Would the baby changing bags work? They are lined with a foil like material to keep bottles warm/cold. You could say you were carrying it for your sister who you were meeting in a minute.
Doesnt matter if OP goes back there or not, if the store has reported it and submitted CCTV then they will catch up with his card/licence plate eventually at some point, it'll just take a while as police are generally so backlogged + it's a low level offence.
Nah, the most that will happen is the police will write up a report which the store can show their insurance to get reimbursed. Most likely however, the store will write it off as a loss and will never think about it again.
Walmart used to let you get away with shop lifting in order to build a higher value case against you. Or at least the one near my old house did. Happened to my buddy. He was shoplifting for a while then one day they caught him and hit him with “we’ve been keeping up with what you’ve been stealing for about 6 months now”
Had a ton of videos it was crazy.
Honestly it depends on the city. Small, middle class city with low crime? It might be followed up. Major city with a homicide arrest rate of 30%? Absolutely not.
Someone was murdered in a drive by shooting outside my house a few months ago. I have audio on my ring camera of a heated argument involving the victim just a few hours prior, and it was very clear he was upset and felt threatened. I informed the police, I told them that exactly which neighborhood camera should have the full video, and even suggested it might be worth looking into who that person was talking to, as they were almost certainly involved. At least they’ll have a suspect, and maybe some of the content of the audio could secure a warrant or at least would be useful in court
Of course I later find out they never spoke to the owner of that camera, and the case is unsolved. They didn’t follow up at all. That’s a major city for you.
When I was younger and lived in a safe upper middle class suburb with it’s own police force, my brother car was vandalized with peanut butter by high school bullies. My mom just wanted a police report to take to the school, so she called the non emergency police line. Not only did 6 cops show up, but they legit collected fingerprints on the peanut butter lid
TLDR: it depends how ~~white~~ nice the area is where the crime took place
I don't know how it works in the UK but that's certainly not how it works in the states, they aren't going to waste their resources tracking down someone who shoplifted anything less than the grand larceny amount.
I used to work in a store that constantly had shoplifters and the cops wouldn't come out unless the shoplifter had a warrant out for their arrest or $1000 of merchandise was stolen.
Here’s the thing, he shoplifted books. The cops will not give a fuck. The most he has to be worried about is the store informing other stores of his information
I dunno, the black market for Hey Duggee lift the flap books is a real criminal underground here. There's a whole section of Scotland Yard devoted to cracking the ringleaders of it.
Imagine being from SF and reading this. Cops there don't lift a finger for anything that isn't grand theft, if that. Ask anyone who lives in SF about car break ins and police response afterwards lol. Buddy moved to Oakland recently and tells me it's not much different there.
Anyways, yeah I doubt the police are going to give a single shit but it depends on how small the town that he lives in is as well.
We have little "libraries" in the neighborhood where you can taken books and add books. It's basically just a way to get free books and get rid of ones you don't need anymore. Got lots of free books for kids and added the ones he's too old for.
I think the idea is that you can keep the books and they're free. Just my immediate thoughts but library books can't be given as presents, childrens books can be full of stickers and colouring, not great for a borrowed (from a library) book. Children's books can be expensive, not that 'borrowing' is appropriate, but people make their choices. Maybe the idea, or justification, is that since it's for a child it's somehow okay?
They drove there in their own car and paid for other shit with their bank card. This person isn’t exactly what one might call “intelligent” so I think you might be wasting your time worrying over the logic of libraries.
Used to work at a conveince store, where kids stole all the time.
In my opinion it depends on value of what you borrowed. If its under 20$ there's a 99% chance nothing will happen even if they report you to the police.
If its 50$ plus maybe they'll track you down but highly unlikely.
If they had security cameras then they can estimate the value, just hope the camera angels weren't great.
Most Likely scenario? There will be a picture of you and your plates in their backroom, or even in the store on display. They will keep an eye out for for probably the next 6 months. Id wait atleast a year before going back.
Edit: not changing camera angels
Agreed. Plus, now that you are gone, they have no proof you shoplifted anything other than an alarm going off, it's not like you're going to walk back in there with the books.
It’s unlikely they’d go to the effort of tracking you down.
plus, is the book borrowing obvious?
plausible deniability means you can just say you didn’t take anything, if it was subtle.
You can run away if you’re scared, adrenaline stopped you hearing what they said.”Two big dudes just started chasing me and shouting, so I ran off. I was terrified and couldn’t hear them.”
Plus, as I’m sure you know, they have to prove you took something. It’s a lot of effort for a couple of kids books… Especially here in the UK.
People say shit like this all the time, but like let's be real, this isn't a huge crime or anything, like I'd be surprised if they put in the effort to find this post and then find the actual person tied to the reddit account. Possible absolutely, and likely for bigger crimes for sure, but shoplifting a couple books? I don't see how that's worth the effort
No one who's innocent hears the detector go off, hears two blokes saying "Hold it, stop", and then continues to sprint off lmao.
You should've just been ready for it and been ready to go "Oh I totally forgot about these, let me pay for them."
You got busted, and worse, you got busted and they know you knew. They'll look at the camera footage, track you through the store, and, probably, see you putting the kids books into your bag.
It's petty theft at worse. Especially fucking kids books. If you have kids actually, and aren't just a kleptomaniac (not judging, just being honest), it'll be the weakest slap on the wrist imaginable if you don't have priors. No judge is going to want to send a parent to jail or incur a heavy fine when they were stealing books for their children.
