People Who Steal.

It's always best to be honest. That concerning who we are and our past. When I was in junior high, I had a friend who was shoplifting.
He made it look so easy. So, I started to copy the way he was taking things. Part of the reason though is because I wanted the name brands of clothes that kids had in school. For an example: I wanted a pair of Reeboks and was afraid to ask my mom and Grandpa for.
I did this in the 9th grade. But I was put on probation for doing this. So, because my school attendance wasn't good, I was put in a group home.
Things like this maybe don't bother you at this age because your friends are probably laughing at you.

A few years later I tried to take a camera from Target. After I got caught, they actually let me go. Because I told them " I accidentally put it in my bag with the things I actually did pay for the store." When walking in the parking lot I knew I was going to caught sooner or later. That was when I stopped shoplifting. I don't like stealing anymore. I wouldn't even take a pen or penny from any place. I suggest to anyone try to get any kind of work. Later, I got in a summer job program at school.

I feel better now that I can buy my own things. You'll feel better also. It'll feel like an accomplishment. It's not worth it anyway. It was never yours to begin with.
Just like Remy said in opening post How would you feel?
 

Murrmurr said:
When my friend cleared out her daughter's bedroom, after the daughter moved out, she found garbage bags full of ladies bras and underwear, some belonging to the friend's room-mate, 34 charging cords, several other-people's journals, dozens of ladies blouses, boots and belts, loads of make-up, 14 curling irons, and 7 blow-dryers. And most of it was obviously not new, so, not stolen from a store.
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Sounds like the compulsive mental disorder- kleptomania:

"Kleptomania (klep-toe-MAY-nee-uh) is the recurrent inability to resist urges to steal items that you generally don't really need and that usually have little value. Kleptomania is a rare but serious mental health disorder that can cause much emotional pain to you and your loved ones if not treated.
Kleptomania is a type of impulse control disorder — a disorder that's characterized by problems with emotional or behavioral self-control. If you have an impulse control disorder, you have difficulty resisting the temptation or drive to perform an act that's excessive or harmful to you or someone else.
Many people with kleptomania live lives of secret shame because they're afraid to seek mental health treatment. Although there's no cure for kleptomania, treatment with medication or talk therapy (psychotherapy) may help to end the cycle of compulsive stealing."
 
When I worked in grocery back in early teeens we had a
older lady that I watched put things in her bag/purse and
only pay for a couple items.....brought it to boss's attention
and he watched her for about a month...then called her family
in because he knew they had money...so they paid up and
I think they prevented her from coming to the store.....
 

I have a few stories on this theme:

Years ago, when I worked at a department store (part-time evenings to make extra money), during orientation, we were told if we saw someone shoplifting, to not accost them. They could be dangerous. Our lives were more important. We were told how to go about alerting security without the shoplifter knowing about it.

One Thanksgiving weekend, my husband, me and our young son parked our car a ways from the shopping center and by the time we came back, someone had broken into the car. We had left an empty bag on the back seat and when the cops arrived, they told us they were probably going after it. Luckily, other than a scratched window, the car was drivable. After that incident, I never leave anything on the car seats when I leave the car.

Another time, I was working at a hospital, and kept a radio/CD player on my desk. It was stolen. I was pissed. Didn't bring any other radio there again.

I don't remember ever stealing anything. But I witnessed someone I knew stealing at a store and remember the gut-punch feeling in my stomach when I saw it. That relationship was toast after that.
 
I've never stolen anything. I was always brought up to respect the law, and with the exception of exceeding the speed limit I always do. I had an iPod, a prescription pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and gas credit cards stolen out of my car when it was in for service at an Audi dealership several years ago. The dealership reimbursed me for the costs. Seems it was a thievery ring that was running serviced cars through the carwash. They were arrested outside of Dallas in a brand new $50k truck with a collection of credit cards. :rolleyes:

I understand, but don't approve, of the mindset of some who are less fortunate who steal to make ends meet. When I see that Kobe Bryant's widow was awarded $16 million in cash for leaked photos while many in the US scrape along to pay the bills it does make me understand how the underprivileged feel.

However, I will never understand those who are in a good position financially and choose to steal. In the 90's, I worked with the Administrative Assistant of the VP of Sales. She was very buttoned-up and had a great reputation. She had bought a nice, new house and we had dinner there. Years later, she was arrested for booking complimentary cruises for her friends and charging them. She had embezzled over $400k.
 
