‘Vile behaviour’: Retail chain demands accountability for B.C. shoplifting violence

[CdnFox]

https://globalnews.ca/news/9927646/vancouver-shoplift-crackdown-few-charges/

Retail violence has increased by 500 per cent over four years, according to London Drugs’ loss prevention general manager, and the pharmacy chain is now spending upwards of $1.5 million more on security at its Vancouver stores than it did two years ago.

“We’re seeing a lot of random sort of violence or threats that take place, a lot of vile behaviour, racism, abuse of customers and staff around the people who are doing these crimes,” Tony Hunt told Global News in an interview Tuesday.

London Drugs is one of 28 retailers which participated in a Vancouver police shoplifting crackdown in February and March.

Of the 278 charges police recommended to Crown counsel, more than half (56 per cent) were not approved.

 

 

So what's happening is even though the evidence is clear the prosecutors know there's no point in charging some of these people because they will be out in 5 minutes due to race or other reasons. Meanwhile the VIOLENCE incidents are shooting up, where store staff or other customers are being attacked.

THis is happening everywhere. The feds have GOT to change some of the criminal laws to force the courts to deal with this, the catch and release program isn't working.

[herbie]

They're not "catching" them and releasing. Retail stores have wrung their hands of the problem and are trying to pawn it off on anyone else the can. (0% of shoplifters never even end up in police hands.
A minimum wage 16 yr old is not gonna confront a shoplifter. Neither is the 85 yr old door greeter with a walker. You want security, then f*cking PAY for it. Like someone who looks, acts and is built like a night club bouncer. That, sorry boys, just ain't gonna work for minimum wage.

The supermarket the wife worked for did have a dork with little man syndrome who dealt with shoplifters, Drag them into the office, threaten them, take their picture and ban them from the store. No more, head office wasn't gonna pay so he could go to court. When a drunk one punched him out and he did call police. the guy threatened to sue. Head office gave him a written warning for defending himself. told him they weren't gonna pay anything for his lawyers, he could give them advance notice and use holiday time for court & legal appointments.
So none of the other employees will do dick shit if you shoplift right under their noses.

My last call out was because employees has disconnected security cameras, specifically so they wouldn't see shoplifting and have to DO something about it. Told the District Manager they got paid shit, hadn't had raises in years and he could fire them if he had a problem. So he did.
And got a big bill from me to look at the system, inform him it was set up by an outfit no longer in business, locked down with irretrievable passwords and he had to buy a whole new system.
Hell if I was gonna hack & fix it, cheap shit was already balking at my $50 call-out fee.

The problem is more like a societal mental breakdown than a legal one. People are getting stupider and committing the stupidest, pettiest of minor crimes these days. Some halfwits on the Island just smashed into 8 stores with a truck the other day, not a one of which had cash or goods worth going to jail over. Biggest try was to steal a cash machine, the fools couldn't even mange to drag it out with a truck... not that they could've figured out how to get the money out of it

Edited September 1, 2023 by herbie

[CdnFox]

2 hours ago, herbie said:

They're not "catching" them and releasing. Retail stores have wrung their hands of the problem and are trying to pawn it off on anyone else the can. (0% of shoplifters never even end up in police hands.

They caught them and released them. This was a police operation, not a store operation. VPD tried to get shoplifting under control by running a 'sting' so to speak at a number of stores.  They caught hundreds of shoplifters - got good evidence and arrested them properly. 

But - the crown wouldn't lay charges.

So you're incorrect from the get go.

As to the rest i won't point out line by line all the stupidity, i'll just say you'll look less like a tard if you read the story before commenting.

The stores are flooded with security these days to protect staff and customers. And it's still not really enough - and when bad guys ARE caught the courts will do nothing.

It's a major problem with our 'catch and release' justice system.

 

[herbie]

They did they did! And the lazy prosecutors wouldn't piddle away thousands of dollars in legal fees and court time for stealing $50 worth of goods!

They should've locked them in jail! Cut off their hands! Punish, punish. PUNISH some more... that's what justice IS...

[ironstone]

2 hours ago, herbie said:

They did they did! And the lazy prosecutors wouldn't piddle away thousands of dollars in legal fees and court time for stealing $50 worth of goods!