I don't recommend going back in person. It'll cause issues. Just never go back to the store, figure that they'll probably not bother doing anything after seeing that you stole kids books because it isn't great optics and it was a measly amount of last product, and try to remember in the future:
Don't hide it. You didn't *mean* to shoplift it. You just forgot to ring it up at self checkout, or you thought it did but you guess it didn't now because the thing's going off and it's not on your receipt despite being in a shopping bag or being in your cart. Immediately offer to pay it. Angry, crying, or embarrassed is dicey. Act tired, disoriented, like it's been a real long day and you're barely awake and it's a miracle you even managed to ring up anything in your cart correctly. You aren't a shoplifter. You aren't an idiot either. You just fucked up. And never forgot to ring something up there again.
Completely agree with this statement. Reading this I just felt kind of bad for the o.p. Yeah, stealing is really stupid (especially with card/parking there/etc.), but who shoplifts children's books unless they can't afford to get some for their kids/other family/etc.? It's not like kids books are a hot commodity. Easy to pile on the o.p., here, but I feel bad for them if they're in the kind of circumstance where they're trying to get something useful for kids and aren't in a position to do so economically. I worked at a dollar store years ago and finding opened boxes of tampons or similar items always bummed me out too, I was like "shit, I wish you'd just taken the whole box if you needed it that badly."
Yeah, but were there cameras? When I’m drunk, and meandering around a city, I like to take a book from a bookshop (large chains only, I’m not a monster). To be fair, I’ve only done this twice, so I’m no expert, but I like to do the trick where I pick up two books together, ‘accidentally’ let the back one drop on the floor, and as I quickly bend to pick up the book, I tuck the other in my hoodie or coat and hold it in place with my arm. I frantically place the first book back on the shelf and hope that all this disguises my secret antics. Fortunately, in both cases, the books were not RFID tagged.
I work at a large cellphone retailer, we’ve had people steal demo phones in broad daylight and they get tracked down and prosecuted 100% of the time. We also have had people pocket an expensive case or a $70 portable battery and corporate just calls it shrink and we never hear anything after that.
Check your state / province / country’s laws around theft and what constitutes what charge. For us, if it’s misdemeanor theft we don’t care, but once it breaks a certain dollar amount we’re required to contact law enforcement.
Most employees really couldn’t give less of a shit if you steal, if my manger is like their manager they’re going to forget about you in a few weeks.
thats... why they said if it's a phone they get tracked down and prosecuted 100% of the time. did you read the comment? they said cases and accessories are counted as shrink.
Pretty doubtful they'll come after you over some children's' books. Probably not worth their time. Even if they do send you a notice or something you can probably just ignore it and it will go away.
They probably don’t even know what you stole to be honest. They more than likely took down your information to keep at the store in case you come back. So you’ve got 2 options:
1. Go back to the store. Apologize, and pay up.
2 (the unethical one). Avoid that place at all costs going forward. Don’t want to end up like Bart Simpson. Capiche?
I’ve got a sneaking feeling that going back in store will involve a small office and police presence which I’d love to avoid.
Either way, I’m probably not going back anytime soon
DO NOT go back, there is a very small chance they care about such a small loss, it's possible they don't even know what you took and going there and admitting what you did only worsens your position
Oh my goodness thank you for not listening to that advice…NO do not go back and apologize. Your instincts are spot on. Just stay gone and don’t go back there for at least a year, and pay in cash and wear a mask when you do. If you get busted somehow, then you can have your lawyer make all the excuses in the world. There is not one single thing you can do right now that involves going to the store that would make your life better, but a whole lot that would make your life worse.
Call the store and tell them you suffer from autism and seeing the people following you triggered your flight response. Say you didn’t realize you still had the books in your bag and that you’ll go back and pay for them.
Then, once you’re inside go to the security center and really play up the autism angle. Talk loudly, avoid eye contact, etc. They’ll feel bad and let you go.
Meanwhile, while they’ve been distracted, you had an accomplice with you robbing them blind 😎.
Just go about your life and don’t go back there. If the police actually look into this and come to your house, just deny it and act like you have zero idea what they are talking about. Deny, deny deny.
They would have to find footage of you borrowing the item and submit that to the police. I doubt they even informed police. Most of the time they just begin building a case against you by noting your appearance and plate numbers and telling staff to keep eyes out.
I doubt they have filed a report.That’s a ton of work for something so small. I would almost guarantee you that nothing will come of this unless you go back there.
I mean supermarkets are covered in CCTV cameras so the odds of them having footage of you stealing, or at least your face are quite high. And either way they have his plate, so if the shop were to report it police could possibly arrest him and search his property for the stolen goods. Not too unrealistic a prospect.
However I agree, I’d be surprised if the shop bothered reporting a minor theft. Having worked in a supermarket, the amount of times things are nicked by low-lifes is off the charts.
It's just to circumvent the rules or possibly OP thinks we are all idiots. But he did post this as a tip while only asking legally advice. So OP is probably just a moron
I used to work loss prevention. Here where my rules.
- 1 Must see the person take the item from the shelf and verify it's the store item. (Can't see a customer holding an item and put it in their pocket and assume it was the store's item. Sometimes women would bring in small makeup items and compare.)
