Theft & Stealing

makmaciek

I'd like to raise the subject of theft - happened to most of us at least once in a lifetime. It's a mixture of frustration, anger and helplessness when somebody unlawfully deprives you of your property. What makes theft happen, does it just lie inside people who steal or is it an opportunity that makes a thief? There are many faces of theft, how many do you know?

Funsterdelux

Well, as a old woodwork teacher used to say to us, theres a bit of badness in everyone, but most of it is natural, as long as it doesnt get twisted you dont have to worry.

Now its the twisted you have to look out for, people who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks for instance, its their culture, its part of what they are, its hard to change it. the sad part about it, is that most of these people get away with it.

ThrownAway

It's not just the people who have been brought up in a deprived background that steal. I've seen the most normal genuine people steal from me. It was shocking because one girl that I knew was pretty well off. I really don't get it.

Orlee

Funsterdelux wrote:

Well, as a old woodwork teacher used to say to us, theres a bit of badness in everyone, but most of it is natural.

Yeah, my sociology lecturer said the same - it's a basic instinct that through evolution we have realised is wrong.

makmaciek wrote:

is it an opportunity that makes a thief?

And that most thefts are committed by opportunists acting on impulse, that they are not premeditated and most theifs will feel guilty afterwards.

Funsterdelux

ThrownAway wrote:

It's not just the people who have been brought up in a deprived background that steal. I've seen the most normal genuine people steal from me. It was shocking because one girl that I knew was pretty well off. I really don't get it.

Yeah, twisted, thats what I'm saying, you get these people too, who can well afford something, but just want to take it there and then, I think its a power/status thing.

Funsterdelux

Orlee wrote:

Yeah, my sociology lecturer said the same - it's a basic instinct that through evolution we have realised is wrong.

Maybe I should be a sociologist, if thats how one spells it.

Tar.Aldarion

Somebody robbed my illuminous green runners whilst I was swimming, the bastards. Also, who apart from me would have wanted illuminous green runners.

It's a different matter for everybody OP, one just can't give a blanket answer to that.

Plug

These little bastards should be thought a lesson. The poor farmer up the country padraig nalley, nackers went in to rob his house, they'll never do that again. And what made me sick was he fact that he got jailed for protecting himself and his property. IMO these ***** should be all shot.

ThrownAway

Funsterdelux wrote:

Yeah, twisted, thats what I'm saying, you get these people too, who can well afford something, but just want to take it there and then, I think its a power/status thing.

This girl wasn't exactly twisted though she's the nicest person you'd meet but like a different person when she's drunk. I've learned my lesson no matter how down to earth and nice someone may seem, you can never know.

jor el

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

Also, who apart from me would have wanted illuminous green runners.

More importantly, why would anyone want to wear someone else's (possibly sweaty) runners, luminous or not?

The things people steal are sometimes bizarre. In college, a friends house got broken into and the thieves stole a bag of dirty washing and a wooden chair. The mind boggles

Your luminous runners were probably thrown in the ditch half a mile down the road. It's stealing just for the sake of it.

makmaciek

The Gardai statistics in Ireland I read in Herald were saying that only 10-20% of burglaries are detected. So that means 8 out of 10 thiefs come unpunished. I read somewhere that in retail most robberies are commited by staff! I know a guy who being an assistant manager robbed stock for 800 euro, his excuse was 'for all them hours I had to work for them, they never paid me extra'. So if someone fleeces you, that's how to retaliate...

The Song Thrush

A friend of mine stole at least €1,500 in supplies from a stationery shop where he worked for only a few weeks. And included in that was €100 worth of pens.

InFront

A friend of a friend left her handbag in a pub with her money and passport keys etc. They stole just her tin whistle.

I dont know why people do it. Who was that American actress who was caught stealing from a clothes shop a few years ago, despite her wealth Some people are just strange.

I really hate when you go into stores and you get followed around the place by the security guard. I was in Clerys some time last year getting a tie and obviously some one on the cameras was convinced I was about to rob them or something because the security guard kept standing right behind me and I could hear everything the cameraman was saying over the walkie talkie! "Hes there beside you now". It was kind of funny, I tried not to read too much into it . Its times like that you take great satisfaction of paying at the cash desk:D

jesus_thats_gre

Orlee wrote:

Yeah, my sociology lecturer said the same - it's a basic instinct that through evolution we have realised is wrong.

Well evolution has thought us to cope with every eventually surely? You could nearly argue that it is a handy survival tool if things ever got that bad.

I know fook all about that lark by the way so I could be full of **** ^^^^

the_syco

I think someone once said that about 80% of all crime is opportunity. That is, its stolen cos the wallet was left on the table, in the open, etc, as opposed to something locked away.

Ruu_Old

I never had anything nicked on me so far which is good. What makes people do it? I guess because they feel theres a good chance of getting away with it and never seeing the person and sometimes because they are very desperate and struggling to survive, sad really.

padi89

I used to work in a supermarket a few yeras ago.There was a woman that we used to deliver to in a huge house in a beautiful estate and the husband was a doctor.I was asked to keep an eye on her one day.She did her grocery shopping to the value of around £200 irish pounds paid for it and then went over and stole 6 mugs for a £5.Aledgely she had been at it for weeks.I dont know the spelling for it but i was told she was a cleptomaniac.

roberta c

i think theres a difference in the idea of robbing a person of a wallet or phone or something, and robbing a shop. both wrong, but in different wats kinda. think its worse to rob a person of their belongs because its just a horrible thing to do!

think you'd have to be on the fairly twisted side to do that and not consider the other person.. most people have natural empathy... but some just dont! think it could be the way your brought up, i was always told to imagine other peoples feelings and thats stayed with me.

with robbing shops and the like, its just oppertunist scummers with little integrity!

Gone West

Has anyone here ever stolen out of necessity?
food and the like...

It seems that youre all talking about middle class crime here.