Beggars, homeless, street drinkers & drug users in Sheffield!

[FoxLady]

On the subject of shoplifting, I was in our local Co-op this teatime and witnessed the gall/brazenness of a shoplifter.  The bloke had wandered round the shop, filling his basket, before shouting "Where's the chocolate?" to the woman behind the check-out. He detoured up an aisle, before sauntering out towards the door. The assistant, realising what he was up to,  shouted "Oi! Aren't you paying for that?" and the cheeky **** actually replied "Not tonight, no...."!

The curious thing is that he could've easily be indentified on the street - he was wearing what I'd call a Tyrolean hat! Y'know, like those Austrian/Swiss "trilbies" you see in films, when they're prancing about in lederhosen!

 

[Irene Swaine]

1 minute ago, FoxLady said:

On the subject of shoplifting, I was in our local Co-op this teatime and witnessed the gall/brazenness of a shoplifter.  The bloke had wandered round the shop, filling his basket, before shouting "Where's the chocolate?" to the woman behind the check-out. He detoured up an aisle, before sauntering out towards the door. The assistant, realising what he was up to,  shouted "Oi! Aren't you paying for that?" and the cheeky **** actually replied "Not tonight, no...."!

The curious thing is that he could've easily be indentified on the street - he was wearing what I'd call a Tyrolean hat! Y'know, like those Austrian/Swiss "trilbies" you see in films, when they're prancing about in lederhosen!

 

The cops won't come out for shoplifting these days and the lad on the checkout probably thought it wasn't worth getting stabbed over a bar of chocolate. It just puts prices up for the paying customer. 

[gaz 786]

26 minutes ago, pfifes said:

No flies swatted with it (by me anyway).  By the looks of things he’d been ‘selling’ that same copy of the Big Issue all week.

Good chance of that as well mate 👍 

[Padders]

8 minutes ago, Irene Swaine said:

The cops won't come out for shoplifting these days and the lad on the checkout probably thought it wasn't worth getting stabbed over a bar of chocolate. It just puts prices up for the paying customer. 

Shoplifting is at epidemic proportions Irene.

As you say, plod won't come out for shoplifting..

So in a way it's easy pickings for a budding shoplifter.

[pfifes]

7 hours ago, FoxLady said:

On the subject of shoplifting, I was in our local Co-op this teatime and witnessed the gall/brazenness of a shoplifter.  The bloke had wandered round the shop, filling his basket, before shouting "Where's the chocolate?" to the woman behind the check-out. He detoured up an aisle, before sauntering out towards the door. The assistant, realising what he was up to,  shouted "Oi! Aren't you paying for that?" and the cheeky **** actually replied "Not tonight, no...."!

The curious thing is that he could've easily be indentified on the street - he was wearing what I'd call a Tyrolean hat! Y'know, like those Austrian/Swiss "trilbies" you see in films, when they're prancing about in lederhosen!

 

Oh no, they won’t worry too much about about someone brazenly shoplifting/looting like that.  Too many security staff are only interested in trying to intimidate honest shoppers who maybe don’t fit a stereotype or acted in a way they perceive could maybe possibly be suspicious because they are too cowardly to take on a brazen thief.  And they think they are jolly clever and doing their job but judging by the problems with shoplifting now they are clearly not!

[Bargepole23]

3 hours ago, pfifes said:

Oh no, they won’t worry too much about about someone brazenly shoplifting/looting like that.  Too many security staff are only interested in trying to intimidate honest shoppers who maybe don’t fit a stereotype or acted in a way they perceive could maybe possibly be suspicious because they are too cowardly to take on a brazen thief.  And they think they are jolly clever and doing their job but judging by the problems with shoplifting now they are clearly not!

Where are these shops with security guards trying to intimidate shoppers?

[pfifes]

2 hours ago, Bargepole23 said:

Where are these shops with security guards trying to intimidate shoppers?

I don’t want to name specific shops because I don’t think that’s appropriate on a public forum.  And besides it’s a common behaviour and not limited to a couple of shops.  I think I can say though that this is something I’ve experienced mostly in Sheffield city centre- not Meadowhall for example.  I know its due to the amount of shoplifting they get there due in no small part to the number of street people there and associated substance abuse.

I’ve seen on a few occasions now people being stopped by a guard leaving a certain store who I’m almost certain hadn’t pinched anything (e.g. a timid looking Chinese student and older lady).  I personally had a guard push in front of me in a different store saying ‘not the….’ then realised he’d made a mistake and sulkily skulked back to the door glaring at me, then another time overhearing the guards loud walkie talkie with a person  talking about a ‘Suspicious customer’ who happened to be described as wearing clothes matching my own!  Well thanks a bunch for that after I’ve just selected and PAID FOR several items in your store!!  
Now before anyone starts on this being paranoia or whatever.  Well maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but what gets my goat is that while this goes on there is an ever increasing number of people openly and brazenly stealing from shops.  Often more like looting than shoplifting and they largely get away with it.  Meanwhile Mr Joe Bloggs paying customer gets put under suspicion for taking too long to choose a toothbrush!!

 

[HeHasRisen]

42 minutes ago, pfifes said:

I don’t want to name specific shops because I don’t think that’s appropriate on a public forum.  

 

Why, what do you think will happen if you do? You have an anonymous username.

[pfifes]

2 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

Why, what do you think will happen if you do? You have an anonymous username.

I’m not thinking about myself.  I’m thinking about the employees I’m referring to in certain shops.  I don’t want identify any individual online (if want to take anything further I will contact the store management through the complaints procedure), I’m just making a general point.  

[Bargepole23]

4 hours ago, pfifes said:

I don’t want to name specific shops because I don’t think that’s appropriate on a public forum.  And besides it’s a common behaviour and not limited to a couple of shops.  I think I can say though that this is something I’ve experienced mostly in Sheffield city centre- not Meadowhall for example.  I know its due to the amount of shoplifting they get there due in no small part to the number of street people there and associated substance abuse.

I’ve seen on a few occasions now people being stopped by a guard leaving a certain store who I’m almost certain hadn’t pinched anything (e.g. a timid looking Chinese student and older lady).  I personally had a guard push in front of me in a different store saying ‘not the….’ then realised he’d made a mistake and sulkily skulked back to the door glaring at me, then another time overhearing the guards loud walkie talkie with a person  talking about a ‘Suspicious customer’ who happened to be described as wearing clothes matching my own!  Well thanks a bunch for that after I’ve just selected and PAID FOR several items in your store!!  
Now before anyone starts on this being paranoia or whatever.  Well maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but what gets my goat is that while this goes on there is an ever increasing number of people openly and brazenly stealing from shops.  Often more like looting than shoplifting and they largely get away with it.  Meanwhile Mr Joe Bloggs paying customer gets put under suspicion for taking too long to choose a toothbrush!!

 

OK. Well I guess I must not go in those shops, and I certainly couldn't care less what a security guard thinks of me.