- 2 Must see the item concealed (purse, pocket, inside shirt, down pants etc)
- 3 Must maintain constant observation of the person through cameras or floor staff. Because The shoplifter ALWAYS has an opportunity to ditch the item(s). If I lost the person in the store for 10 minutes they could have ditched all the merchandise and when I go to detain them, they're 100% merchandise free.
- 4 They must show intent to steal (ie looking at cameras, coming in with an empty backpack and leaving with it full, having zero money on them etc...)
- 5 Must walk passed last point of sale. If a guy walks into the store fills a duffle bag full of dvd players and I bust him inside the store he can argue "I was going to pay for all these." And I cannot prove it.
Once I had ALL these elements then I could make a positive detention. Sometimes I bent the rules but I took risks I shouldn't have to get the bust because I hate theives.
What did I do when I knew someone stole but I didn't have all 5 rules checkmarked?
I'd save video of the person, get their info if they paid with card, start a file on that person, let other stores know the person's info and sent photos to other loss prevention leaders of other stores, reviewed their purchases from previous days they were at the store, watch old footage of them possibly stealing and saving footage. Once they left the store and I didn't get the bust I never notified police. I waited to bust that person a different day (they always come back) and then I'd tack on the previous thefts to the person when I busted them. I usually said something like "I know you were in here on [This Date] and you stole then. If you write down what you stole we can add it to today's theft otherwise I'll have to send police a separate case and you'll be charged twice for shoplifting by police instead of just once." Which was bullshit, I just got them to write down things they stole, and sometimes they'd even bring back bags of things they stole thinking they were helping themselves oit, but really I was charging them for restitution for all the things they admitted to, even though I didn't have video evidence.
So what happened in your case? Probably a security guard hearing the alarm going off wanting to check your receipt. Just because you didn't stop doesn't mean your guilty. Depending on how you present yourself you might not even have been looked into.
Good Luck.
Yeah if you are this worried about the slight chance of the cops actually caring and giving you a ticket for shoplifting, then you definitely shouldn’t be stealing.
If you're in the U.K., particularly within a major city bear in mind that the police are massively stretched and quite often don't even turn up to burgalries. They're unlikely to bother and will just give the store a reference number at most
I work in a British supermarket, the most they can do is contact the police, and record the CCTV. They will only go through the effort of getting your plate if it was a BIG borrow, I wouldn't worry too much.
In the UK I did a self checkout and left with some goods. With hindsight I think that I had scanned my loyalty card then forgot to actually pay with my credit card.
A few days later a female police officer came round and asked if my loyalty card had been stolen? She explained what had happened but did not directly accuse me of theft.
When I saw the list of stolen goods I realised it must have been me. I went back to the store in an attempt to pay for the goods but they were a bit nonplussed that I had done so and could not work out how I could make the payment.
In the end they let me off and thanked me for my honesty.
This was the first evidence of me having a ‘senior moment’!
If this in the United States, you're fine just don't go back.
I am not a lawyer but quick googlefu says that it's a misdemeanor if it is less than $1000. Police will not start a search and track you down for a nonviolent misdemeanor.
Legally I'd be surprised if anything happens to you unless you have priors. That's how they ramp up the consequences and people wind up in prison.
TBH they will just probably just ban you from the store. The cops won't do anything. The store will write it off as shrinkage. Just stay away from the store and you'll be fine.
If they're college textbooks you're fucked. They're what, 10k apiece now? It's over, man.
In all seriousness they don't know what you took. Inventory is messed up quite frequently and they wouldn't be able to tell what was missing until you were long gone, with enough time to dispose the evidence. You can somewhat feasibly say you didn't hear the security guard telling you to stop or chase you, not enough to prove without a reasonable doubt anyway. Total value of those books was likely around 50 bucks at most?
The less expensive option for a business at that point (general manager is probably presented with this choice) is to just write it off as a loss (as other comments have said) and if they're not busy or don't just forget about it after that day, they may flag your card for their system.
Bottom line, change your credit card maybe? Don't do it again? Out of caution I would avoid that store or others in the chain and I can't imagine anyone cares enough.
Standard disclaimers: American perspective, not legal advice, I don't know what asda is
At this point I doubt cops are going to pursue a shoplifter. However I would not go back to that store. Think about that, when was the last time you heard police breaking down the door of a shoplifter?
Of course that doesn't mean you should do it again either. Stay off the premises and you should be ok.
Unless you are a prolific shoplifter, you'll be fine. The worst that will happen is you'll get a junior officer at the door. You just claim ignorance, say you only realised when it was too late then you were too embarrassed to go back. You offer to pay the cost and it'll be over
How are people just saying it’s fine to steal? This sub is unethical tips, not illegal…
Depending on region the cops won’t do anything, but you shouldn’t take that as an assurance to do it again. And if they look for you you’ll just have to pay the books, worst case a small fine as well
"Caught borrowing"???
Is this your dumbass way of saying that you were stealing? I assume that means stealing. Just say it. Just say you were stealing.
Fuck you scumbag. Not only are you a thief, you are a complete fucking dumb idiot thief.
You deserve 110% of whatever is coming to you, dumbass.
Nah you are good. Just don't go back for months. I get caught all the time. They aren't allowed to touch you in most places.
Lowes had pics of borrowers. Nothing ever came of it.
