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Child Item

I think I saw an elderly woman stealing in the supermarket

Augmerson

I was going for vacuum cleaner bags and started wandering around the Tesco in our town, it's huge. I don't normally like Tesco but I couldn't find our type of vacuum cleaner bags anywhere else. Anyway I decided to get Tuna as well and on the aisle I came across an elderly woman. She had a handbag and was dropping cans of something into it, I just had turned the corner and we both locked eyes. She looked kind of sheepish. I just kept walking. There was no one else on that aisle.

Tbh, I don't know if she was stealing. Maybe she was just putting her shopping into that bag and on the way out she'd pay for it all. I see people do that sometimes, but usually not something that's a handbag. It was just the look she gave me, a mix between surprise and fear. There was something about it. If she was relaxed and had nothing to worry about I doubt she would have looked at me that way.

I got thinking about it on the way home. Was she stealing? Is it any of my business if she does? And then I got thinking, jesus what if she is broke and has to steal? That's a sad scenario. Elderly woman forced to steal to get by. I've heard of the elderly eating cat or dog food, I always thought it was an Urban Myth kind of thing. I'd ****ing hate to think of my Dad or anyone in my family having to do something like that to get by. I'd hate to think of anyone in their golden years having to do something like that.

What do you think, should I have said something to her? To security? Is it really wrong of me to come to this assumption that the woman was breaking the law without definite proof? Is it any of my business?

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kneemos

What does "sheepish"look like?

TheBeardedLady

Augmerson wrote: »

What do you think, should I have said something to her? To security? Is it really wrong of me to come to this assumption that the woman was breaking the law without definite proof? Is it any of my business?

If she was stealing, I'd personally say nothing. Stealing snazzy stuff is one thing but someone stealing canned goods (which are rarely snazzy) and food is another thing completely.

My 6th class teacher told us sometimes stealing wasn't wrong; that it wasn't always so black and white and if it was a matter of survival then to go for it. That always stuck with me although I've never had to steal to survive, thank god.

I used to work in a supermarket on the tills as a teen and security and ourselves would turn a blind eye to the auld ones who'd steal, which was a regular enough occurrence. They were absolutely rubbish at it though - one woman would walk out with a massive hump on her back with a load of stuff stuffed up there. The only thing I wanted to say to her was to be a bit more subtle about it in case the boss caught us blatantly ignoring her but obviously we didn't want to embarrass her.

catallus

What kind of tuna did you buy, OP?

endacl

kneemos wrote: »

What does "sheepish"look like?

Woolly.

RustyNut

kneemos wrote: »

What does "sheepish"look like?

This is what the bold ones look like...

Irish Guitarist

When I was about six or seven years old I was in the supermarket waiting for my mother to pay for her shopping and was passing the time by looking at things on shelves. I picked up one of those pens with four different colours and started looking at it. An old bag elderly lady came up and and started shouting at me "ARE YOU GOING TO BUY THAT?". I said "I'm just looking at it". She shouted at me some more "PUT IT DOWN".

I really hope that was the woman you saw. Probably not though because she has most likely died of old age or has been stabbed by a child with a pen by now.

[Deleted User]

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

When I was about six or seven years old I was in the supermarket waiting for my mother to pay for her shopping and was passing the time by looking at things on shelves. I picked up one of those pens with four different colours and started looking at it. An old bag elderly lady came up and and started shouting at me "ARE YOU GOING TO BUY THAT?". I said "I'm just looking at it". She shouted at me some more "PUT IT DOWN".

I really hope that was the woman you saw. Probably not though because she has most likely died of old age or has been stabbed by a child with a pen by now.

That's a long, long time to hold a grudge.

And what a revenge fantasy. Totally proportional.

kumate_champ07

this is kind of ageist , people dont become soft&cuddly with old age, why is it not acceptable for old people to engage in criminal activities?!

GHOST MGG

In our wonderful banana republic in 2014 the poor old dear would be likely locked up and the key thrown away.
Yet the scumbag drug dealers and feral kid gangs are allowed to roam the streets with no penalty.
I asked a local guard in my area why there were scumbags openly drug dealing in the local park and nothing being done about it..
he replied with "ah sure we know who they are"..typical gob****e answer to a serious question,geldof was right!

