Why Thieves Steal Soap

Post by InclinedPlane » Fri, Apr 15, 2016, 10:22 AM UTC

nkurz wrote: post #77

InclinedPlane wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is one reliable and consistent determinant for which groups of people commit crimes, and that is the incidence of poverty, unemployment, and injustice. When people lose hope, when they see the system as not cooperating with them and helping them when but rather antagonizing them and in opposition to them. When people perceive society as unfair and taking advantage of them. Then the idea of seizing their own adv…

Only a tiny minority of any [ethnic group] are criminals, to take the actions of a minute sub-set of a very large group of people as a bad mark against the entire group is entirely unjustified, especially in light of the issues I've described above. I agree with you, and presume 'dsl' does as well. I assume the use of [ethnic group] instead of the specific minority was head off misinterpretation. What caused you to i…

Post by dave2000 » Fri, Apr 15, 2016, 10:36 AM UTC

banku_brougham wrote: post #53

dsl wrote: post #24

The Safeway in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood is especially... exciting... relative to the surrounding area. It even has its own full time police officer. One time as I was leaving I asked the officer why Folgers crystals of all things were locked up. His reply was "[ethnic group] gangs steal essentials in bulk, and sell them to the homeless." From that point forward it clicked in my head, retail theft is abou…

Okay...so we are firmly in Mad Max territory already before exiting the 21st century.

Post by TheOtherHobbes » Fri, Apr 15, 2016, 10:47 AM UTC

shmageggy wrote: post #82

elcapitan wrote: post #81

Maybe Walgreens or Safeway should simply open a cheap unbranded store down the road that sells the typical thief goods in a no name version at competitive street prices, catering to the people who need that stuff but can't afford it at store price. That would dry up the stolen goods market. Their normal customers wouldn't buy there anyway, if the store is sufficiently awkward.

FTA > Thieves can sell items for around a third of their retail value, according to the report, or for roughly half their value if they sell them to second hand shops. I think even with no name brands, they'd still have to sell at a loss to be competitive with that kind of markdown. Hard to compete when the other guy's cost is $0.

Post by erelde » Fri, Apr 15, 2016, 11:32 AM UTC

augustnagro wrote: post #96

huuu wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure this is always true. In The Netherlands a lot of bikes are stolen because people are too lazy to walk. Most of the time your stolen bike can be found again next to a bus stop or train station.

There are 8 people in the Netherlands. I doubt the country can properly represent bike theft.

Post by SyneRyder » Fri, Apr 15, 2016, 11:36 AM UTC

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #92

If we're talking about shoplifting, I have no experience in this but surely the penalties for stealing a $2 item are different than for stealing a $200 or $2,000 item, and indeed a store will be less likely to press a prosecution for a low-valued item. Thus, particularly if you are a small-time or casual thief, it is safer to target very cheap goods, even taking into account the fact that you need to be a lot more pr…