They should've locked them in jail! Cut off their hands! Punish, punish. PUNISH some more... that's what justice IS...

What do you think the punishment should be for shoplifting?

[myata]

Why should anything work in a system that was built for no other reason but to take care of itself? Just curious.

[eyeball]

1 hour ago, ironstone said:

What do you think the punishment should be for shoplifting?

How about turning their insides out through their butts? Apparently God did that to someone in the Bible as punishment for some thing or another.

I bet that would deter most people. Put up big graphic posters in stores...like anti-smoking ads only grosser.

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ironstone said:

What do you think the punishment should be for shoplifting?

I used to shoplift as a kid. Never got caught. I did so, knowing getting caught, I would have to lay in the bed that I made.

My mother caught me. I was probably 8. I stole a bunch of candy. She forced me to return it, and apologize.

I was a child. I didn't know what I was doing. I saw my peers do it, so I did too.

A grown adult has no excuse. 

Having to face consequences for my actions prevented me from wanting to steal ever again.

Too many parents are afraid to raise their kids or too lazy.

There should be consequences for shoplifting.

Of course if under 5 grand the penalty must match the minor crime. But people getting slapped on the wrists and facing zero jail is insane to me.

If I had stolen as an adult, I would not have resisted the arrest. I made a low IQ decision, I deserve whatever it is the law wishes to throw at me.

[CdnFox]

7 hours ago, herbie said:

They did they did! And the lazy prosecutors wouldn't piddle away thousands of dollars in legal fees and court time for stealing $50 worth of goods!

They should've locked them in jail! Cut off their hands! Punish, punish. PUNISH some more... that's what justice IS...

Yeah - because the catch and release program is doing so well.

You know that most of these people - especially the violent ones - are serial repeat offenders right?

[CdnFox]

1 hour ago, Perspektiv said:

I used to shoplift as a kid. Never got caught. I did so, knowing getting caught, I would have to lay in the bed that I made.

My mother caught me. I was probably 8. I stole a bunch of candy. She forced me to return it, and apologize.

I was a child. I didn't know what I was doing. I saw my peers do it, so I did too.

A grown adult has no excuse. 

Having to face consequences for my actions prevented me from wanting to steal ever again.

Too many parents are afraid to raise their kids or too lazy.

There should be consequences for shoplifting.

Of course if under 5 grand the penalty must match the minor crime. But people getting slapped on the wrists and facing zero jail is insane to me.

If I had stolen as an adult, I would not have resisted the arrest. I made a low IQ decision, I deserve whatever it is the law wishes to throw at me.

Minor the first time - but in my world if you're an adult and this is your 10th time stealing then it should be bumped up to a major crime.  It's appropriate to give someone a second chance. But when you're giving people 20th chances or 50th chances -  it's time to take the gloves off.

[herbie]

15 hours ago, CdnFox said:

if you're an adult and this is your 10th time stealing then it should be bumped up to a major crime. 

It's shoplifting....
as opposed to theft under/over $somany... it never was or will be a major crime.

[Legato]

23 hours ago, herbie said:

They should've locked them in jail! Cut off their hands! Punish, punish. PUNISH some more... that's what justice IS...

Yes.

[CdnFox]

12 hours ago, herbie said:

It's shoplifting....
 

It's theft.  And shoplifting is becoming more and more violent.   It's one thing if a kid makes a mistake, its another when an adult makes a career.

Theft is theft -  it costs stores hundreds of millions of dollars.   IF we took it seriously we wouldn't have that problem.  Hey - don't want to get bumped up to being a serious criminal, stop at 9 and never do it again.

[Legato]

22 hours ago, herbie said:

It's shoplifting....
as opposed to theft under/over $somany... it never was or will be a major crime.

Attitudes like that are the main reason insurance costs are so high.

[PIK]

Criminals are victims too. As the left loves to say.

   

[ExFlyer]

6 minutes ago, PIK said:

Criminals are victims too. As the left loves to say.

   

Said no one,  except fools trying to make a useless political statements LOL

Edited September 4, 2023 by ExFlyer

[herbie]

Lock 'em up in privatized jails so m taxes don't go up....

You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think.