TheBeardedLady

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

this is kind of ageist , people dont become soft&cuddly with old age, why is it not acceptable for old people to engage in criminal activities?!

They become more vulnerable and less physically (and sometimes mentally) able and if they're in a situation where they can't feed themselves, they can't exactly go out and get a job, can they?

Iranoutofideas

Having worked in retail for years I have seen it all. People of all ages and backgrounds steal. Some of them would amaze you with the way they will justify what they do.

I suppose the most memorable one was the 80 year old stuffing as many lollipops as she could into her coat pocket...

...then there was the female garda putting a copy of Hello inside her jacket.

diograis

GHOST MGG wrote: »

In our wonderful banana republic in 2014 the poor old dear would be likely locked up and the key thrown away.
Yet the scumbag drug dealers and feral kid gangs are allowed to roam the streets with no penalty.
I asked a local guard in my area why there were scumbags openly drug dealing in the local park and nothing being done about it..
he replied with "ah sure we know who they are"..typical gob****e answer to a serious question,geldof was right!

Rabble rabble rabble. You didn't even mention the banks ffs

TheBeardedLady

GHOST MGG wrote: »

In our wonderful banana republic in 2014 the poor old dear would be likely locked up and the key thrown away.

You genuinely believe that?

freshpopcorn

She might have only wanted a few things and couldn't be bothered to carry them.

Birroc

You have no idea how much is robbed from supermarkets every week. Unbelievable. One big store might be losing 10k-20k in a typical week! They cant or wont do anything about it for various reasons including legal costs. It is priced in.
The self service checkouts are now a huge drain - people are pretending steak is loose fruit/veg and paying by the weight rather than showing the barcode.

Bonny23

OP, I would focus on what I was there for and leave the old woman be, it's between her and Tesco.

Perhaps she was going to pay for them she just preferred her bag to the provided shopping baskets and when she saw you she realized you would think she was stealing because she was using her bag.That's speculation of course - like suggesting she may have been stealing, not enough facts to do anything really.

Besides supposing she was stealing do you really want to be the one who alerts security and causes an old woman (who might be too poor to buy the items) to be publicly humiliated in order to aid Tesco?

newmug

Pray for her. It never hurt anyone.

Santa Cruz

Augmerson wrote: »

I was going for vacuum cleaner bags and started wandering around the Tesco in our town, it's huge. I don't normally like Tesco but I couldn't find our type of vacuum cleaner bags anywhere else. Anyway I decided to get Tuna as well and on the aisle I came across an elderly woman. She had a handbag and was dropping cans of something into it, I just had turned the corner and we both locked eyes. She looked kind of sheepish. I just kept walking. There was no one else on that aisle.

Tbh, I don't know if she was stealing. Maybe she was just putting her shopping into that bag and on the way out she'd pay for it all. I see people do that sometimes, but usually not something that's a handbag. It was just the look she gave me, a mix between surprise and fear. There was something about it. If she was relaxed and had nothing to worry about I doubt she would have looked at me that way.

I got thinking about it on the way home. Was she stealing? Is it any of my business if she does? And then I got thinking, jesus what if she is broke and has to steal? That's a sad scenario. Elderly woman forced to steal to get by. I've heard of the elderly eating cat or dog food, I always thought it was an Urban Myth kind of thing. I'd ****ing hate to think of my Dad or anyone in my family having to do something like that to get by. I'd hate to think of anyone in their golden years having to do something like that.

What do you think, should I have said something to her? To security? Is it really wrong of me to come to this assumption that the woman was breaking the law without definite proof? Is it any of my business?

I know one O.A.P. that swipes a tray of meat every Friday. Nothing else just a nice bit of steak or chicken breasts. Then she lines up at the checkout with all her other shopping and is all friendly with the cashier handing in tokens etc.

Guy:Incognito

TonyStark wrote: »

Personally I would have just eyed up what she bought and then got some more of it and paid for it and quietly pushed the shopping bag into her hand and told her to look after herself and maybe talk to somebody and that if it were store security then they might not be as nice about it.

You know old people can be thieving scumbags too yeah? They aren't all nice sweet granny's off TV programs. All the people that are scumbags through their lives don't suddenly become nice and law abiding once the pension starts rolling in.

gctest50

newmug wrote: »

Pray for her. It never hurt anyone.

