Theft Is Out of Control

[Wally]

I hear of so many stores that won't let employees do anything to stop shoplifters. This is kind of surprising.

Part of the problem is the legal cost of false arrests - you get sued if you don't do it right,
second is just the plain cost of prosecuting - lawyer fees have a poor ROI.
third is the penalties mean nothing, or there is no penalty.

Out in rural US, along with the guns are incinerators and acres of woods. Just the notion that thieves could just disappear helps establish a terror to crime.

And since governments will not carry out their directive from God, communities will find their own ways.

I sometimes wonder why the year round scarecrows look so.... fresh....

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

So far theft is cheaper than countermeasures. Jail time is expensive especially with a labor shortage to guard them.
Follow the $$s.

There is also a mentality that the world has cheated us so much that we deserve whatever we take. Lies are so destructive, no wonder satan is called a murderer.

We might excuse some of the theft if it wee simply for bread and a coat. But there are so many willing to help that even that theft is meaningless.
So much is stolen for drugs and the thief's gratification. Baby formula has been locked up for a while as its cutting material [dilutes] for illegal drug production. And the recent shortage make the problem worse for everyone but the nursing coaches - hey let's do it the way our ancestors did...

Not only do home deliveries have a theft issue but even US Postal materials are stolen right out of mailboxes so that elaborate thieves can laser off names on checks and add their own alias to cash and disappear.

All of this just reinforces the Scriptures: Man's heart is wicked. Left to our own, there is no limit. We indeed need a new heart - a new life.

For many the threat of hell is a motivator. It worked for Christian. His wife was moved in her own way.
It would be incredible if we responded to Christ's love and merciful call, but many are so lost in themselves they need the AED shock.

The unsaved need to know, there is punishment for criminals. There is recompense for evil.

But as Christians have learned: There is none righteous, no, not one.
We all deserve punishment.

And the crime is rejection of God. His person, His Word, even His offer of help. The other evil we do just adds to the insult to a Holy God.

But we can go to this Judge an ask for mercy. We can place ourselves in His care, learn just how much He does love us, and be freed from this curse.
It may take time to unlearn all the garbage we have stuffed in our heads. It may take some trials to purge and heal us.
But we can trust a faithful Savior who went all the way to a cross, obediently, on our behalf.

Look around. The world is decomposing all around us. Today may be your only day to receive Christ.
Some of us need to inventory our lives and get then re-oriented. Do not wait and lose the blessings.

Some of us just need to get through one more day. But Rejoice and again I say Rejoice. We have the Eternal Hope in Jesus!

The social zeitgeist is such that people believe lies, like there is no Hell
Why would anyone believe in eternal punishment when there is no temporal punishment to be an example/warning?

Once the salt and light are gone, people will believe lock-step what they're told because no salt or light to show otherwise

The social zeitgeist then will be to kill the messenger(s), not just ridicule or ignore

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I sometimes wonder why the year round scarecrows look so.... fresh....

The buzzards, vultures, and crows seem rather fat at times

And catfish

And pigs

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I hear of so many stores that won't let employees do anything to stop shoplifters. This is kind of surprising.

It's driven by the insurance companies. They're more interested in their own profitability than providing the service and protection to their customers, who pay for them to be available when needed. If something isn't covered anymore, regardless of by contract, convention, or threat, the stores stop doing it.

Follow the money . . . always follow the money

 

[JoyJoyJoy]

I hear of so many stores that won't let employees do anything to stop shoplifters. This is kind of surprising.

I have read stories of people stealing from Bath and Body....they load up one of those hand baskets and walk out. The employees are told not to stop them. This is suppose to keep the employees safe from the thieves.

Seems like a rent-a-cop or even a full time security guard would be more economical but I don't know.

If I were an employee, I don't know if I would try to stop a brazen thief. I don't want to get beat up or killed over some candles and Body wash.

 

[Wally]

I'd be thinking :
1. This place will have to charge more so that customers are funding theft
2. Not satisfied with junk, the thieves will progress to violent robbery , kidnapping, or murder.
3. Not a safe place to work. I'm gone.

I'll go work at a gun shop, its much safer there. ** Like the Glock commercial where a robber finds RL Ermey workin the grill at "Wrong Diner"...

 

[Eph611]

Not only the theft, but the fallout from it. My wife and I went to a Christmas party a few days ago. Along the way, I had to use the bathroom terribly (due to some recent surgery) and it took THREE tries to find a convenience store or gas station with an open bathroom. Due to theft and other problems, many bathrooms are closed.

 

[Dave_97]

If I were an employee, I don't know if I would try to stop a brazen thief. I don't want to get beat up or killed over some candles and Body wash.

