a hundred quid a day and won’t get touched by anyone, cops only care if you steal thousands quickly and even then the shop has to repeatedly log crimes for them and build a case, most can’t be arsed and just mark it down to loss over profit.

    The best deterant is a kicking by the security guard, but that’s a rare thing these days.

    It’s not a victimless crime either, it can and does result in loss of available hours, especially with shops with small staff numbers. So we end up earning less and having more put on us in the hours we get, which in turn results in sub par shops with less of the stuff you want because some minging tramp has robbed it all and it needs reordering.

    I fucking hate the cunts, get a fucking job and pay for your shit.

15. >What is driving the massive rise in shoplifting?

    Poverty and a lack of police. I don’t condone stealing from small local shops of course but I’ve got to admit it’s hard to feel sympathy for the massive super markets who keep putting up their prices while reducing the size and quality of their products.

16. Prices are ridiculous. These companies have been using the cost of living to engage in full scale profiteering, so people are stealing back

17. There needs to be pushback, and it’s as simple as that.

    4K security cameras catching you, and forwarding the footage direct to the police to hunt you down live would be a great start. Right now there’s nothing but a note in a journal.

18. Rip people off and people steal from you? Shocking

19. That there are no consequences for the supermarkets price gouging and profiteering. What goes around comes around.

20. >What is driving the massive rise in shoplifting?

    Probably the fact retailers have ramped up prices under various disguises (Ukraine,COVID) in order to increase profit margins.

21. The nonchalance is what amazes me. I walked into River Island this afternoon and a ‘gentleman’ strolled out with a few T-shirts in his arms. You could see the annoyance on one of the shoppers face as she wanted to give chase but knew she couldn’t, she even mouthed ‘for fuck sake’.

22. Was in Greggs this week and a local cracksmith stood in front of the fridges for a leisurely 5 mins deciding what he was going to steal and subsequently pocketing it. Didn’t give the slightest shit. I told staff (who shouldn’t have to deal with this shit) and he was confronted, said “ah sorry”, put one of the things back and just fucked off with a coat full of stuff.

23. No consequences + insane inflation + cost of living crisis + doesn’t feel ‘wrong’ taking from faceless mega corps + fewer people feel they have a stake in our society, so acting against it (e.g. crime) has a lower (moral) barrier to entry.

    Lots of this can be traced back to Tory failings. Namely austerity. Reducing police capabilities, cutting opportunities for social mobility.

    More recently the kamikaze budget that fudged up the economy especially for mortgage havers meant that people who were just about managing to keep their heads above water, now needed another £1300 a month with no warning.

24. Lots of people can’t even afford basic food items. Some women can’t afford sanitary towels. For some people it’s greed, and lack of concequence, for others it’s despiration.