???

its no wonder nothing gets done

it never hurt anyone ? ask yer man they crucified - were still hearing about it

conorh91

Birroc wrote: »

You have no idea how much is robbed from supermarkets every week. Unbelievable. One big store might be losing 10k-20k in a typical week!

Seriously?

Is that figure the cost-price to the retailer, or is that the shelf price?

Up to a million quid a year just sounds staggering. I presume this is clothing, moreso than food?

[Deleted User]

conorh91 wrote: »

Seriously?

Is that figure the cost-price to the retailer, or is that the shelf price?

Up to a million quid a year just sounds staggering. I presume this is clothing, moreso than food?

If it's textiles it can really add up, a shopping trolley or two loaded with clothes, even cheap Dunnes or tesco stuff can add up to quite a lot. Security in our store post up pics of these trolleys whenever they manage to nab someone trying to walk out without paying and once or twice it was over two thousand euros worth.
An elderly woman was recently caught filling her handbag with baby bottles of Hennessy in our store, former gardai have also been spotted shoplifting where I work but nothing's done about them.

Birroc

conorh91 wrote: »

Seriously?

Is that figure the cost-price to the retailer, or is that the shelf price?

Up to a million quid a year just sounds staggering. I presume this is clothing, moreso than food?

It's selling price and it's everything. Alcohol is popular. Some stores have stopped selling popular high priced items such as games as a result. The thieves often send kids in alone to steal - nobody is going to stop or question kids. The stores know its the same gangs and families but are reluctant to intervene for the most part. Security guards are told to report but ignore.

Toots

Birroc wrote: »

You have no idea how much is robbed from supermarkets every week. Unbelievable. One big store might be losing 10k-20k in a typical week! They cant or wont do anything about it for various reasons including legal costs. It is priced in.
The self service checkouts are now a huge drain - people are pretending steak is loose fruit/veg and paying by the weight rather than showing the barcode.

Oooh, I know what I'm trying the next time I go to tesco....

GHOST MGG

TheBeardedLady wrote: »

You genuinely believe that?

Do you think that stuff doesnt happen here? Lots of old and vunerable people get jailed in this country for fairly bening reasons things like being late with their tv licence payments.
One pensioner owed 10 quid and was jailed for a week ffs,while scumbags who break into cars and houses consistently get out if they get caught in like 2 hours.
Ask the 2 invalided pensioners in tallaght who were taken to jail for non payment of fine for their tv licence,they couldnt even cover their medical expenses nevermind the court fine.
country is a joke

Frank Lee Midere

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

You know old people can be thieving scumbags too yeah? They aren't all nice sweet granny's off TV programs. All the people that are scumbags through their lives don't suddenly become nice and law abiding once the pension starts rolling in.

Nor do they all become poor.

Frank Lee Midere

GHOST MGG wrote: »

Do you think that stuff doesnt happen here? Lots of old and vunerable people get jailed in this country for fairly bening reasons things like being late with their tv licence payments.
One pensioner owed 10 quid and was jailed for a week ffs,while scumbags who break into cars and houses consistently get out if they get caught in like 2 hours.
Ask the 2 invalided pensioners in tallaght who were taken to jail for non payment of fine for their tv licence,they couldnt even cover their medical expenses nevermind the court fine.
country is a joke

In general nobody gets more than a day for non payment.

oldyouth

Young shoplifters, over a period of time, become elderly shoplifters. Where's the mystery?

[Deleted User]

Since she was stealing food and not electronics or jewelry or some luxury item, I'd assume she's not a criminal mastermind coming to the end of a life of crime, but someone who may be suffering from some level of dementia, or is in genuine need.

holystungun9

Bonny23 wrote: »

OP, I would focus on what I was there for and leave the old woman be, it's between her and Tesco.

Perhaps she was going to pay for them she just preferred her bag to the provided shopping baskets and when she saw you she realized you would think she was stealing because she was using her bag.That's speculation of course - like suggesting she may have been stealing, not enough facts to do anything really.

Besides supposing she was stealing do you really want to be the one who alerts security and causes an old woman (who might be too poor to buy the items) to be publicly humiliated in order to aid Tesco?

So "Bonny", very unusual that your first post is telling folk to not stick their noses in and to let this old lady do whatever she's doing. AH, we have her!