Repercussions for shoplifting/stealing

*If this is in the wrong place I apologize*

So I've been a Tumblr user for about a year and a half. I started getting into it as a fandom thing, and now I even have a sideblog for makeup.  Since I started doing this for the makeup, I would look through makeup-related tags to discover new things to reblog. 

I've discovered there is a whole sub-community on Tumblr of "lifters."  They shoplift and brag about their hauls and stashes with tags like "sticky fingers" "five finger discount" "shoplifter" etc.  It's revolting to me that these people steal hauls (and I've seen several hauls well over a thousand dollars, including items such as Clarisonics.)  To avoid legal trouble (I think?!?) some of them post disclaimers saying their blog is "role playing" and they actually buy the items and just fantasize about stealing.  Personally, I think that's bull.  Especially when they all post and share tips on how to get hooks and magnets and get around cameras at specific stores (Ulta is a popular one.)

It makes me sick that I spend my hard-earned money and budget and find good deals when there are people who walk away with hundreds from Ulta/Sephora and then brag about it on the Internet.  It looks like they don't even do it because they want the makeup, they like the high from stealing and they resell on ebay. 

I guess I just wanted to vent about how annoyed I am with these serial shoplifters.  

Many years ago my economics teacher was telling us how cosmetics are the most shoplifted item, thus the mark up. That is SUCh a shame. Those people should be embarrassed, not bragging. 

Grrrr! I can't stand this. 

I've seen those tags too. And most of the time, it seems like they shoplift as a way of coping with a breakup or being lonely or something. So, I'd like to be understanding that it's a compulsion or something that has to be dealt with. But I can't help but get furious when people flaunt their shoplifted products. Especially considering everyone else who has worked and budgeted their money to purchase the same items.

 That blows my mind. I work hard for my money and I stay strong to save up for certain splurge items, such as my clarisonic. It's insane to think people can shoplift those even. It's ridiculous nothing is being done about them.

this isn't anything new, from knowing some people who do this regularly and from working in retail. i know that it's common and is generally built in to the price of goods. it sucks and you could look at the pictures of their hauls and say "that's not fair" but they are also taking a huge risk that could ruin their lives. first offenders may get off fairly easily if its a small stash, but a lot of states have harsh "three strikes and you're out" policies. i saw a man go away for extensive jail time just for stealing a $1 bar of soap from a drug store, but having prior offenses hurt him.

sure, they have their strategies for how to shoplift, but at the end of the day, unless they personally know who a store's LP agent is (if the store has one), they will never be able to pick out an LP agent and THAT is who can detain them and ruin their life.

also, semi-off topic, i never understood why my store didn't have an LP agent full time (we only had one around busy seasons like back to school and holidays). i can't even tell you how many times i would see people run out of the store with a STACK of jeans, and we weren't allowed to stop them, and i WOULDN'T want to stop them. by the time our elderly security guards got to my store to hear what happened, the shoplifters are long gone.

so, the system is broken. if stores don't care enough to hire full time LP agents, shoplifters are going to do what they want.

I totally get that it isn't anything new, shoplifting forums have probably existed since the beginning of the Internet. It just kills me that they have the gall to brag about in on Tumblr because it's "safer" than posting their hauls on, say, Youtube. And I agree that the system is broken-- it would be nice if there was more that SA's and LP's could do...so many things factor into that (too few workers scheduled, they might not care, lack of training, policy prevents them from being aggressive about stopping it, etc.) Even if they are caught, I feel like something isn't always done about it. This girl I was friends with in high school lifted almost $2k of stuff with one of her shadier friends from a mall. They were 16/17 at the time and they got off with a warning, a ban from the mall and community service...and didn't have to return the items? That never made sense to me. She actually stole from my house and our other friends' houses for 2-3 years before anyone caught her. And she's probably out there doing it STILL since she didn't suffer any consequences when she did get caught.

Sometimes I wonder if there just isn't a desire to do LP type jobs so its just hard to get people to do those jobs.

I would never want to put that responsibility on sales associates because a lot of them are young girls. On a related note, back when i was like 19/20-ish and looking for a second part time summer job, I applied at Sears. the next day I got a call, not for the SA job I applied for, but for LP. They were seriously asking if a 19 year old 5 foot 3 inch tall white girl wanted to watch video cameras for shop lifters, and go out in to the mall and apprehend shoplifters who left the store and BRING them back in to sears. I said thanks but no thanks. The fact that they were asking someone like me made  me wonder how desperate they were for someone to do the job.