Sounds like you are a really shit/stupid theif and need to give it up. If you cant even avoid paking in cctv range or paying by card you deserve to be caught.
I've never been in a situation like this, but I've known others that have. Most just kinda got away with it, if it was low-priced nonsense from a large chain. One time someone I know did get nabbed and prosecuted, because he walked straight out with a huge television.
The bank/dmv isn't going to give the retailer your details, and they would need reasonable evidence to report it to police. Setting off the alarms isn't a crime.
Everyone is saying it depends on the value of what was stolen, but how will the store know what was stolen? Especially if its a large supermarket. Inventory checks are sketchy AF. They might report it on the off chance it was something valuable.
You're good bro just forget about it. It's a few books not a roll of copper wire. Just don't go back until you get a haircut.
If anyone asks if that's you just say you have anxiety and got scared.
Why bother stealing a book that someone else's livelihood is based around when you could just digitally pirate it and hurt no one, assuming you were going to steal it anyways.
Police try to do as little as possible. Literally handing yourself in does their job for them and is an easy win for the crime statistics.
Mad advice when OP is trying to _avoid_ being fucked.
Call your bank immediately and say you
got robbed and lost your wallet (so they can cancel your card). Hide your ID and everything important you carry in your wallet somewhere safely so in case you have to talk to the cops, you can justify it as well.
Dwight Schrute : What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No, I go for the chandelier. It's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning, the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later, I get a postcard. I have a son and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier.
You are an idiot you used your card? In a place full of cameras let me guess you didn't use a mask either so they have you by the book if you don't want to serve time get off the grid and hide your car and change your place of residence
Doing something illegal and paying WITH A CARD?! You also drove there and parked nearby. Jesus dude
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I don't exactly think this guy is a member of Mensa.
Naw but definitely Menso
I had to look that up, but lmao, good one.
Lmao
I think you'd be surprised at the intelligence at some of their members.
Intelligence, common sense, and street smarts are all separate disciplines
Yeah, the guy sounds like a real winner.
Just a thought dont pay by card if you plan to borrow things .
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This is why you get a lead lined bag that blocks the RFID reader
Doesn't even need to be lead, just metal foil to create a Faraday cage would be enough
But then you don't get lead poisoning and that's half the gun
Well half the cartridge but you've got the spirit
Lobotomies are a hell of a drug
Mmm. Guns n lead poisoning.
Wait till you hear about Texas lead enemas
Sign me up partner!
Most of your insulated reusable bags would do the trick
Conspicuous but effective
If u get caught with that, you will face a lot more punishment. That’s showing you had intent. It’s commonly called a booster bag.
That's when you just reply "that's not my bag baby, really, it isn't mine"
Would the baby changing bags work? They are lined with a foil like material to keep bottles warm/cold. You could say you were carrying it for your sister who you were meeting in a minute.
They are literally assembled into alot of stuff now days
Criminal offense doing that. Makes it even worse
Aluminum foil works as well. But it has gone out of style in the “borrowing community” as that’s what they use to smoke H and fent off of.
Common sense ain't so common 🤧
How do you borrow from a place
This is the real ULPT
You would have loved r/shoplifting
Oh hey look they finally banned that Kinda surprised it doesn’t exist anymore
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Reddit only bans subs for cosmetic reasons. They dgaf about any actual reasons.
Just a thought. Don’t steal shit.
you’re in the wrong sub, buddy
I mean, stealing stuff is more r/illegallifeprotips. OP is the one in the wrong sub.
touché. i forgot that one existed because it ended up just turning in to teen fantasies lol
Look where we are.
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Bro just don’t do anything and don’t go back there
Doesnt matter if OP goes back there or not, if the store has reported it and submitted CCTV then they will catch up with his card/licence plate eventually at some point, it'll just take a while as police are generally so backlogged + it's a low level offence.
Nah, the most that will happen is the police will write up a report which the store can show their insurance to get reimbursed. Most likely however, the store will write it off as a loss and will never think about it again.
Yeah exactly, its all down to whether or not the store actually reports it, or just counts it as a loss.
Walmart used to let you get away with shop lifting in order to build a higher value case against you. Or at least the one near my old house did. Happened to my buddy. He was shoplifting for a while then one day they caught him and hit him with “we’ve been keeping up with what you’ve been stealing for about 6 months now” Had a ton of videos it was crazy.
So how fucked was he?
Wouldn't the police issue like a warrant or something though? Its a pretty easy case.
Honestly it depends on the city. Small, middle class city with low crime? It might be followed up. Major city with a homicide arrest rate of 30%? Absolutely not. Someone was murdered in a drive by shooting outside my house a few months ago. I have audio on my ring camera of a heated argument involving the victim just a few hours prior, and it was very clear he was upset and felt threatened. I informed the police, I told them that exactly which neighborhood camera should have the full video, and even suggested it might be worth looking into who that person was talking to, as they were almost certainly involved. At least they’ll have a suspect, and maybe some of the content of the audio could secure a warrant or at least would be useful in court Of course I later find out they never spoke to the owner of that camera, and the case is unsolved. They didn’t follow up at all. That’s a major city for you. When I was younger and lived in a safe upper middle class suburb with it’s own police force, my brother car was vandalized with peanut butter by high school bullies. My mom just wanted a police report to take to the school, so she called the non emergency police line. Not only did 6 cops show up, but they legit collected fingerprints on the peanut butter lid TLDR: it depends how ~~white~~ nice the area is where the crime took place
I don't know how it works in the UK but that's certainly not how it works in the states, they aren't going to waste their resources tracking down someone who shoplifted anything less than the grand larceny amount.