Sadly this is true. Not worth dying over that. The thief’s are usually high on drugs so honestly they can literally kill you for candles and body soaps.

 

[Tall Timbers]

If I were an employee, I don't know if I would try to stop a brazen thief. I don't want to get beat up or killed over some candles and Body wash.

It's sad to see rule of law disappearing in the USA. A middle class, rule of law, and valuing human lives are the main things that differentiated some countries from the rest of the world. All three of those things are in the process of disappearing completely.

 

[Belle of Grace]

Thievery has gone up in my area and I think it’s pretty much due to drug use here. People need a fix, and stop caring about what they do to make that happen. It’s a pretty sad existence.

SarahRose, do you personally feel unsafe in the area where you live? I certainly hope not.

 

[SarahRose]

SarahRose, do you personally feel unsafe in the area where you live? I certainly hope not.

No, thankfully. I live in an older, quiet neighborhood and keep the doors locked. I do carry pepper spray wherever I go for peace of mind mostly.

I did have my bike stolen from the front porch a while back in the middle of the night, so that stunk. My ring camera caught the guy walking away with it but couldn’t see his face.

 

[Belle of Grace]

If I were an employee, I don't know if I would try to stop a brazen thief. I don't want to get beat up or killed over some candles and Body wash

I can't imagine that 'men' are the ones loading up the shopping baskets with candles & body wash. If they're women, as I suspect they are, most of us, without much fear, could stick out a foot and trip them on their way out. Outright boldness in committing a crime makes me really mad. Just yesterday, I did not like the fact that Walmart had out of date milk in their dairy case. I removed a carton to verify that the milk was truly out of date and took it to someone in the back & told her where the rest of the cartons were located so they could be removed, and that people often fail to read tiny printed expiration dates and would find sour milk when they got home. Next time, I'll check out the milk section and if anymore are out of date, I will take 'all' the expired cartons to the manager.

 

[JoyJoyJoy]

most of us, without much fear, could stick out a foot and trip them on their way out.

I appreciate your boldness.

I have thought about what it would take for me to physically confront a person. It would have to involve harm to another, I think.

 

[Belle of Grace]

I appreciate your boldness.

I have thought about what it would take for me to physically confront a person. It would have to involve harm to another, I think.

Missy, if you notice, I was only saying that 'most of us could stick out a foot'. It was merely hypothetical actually. In a real situation where the theft involving a female customer walking boldly out of the store with a basket of unpaid merchandise, I would likely follow her out and ask her if she plans to pay for it. Then begin to dial 911 to see if she drops the basket and takes off. Most likely she would. Most women don't want to get arrested & spend time here

 

[JoyJoyJoy]

I think a lot of the problem is...there's not much punishment for the crime.
I keep reading of offenders who have been arrested numerous times and yet...there they are...on the street...offending again.

Let me see if I can find an acceptable link to a story that I read yesterday...

 

[JoyJoyJoy]

https://www-foxnews-com.cdn.ampproj...niro-home-tells-need-know-nyc-city-councilman
****************************************
Aviles reportedly has an extensive rap sheet, with her more than two dozen arrests just this year comprised of petty larceny and burglary charges.
***************************************
This girl broke into Robert de Niro's home to steal presents. De Niro and his daughter were home.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Women are committing a greater share of the crime than they used to. Also becoming more violent

I have no problem dealing with a thief, robber, carjacker, etc., even though I'm now retired, although different situations require/allow different actions or inactions. If my dog were with me, she might beat me to it, too

 

[Amethyst]

If I were an employee, I don't know if I would try to stop a brazen thief. I don't want to get beat up or killed over some candles and Body wash.

When I worked in retail we would be fired if we went after a thief. I had two fellow Sups let go because they did just that.

It’s to protect the employee and asp protect the business from a lawsuit by the employee should they get hurt.

 

[usoutpost31]

When I worked in retail we would be fired if we went after a thief. I had two fellow Sups let go because they did just that.

It’s to protect the employee and asp protect the business from a lawsuit by the employee should they get hurt.

There was an instance out of North Carolina, at a Home Depot a couple of months ago. A thief brazenly grabbed three power washers in his shopping cart and walked right out the front door. An employee, an elderly man, tried to stop him. The thief shoved him to the ground and got away. The old man died a few weeks ago from complications from his injury when he fell.

 

[cheeky200386]

There was an instance out of North Carolina, at a Home Depot a couple of months ago. A thief brazenly grabbed three power washers in his shopping cart and walked right out the front door. An employee, an elderly man, tried to stop him. The thief shoved him to the ground and got away. The old man died a few weeks ago from complications from his injury when he fell.

That's awful. The thief needs to be charged for the death.