It definitely takes a certain type of person IMO.

Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Sometimes I wonder if there just isn't a desire to do LP type jobs so its just hard to get people to do those jobs.

I would never want to put that responsibility on sales associates because a lot of them are young girls. On a related note, back when i was like 19/20-ish and looking for a second part time summer job, I applied at Sears. the next day I got a call, not for the SA job I applied for, but for LP. They were seriously asking if a 19 year old 5 foot 3 inch tall white girl wanted to watch video cameras for shop lifters, and go out in to the mall and apprehend shoplifters who left the store and BRING them back in to sears. I said thanks but no thanks. The fact that they were asking someone like me made  me wonder how desperate they were for someone to do the job.

It definitely takes a certain type of person IMO.

omg!! That's so crazy. I definitely think that an LP job at a place like Sears should hire professionals, but I would bet that they just "don't have the money" to pay for that. As in, they'd rather take the loss than pay people above min wage to work security. 

 I worked retail in a Harley-Davidson when I was in high school and we didn't have any formal LP policies. The clothing area was pretty small and we had tons of mirrors, but people still found ways to swipe things. I think people who want to do something will always, always find a way (not just shoplifting, but anything, really.)  I now work in finance in another H-D dealership, and occasionally I do inventory for the clothing dept, which includes securing and pricing new items.  I have seen (on those Tumblr tags) ways to get around every single security thing we put in place.

Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Sometimes I wonder if there just isn't a desire to do LP type jobs so its just hard to get people to do those jobs.

I would never want to put that responsibility on sales associates because a lot of them are young girls. On a related note, back when i was like 19/20-ish and looking for a second part time summer job, I applied at Sears. the next day I got a call, not for the SA job I applied for, but for LP. They were seriously asking if a 19 year old 5 foot 3 inch tall white girl wanted to watch video cameras for shop lifters, and go out in to the mall and apprehend shoplifters who left the store and BRING them back in to sears. I said thanks but no thanks. The fact that they were asking someone like me made  me wonder how desperate they were for someone to do the job.

It definitely takes a certain type of person IMO.
That actually sounds a lot like The Bay (very similar to Sears) up here in Canada where I worked in high school.  A number of the LP associates were older ladies, 5.4, or even smaller that didn't seem very experienced in the area.  Whenever they would do an arrest, they would often request someone else from outside the department to working to 'assist'.  I had to help on a couple of occasions, and it was really awkward.  It was kind of strange since it was a massive store, yet seemed to be always understaffed/under prepared when something went down (which was actually much more often than I had first assumed).  I also worked at The Gap for a short time too, and their policy was to approach the shoplifter, and start a conversation regarding whatever item they stole (though not actually mentioning anything about the shoplifting itself).  This was supposed to make them feel uncomfortable and apparently put back what they took.. In my experience, it's pretty unfortunate, but people seem to get away with a fair bit a times with how everything is structured.

This is more of a response to the initial post and less about LP.

It doesn't surprise me that people are posting their illegal gains on Tumblr; they probably see it as some sort of victory to get away with as much as possible. I think shop lifting is completely unethical and an act of immaturity. It demonstrates a sense of entitled and a lack of awareness or consideration for their actions. Sure, they might justify it by thinking they're just stealing from a big corporation, but those thefts trickle down to all consumers. 

This isn't Les Mis where someone is stealing out of hunger and desperation. Makeup and skincare are a luxury and almost all of us will save up or at least be conscientious about large purchases. (Plus there are loads of inexpensive drugstore brands which might not seem as luxurious but which are actually quite nice.) 

So yes, I'm in total agreement that "lifters" make me feel a little resentful but more so I pity them. 

Back in college I worked at a grocery store that employed one LP from two weeks before Christmas until New Years.  He was a very nice looking 30ish year old man that I would chat with when the store was vacant.  A few years later this guy kept following me at Walmart and I knew he looked familiar but couldn't place him.  Finally I remembered he was the LP from the grocery store--FOLLOWING ME!  The next time he got close I said "HI, remember me, I used to work at ____".  He looked confused for a minute, then recognition hit.  He apologized, saying that he knew he remembered my face, but thought it was from one of the "posters" he had.