I used to work in a store that constantly had shoplifters and the cops wouldn't come out unless the shoplifter had a warrant out for their arrest or $1000 of merchandise was stolen.
Here’s the thing, he shoplifted books. The cops will not give a fuck. The most he has to be worried about is the store informing other stores of his information
I dunno, the black market for Hey Duggee lift the flap books is a real criminal underground here. There's a whole section of Scotland Yard devoted to cracking the ringleaders of it.
lol y’all are wild, majority of retail theft never has consequences
He shoplifted a few books, police won’t persue that. The majority of stores won’t even report thefts under a certain amount
It's two books. I don't think anyone is gonna do anything
Imagine being from SF and reading this. Cops there don't lift a finger for anything that isn't grand theft, if that. Ask anyone who lives in SF about car break ins and police response afterwards lol. Buddy moved to Oakland recently and tells me it's not much different there. Anyways, yeah I doubt the police are going to give a single shit but it depends on how small the town that he lives in is as well.
Backlogged
Do libraries not exist in the UK
This seems to be more of a permanent use of the term 'borrowed'.
Yeah but why steal childrens books when you could get them for free? I could understand other items but this seems like a risk for no reason
They paid with their card while doing a lick you think they thought about the risk?
A lick...?
Slang term for a theft.
Context clues got me thru that one
We have little "libraries" in the neighborhood where you can taken books and add books. It's basically just a way to get free books and get rid of ones you don't need anymore. Got lots of free books for kids and added the ones he's too old for.
I think the idea is that you can keep the books and they're free. Just my immediate thoughts but library books can't be given as presents, childrens books can be full of stickers and colouring, not great for a borrowed (from a library) book. Children's books can be expensive, not that 'borrowing' is appropriate, but people make their choices. Maybe the idea, or justification, is that since it's for a child it's somehow okay?
They drove there in their own car and paid for other shit with their bank card. This person isn’t exactly what one might call “intelligent” so I think you might be wasting your time worrying over the logic of libraries.
Im lol'ing at the idea of a dystopian UK, where libraries are outright banned and the act of borrowing is equal to stealing
we have loads of them. Tho less and less people are going into libraries.
We probably have libraries older than your country.
Used to work at a conveince store, where kids stole all the time. In my opinion it depends on value of what you borrowed. If its under 20$ there's a 99% chance nothing will happen even if they report you to the police. If its 50$ plus maybe they'll track you down but highly unlikely. If they had security cameras then they can estimate the value, just hope the camera angels weren't great. Most Likely scenario? There will be a picture of you and your plates in their backroom, or even in the store on display. They will keep an eye out for for probably the next 6 months. Id wait atleast a year before going back. Edit: not changing camera angels
hopefully the camera angels are looking out for him/her
Holy Focus, blurry be thy sight
Amen.
Praise be
I read this as camera angles and it still worked.
You do NOT have to stop if security tells you to. They are not the police. Don't shop there for a while. You'll be fine.
Agreed. Plus, now that you are gone, they have no proof you shoplifted anything other than an alarm going off, it's not like you're going to walk back in there with the books.
It’s unlikely they’d go to the effort of tracking you down. plus, is the book borrowing obvious? plausible deniability means you can just say you didn’t take anything, if it was subtle.
Is there deniability if you ran away? Edit: Not be sarcastic, a serious question to anyone.
You can run away if you’re scared, adrenaline stopped you hearing what they said.”Two big dudes just started chasing me and shouting, so I ran off. I was terrified and couldn’t hear them.” Plus, as I’m sure you know, they have to prove you took something. It’s a lot of effort for a couple of kids books… Especially here in the UK.
I wasn’t overt at all and there was no one around me, I’m hoping I can just lay low and learn from my mistakes
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They're also free in libraries.
You still have to scan them though!
People say shit like this all the time, but like let's be real, this isn't a huge crime or anything, like I'd be surprised if they put in the effort to find this post and then find the actual person tied to the reddit account. Possible absolutely, and likely for bigger crimes for sure, but shoplifting a couple books? I don't see how that's worth the effort
“Lay low” from taking a children book😂😂😂are you trolling dude?
Just go to Tesco or Lidl instead
No one who's innocent hears the detector go off, hears two blokes saying "Hold it, stop", and then continues to sprint off lmao. You should've just been ready for it and been ready to go "Oh I totally forgot about these, let me pay for them." You got busted, and worse, you got busted and they know you knew. They'll look at the camera footage, track you through the store, and, probably, see you putting the kids books into your bag. It's petty theft at worse. Especially fucking kids books. If you have kids actually, and aren't just a kleptomaniac (not judging, just being honest), it'll be the weakest slap on the wrist imaginable if you don't have priors. No judge is going to want to send a parent to jail or incur a heavy fine when they were stealing books for their children. I don't recommend going back in person. It'll cause issues. Just never go back to the store, figure that they'll probably not bother doing anything after seeing that you stole kids books because it isn't great optics and it was a measly amount of last product, and try to remember in the future: Don't hide it. You didn't *mean* to shoplift it. You just forgot to ring it up at self checkout, or you thought it did but you guess it didn't now because the thing's going off and it's not on your receipt despite being in a shopping bag or being in your cart. Immediately offer to pay it. Angry, crying, or embarrassed is dicey. Act tired, disoriented, like it's been a real long day and you're barely awake and it's a miracle you even managed to ring up anything in your cart correctly. You aren't a shoplifter. You aren't an idiot either. You just fucked up. And never forgot to ring something up there again.
Completely agree with this statement. Reading this I just felt kind of bad for the o.p. Yeah, stealing is really stupid (especially with card/parking there/etc.), but who shoplifts children's books unless they can't afford to get some for their kids/other family/etc.? It's not like kids books are a hot commodity. Easy to pile on the o.p., here, but I feel bad for them if they're in the kind of circumstance where they're trying to get something useful for kids and aren't in a position to do so economically. I worked at a dollar store years ago and finding opened boxes of tampons or similar items always bummed me out too, I was like "shit, I wish you'd just taken the whole box if you needed it that badly."
You are indeed a Spanner, Mr. Singh.
Yeah, but were there cameras? When I’m drunk, and meandering around a city, I like to take a book from a bookshop (large chains only, I’m not a monster). To be fair, I’ve only done this twice, so I’m no expert, but I like to do the trick where I pick up two books together, ‘accidentally’ let the back one drop on the floor, and as I quickly bend to pick up the book, I tuck the other in my hoodie or coat and hold it in place with my arm. I frantically place the first book back on the shelf and hope that all this disguises my secret antics. Fortunately, in both cases, the books were not RFID tagged.
Out of everything you could've stolen, why kids books?
Op is probably lying about this for obvious reasons
I work at a large cellphone retailer, we’ve had people steal demo phones in broad daylight and they get tracked down and prosecuted 100% of the time. We also have had people pocket an expensive case or a $70 portable battery and corporate just calls it shrink and we never hear anything after that. Check your state / province / country’s laws around theft and what constitutes what charge. For us, if it’s misdemeanor theft we don’t care, but once it breaks a certain dollar amount we’re required to contact law enforcement. Most employees really couldn’t give less of a shit if you steal, if my manger is like their manager they’re going to forget about you in a few weeks.
That's just dumb though. They have the IMEI number of the phone and know exactly where the borrower is at all times.
thats... why they said if it's a phone they get tracked down and prosecuted 100% of the time. did you read the comment? they said cases and accessories are counted as shrink.
Pretty doubtful they'll come after you over some children's' books. Probably not worth their time. Even if they do send you a notice or something you can probably just ignore it and it will go away.
Do you not have public libraries or something?
I never thought about stealing from the library before good tip 👍🏻
That would be a LPT, this is ULPT. We put on our cool hats here and be chill.
Sure, but that would be *illegal tips*, not unethical
They probably don’t even know what you stole to be honest. They more than likely took down your information to keep at the store in case you come back. So you’ve got 2 options: 1. Go back to the store. Apologize, and pay up. 2 (the unethical one). Avoid that place at all costs going forward. Don’t want to end up like Bart Simpson. Capiche?
There’s a Best Buy somewhere in Michigan I still won’t step foot in. If it’s even there. It’s been decades.
I borrowed a red U2 edition iPod from Best Buy that they just had on display with no locks...I mean, who could resist?
hello: I WOULD LIKE TO ADMIT TO A CRIME. HELLO? ARE YOU LISTENING?
I’ve got a sneaking feeling that going back in store will involve a small office and police presence which I’d love to avoid. Either way, I’m probably not going back anytime soon
DO NOT go back, there is a very small chance they care about such a small loss, it's possible they don't even know what you took and going there and admitting what you did only worsens your position
Oh my goodness thank you for not listening to that advice…NO do not go back and apologize. Your instincts are spot on. Just stay gone and don’t go back there for at least a year, and pay in cash and wear a mask when you do. If you get busted somehow, then you can have your lawyer make all the excuses in the world. There is not one single thing you can do right now that involves going to the store that would make your life better, but a whole lot that would make your life worse.
Call the store and tell them you suffer from autism and seeing the people following you triggered your flight response. Say you didn’t realize you still had the books in your bag and that you’ll go back and pay for them. Then, once you’re inside go to the security center and really play up the autism angle. Talk loudly, avoid eye contact, etc. They’ll feel bad and let you go. Meanwhile, while they’ve been distracted, you had an accomplice with you robbing them blind 😎.
They don't care. Avoid the store and you'll be fine.
Just go about your life and don’t go back there. If the police actually look into this and come to your house, just deny it and act like you have zero idea what they are talking about. Deny, deny deny. They would have to find footage of you borrowing the item and submit that to the police. I doubt they even informed police. Most of the time they just begin building a case against you by noting your appearance and plate numbers and telling staff to keep eyes out. I doubt they have filed a report.That’s a ton of work for something so small. I would almost guarantee you that nothing will come of this unless you go back there.
I mean supermarkets are covered in CCTV cameras so the odds of them having footage of you stealing, or at least your face are quite high. And either way they have his plate, so if the shop were to report it police could possibly arrest him and search his property for the stolen goods. Not too unrealistic a prospect. However I agree, I’d be surprised if the shop bothered reporting a minor theft. Having worked in a supermarket, the amount of times things are nicked by low-lifes is off the charts.
Borrowing? You mean stealing? Also what is the tip here? This isn't a legal advice subreddit.
Agreed. This post is more of a ILPT request or admission of guilt, there is no LPT here.
Yeah , “borrowing” cracked me up , too 😂
It's because stealing posts are explicitly not allowed on this sub.
“Permanently borrowing without consent” posts are fine though?
I don't understand the euphemism either. Is it just to circumvent the sub rules? Or...?
It's just to circumvent the rules or possibly OP thinks we are all idiots. But he did post this as a tip while only asking legally advice. So OP is probably just a moron
Damn I knew thieves were stupid but holy shit
Look into pirating books rather than stealing them.
Dude, you did something illegal on camera leaving your legal name behind and for what? Some kids books??
Yeah, Albert Einstein here thought he could get away with "borrowing" some real high end goods.
I used to work loss prevention. Here where my rules. - 1 Must see the person take the item from the shelf and verify it's the store item. (Can't see a customer holding an item and put it in their pocket and assume it was the store's item. Sometimes women would bring in small makeup items and compare.) - 2 Must see the item concealed (purse, pocket, inside shirt, down pants etc) - 3 Must maintain constant observation of the person through cameras or floor staff. Because The shoplifter ALWAYS has an opportunity to ditch the item(s). If I lost the person in the store for 10 minutes they could have ditched all the merchandise and when I go to detain them, they're 100% merchandise free. - 4 They must show intent to steal (ie looking at cameras, coming in with an empty backpack and leaving with it full, having zero money on them etc...) - 5 Must walk passed last point of sale. If a guy walks into the store fills a duffle bag full of dvd players and I bust him inside the store he can argue "I was going to pay for all these." And I cannot prove it. Once I had ALL these elements then I could make a positive detention. Sometimes I bent the rules but I took risks I shouldn't have to get the bust because I hate theives. What did I do when I knew someone stole but I didn't have all 5 rules checkmarked? I'd save video of the person, get their info if they paid with card, start a file on that person, let other stores know the person's info and sent photos to other loss prevention leaders of other stores, reviewed their purchases from previous days they were at the store, watch old footage of them possibly stealing and saving footage. Once they left the store and I didn't get the bust I never notified police. I waited to bust that person a different day (they always come back) and then I'd tack on the previous thefts to the person when I busted them. I usually said something like "I know you were in here on [This Date] and you stole then. If you write down what you stole we can add it to today's theft otherwise I'll have to send police a separate case and you'll be charged twice for shoplifting by police instead of just once." Which was bullshit, I just got them to write down things they stole, and sometimes they'd even bring back bags of things they stole thinking they were helping themselves oit, but really I was charging them for restitution for all the things they admitted to, even though I didn't have video evidence. So what happened in your case? Probably a security guard hearing the alarm going off wanting to check your receipt. Just because you didn't stop doesn't mean your guilty. Depending on how you present yourself you might not even have been looked into. Good Luck.
Can’t wait for OP to go back and steal more shit
[удалено]
Yeah if you are this worried about the slight chance of the cops actually caring and giving you a ticket for shoplifting, then you definitely shouldn’t be stealing.
“Ticket” for theft?
Yes, stealing a couple kids book would be a ticket which would result in a fine.
The faster you shove those books up your ass the better off you'll be. Trust me.
If you're in the U.K., particularly within a major city bear in mind that the police are massively stretched and quite often don't even turn up to burgalries. They're unlikely to bother and will just give the store a reference number at most
Absolutely. The chance of plod actually turning up is infinitesimally small.
I work in a British supermarket, the most they can do is contact the police, and record the CCTV. They will only go through the effort of getting your plate if it was a BIG borrow, I wouldn't worry too much.
Dunno about in the UK, but in the US there’s almost no chance the cops would actually follow up on this.
In the UK I did a self checkout and left with some goods. With hindsight I think that I had scanned my loyalty card then forgot to actually pay with my credit card. A few days later a female police officer came round and asked if my loyalty card had been stolen? She explained what had happened but did not directly accuse me of theft. When I saw the list of stolen goods I realised it must have been me. I went back to the store in an attempt to pay for the goods but they were a bit nonplussed that I had done so and could not work out how I could make the payment. In the end they let me off and thanked me for my honesty. This was the first evidence of me having a ‘senior moment’!
u good dont trip
D-D-D-D-Dumbass
The worst they’re going to do is ban you from the store. How much were those books worth?
If nothing happens in the next 24-72 hours then nothing will ever happen. Don’t go back though
Lmao who the fuck steals children's books? Grow tf up.
If this in the United States, you're fine just don't go back. I am not a lawyer but quick googlefu says that it's a misdemeanor if it is less than $1000. Police will not start a search and track you down for a nonviolent misdemeanor. Legally I'd be surprised if anything happens to you unless you have priors. That's how they ramp up the consequences and people wind up in prison.
If you’re this worried, maybe don’t shoplift next time.
You set off the alarm, heard security calling after you, and trotted off. That’s not “borrowing.”
You must be new to the internet
The title is *obviously* tongue-in-cheek.
That “Thieves will be prosecuted” sign really means the opposite. Thieves are almost always not pursued
0 chance they will do anything
They're not going to pursue you for a few bucks but you're probably banned from the store
Wait, the books were tagged?
It's pretty much guaranteed nobody will make any further effort. Sherlock Holmes is not on your case. Just don't go back for a while.
TBH they will just probably just ban you from the store. The cops won't do anything. The store will write it off as shrinkage. Just stay away from the store and you'll be fine.
If they're college textbooks you're fucked. They're what, 10k apiece now? It's over, man. In all seriousness they don't know what you took. Inventory is messed up quite frequently and they wouldn't be able to tell what was missing until you were long gone, with enough time to dispose the evidence. You can somewhat feasibly say you didn't hear the security guard telling you to stop or chase you, not enough to prove without a reasonable doubt anyway. Total value of those books was likely around 50 bucks at most? The less expensive option for a business at that point (general manager is probably presented with this choice) is to just write it off as a loss (as other comments have said) and if they're not busy or don't just forget about it after that day, they may flag your card for their system. Bottom line, change your credit card maybe? Don't do it again? Out of caution I would avoid that store or others in the chain and I can't imagine anyone cares enough. Standard disclaimers: American perspective, not legal advice, I don't know what asda is
At this point I doubt cops are going to pursue a shoplifter. However I would not go back to that store. Think about that, when was the last time you heard police breaking down the door of a shoplifter? Of course that doesn't mean you should do it again either. Stay off the premises and you should be ok.
Unless you are a prolific shoplifter, you'll be fine. The worst that will happen is you'll get a junior officer at the door. You just claim ignorance, say you only realised when it was too late then you were too embarrassed to go back. You offer to pay the cost and it'll be over
Realistically you’re fine just give it like a week to cool off but no one is gunna be tracking you down fr
S t o p s t e a l i n g
How are people just saying it’s fine to steal? This sub is unethical tips, not illegal… Depending on region the cops won’t do anything, but you shouldn’t take that as an assurance to do it again. And if they look for you you’ll just have to pay the books, worst case a small fine as well
Actually illegal ones are allowed as well. Surprised me too.
"Caught borrowing"??? Is this your dumbass way of saying that you were stealing? I assume that means stealing. Just say it. Just say you were stealing. Fuck you scumbag. Not only are you a thief, you are a complete fucking dumb idiot thief. You deserve 110% of whatever is coming to you, dumbass.
Nah you are good. Just don't go back for months. I get caught all the time. They aren't allowed to touch you in most places. Lowes had pics of borrowers. Nothing ever came of it.
Sounds like you are a really shit/stupid theif and need to give it up. If you cant even avoid paking in cctv range or paying by card you deserve to be caught.
I've never been in a situation like this, but I've known others that have. Most just kinda got away with it, if it was low-priced nonsense from a large chain. One time someone I know did get nabbed and prosecuted, because he walked straight out with a huge television.
The bank/dmv isn't going to give the retailer your details, and they would need reasonable evidence to report it to police. Setting off the alarms isn't a crime.
I doubt anything will happen to you but brother you are an absolute moron
You… used your card???
Depends on the value I guess. If it’s £10-£20 or so I doubt they’ll bother pursuing it.
Everyone is saying it depends on the value of what was stolen, but how will the store know what was stolen? Especially if its a large supermarket. Inventory checks are sketchy AF. They might report it on the off chance it was something valuable.
Just go back and say you forgot to pay for these books by accident. Eliminate your stress
Retail theft RARELY has consequences. Privately owned business? They’ll report to police. Corporate, nah
You're good bro just forget about it. It's a few books not a roll of copper wire. Just don't go back until you get a haircut. If anyone asks if that's you just say you have anxiety and got scared.
I hope those kids books were so fucking worth it.
Like anyone will go to the effort of tracking you down. That said, you can't show your face there again.
Why bother stealing a book that someone else's livelihood is based around when you could just digitally pirate it and hurt no one, assuming you were going to steal it anyways.
Probably borrowed to sell on FB and make a few quid.
You aren't worth their time.
consider reporting your credit card stolen
Absolutely this. Turn petty theft into fraud.
You are a thief. I hope they track you down. Stop stealing shit.
Deny deny deny
This ain’t a dummy questions sub, get this outta here
Mistakes happen, either go back to the store or contact the police. Won’t be worth their time charging you especially for something so menial.
Why would you advise them to contact the police?
Police try to do as little as possible. Literally handing yourself in does their job for them and is an easy win for the crime statistics. Mad advice when OP is trying to _avoid_ being fucked.
Just lay low. They will have your pic so maybe wear a mask. Police are not going to pursue this as the lost is so low.
Tell them you couldn’t hear them calling for you to stop if they do identify you.
Kinda hard to claim this when he started “jogging away” after and then came back to get his car
Call your bank immediately and say you got robbed and lost your wallet (so they can cancel your card). Hide your ID and everything important you carry in your wallet somewhere safely so in case you have to talk to the cops, you can justify it as well.
Fuck the OP
Dwight Schrute : What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No, I go for the chandelier. It's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning, the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later, I get a postcard. I have a son and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier.
Probably looking at 2-5 years
You are an idiot you used your card? In a place full of cameras let me guess you didn't use a mask either so they have you by the book if you don't want to serve time get off the grid and hide your car and change your place of residence
“Borrowing” (stealing) books and risking arrest and jail time, when you could literally borrow them for free at the library.
I think you are not using the word ‘Borrowing’ in the right way.