Nathan said:
Sounds like the compulsive mental disorder- kleptomania:

"Kleptomania (klep-toe-MAY-nee-uh) is the recurrent inability to resist urges to steal items that you generally don't really need and that usually have little value. Kleptomania is a rare but serious mental health disorder that can cause much emotional pain to you and your loved ones if not treated.
Kleptomania is a type of impulse control disorder — a disorder that's characterized by problems with emotional or behavioral self-control. If you have an impulse control disorder, you have difficulty resisting the temptation or drive to perform an act that's excessive or harmful to you or someone else.
Many people with kleptomania live lives of secret shame because they're afraid to seek mental health treatment. Although there's no cure for kleptomania, treatment with medication or talk therapy (psychotherapy) may help to end the cycle of compulsive stealing."
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Before I really got to know the gal, I wondered if compulsive thievery was her problem. I've known her for 4yrs now. It isn't. She steals for spite and convenience, and sometimes she just thinks it's funny, brags about it, likes to tell her friends how stupid her last victim was.

She's hard-arsed, mean, and incapable of empathy.
 
So......The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun posted a note on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.”
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.
A child had written a note: ”Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”
 
Remy said:
I don't get it. Are their minds different than more honest people?
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Some do it just for the thrill

an experience I wrote about;


Acquaintances

Not friends
Not family
Not even people you know, really.
Just folks you know of, been introduced to, maybe work with, or even share an activity.
But not friends.
No, not friends.

Houston
Took a second job in a fab shop, bending, shearing, twisting metal.
Big place.
Lotsa noise. Lotsa work.
Night shift.
A huge gay guy a couple shears down is blowing me kisses.
I blow a couple back from boredom.
The guy next to me clues me in that he’s not kidding.
I stick a metal rod thru my legs, one end on the steel table, and smash it with a 4 lb hammer.
The gay guy winces.
I point and nod.
The guy next to me damn near cuts his hand off in the brake, doubled over with laughter.
Graveyard shift is over. So him and I go get breakfast.
A little café called The Western Grill stayed open all night.
Cheap, generous meals.
The guy calls himself Bruce Wade….too good a name to be real.
Older fella, premature grey-white hair, bent up western hat.
Turns out he’s a hustler, between ‘jobs’.


Now Bruce looks like he hasn’t done much physical labor, as his hands are soft, nails manicured, and his clothing is of a thin nature. Street shoes.

His buddy shows up and we move from the counter to a booth.
His buddy looks like a businessman in a top level exec position.
Older. Larger fella.
Receding hairline, thinning hair, business cut….not like, ‘Hey I see you got a haircut’, but trim, just off the ears. Greying at the temples.
He was quite polished, head to toe…not flashy, not gaudy, a bit understated.
He spoke well, smooth, not slimy smooth, but refined.
He seems happy.
They talk about fish. Not like you and I talk about fish.
He pulls some real estate documents out of his attaché case.
Bruce’s countenance lightens up.
Seems his gig at the metal fab shop is over.
I find out these guys are glorified flim flam men.
Conning people that want something for nothing.
It’s now an old con game, but then it was rather fresh.
Run an ad in the paper;
12 month lease for the price of 3.
Being transferred.
Must move.
Gated community.

It was common, being transferred to or from Houston in those days.
Bruce and his accomplice would get in free with a promotion, bedazzling the real property managers with false documents and a load of believable horseshit.
Then run their ad.
When folks arrived, Bruce would call the ‘manager’ (his accomplice) and here he’d come, showing the fish around the place, rec facilities, pool, club house, golf course, tennis court, convenience market, yadda yadda.
Once they got 6-8 couples to sign on and hand over their checks, they scheduled their move in….a few weeks down the line…long enough to enjoy their own stay, and line up these fish, all trying to move in at one time……..


These guys were fascinating to me.
Not because of their smooth ability to con folks, but because they could very well have been successful gents in the business community.
They got a real charge out of it all.
Last I heard, the big fella had taken a slug while in a deli, tryin’ to pilfer a chunk of corned beef, and Bruce, he was doing another stretch.
Not long after, a year or so maybe, I sat in a cheap movie house and watched The Flim Flam Man, starring George C Scott.
It made me smile, and a bit sad, so reminding me of couple acquaintances I knew of…………
 
When I was well enough, I was asked to work at CID for the Military, someone was bringing drugs into this base, I did my job and found out who was responsible, and was awaiting orders. Nobody knew what I was doing, but they has their suspicions about me, My dad was near death at this time , and I wanted to get home, the day my orders came thru for me to go home , and wait to see , if I was going to to be Medical retired, or go back to Vietnam , was handed to me , someone had stolen my footlocker during the night, I had letters fron Kim my first wife inside it, and a Vietnamese book , that Capt. Cong and Lt. Loc gave me, these people were all dead at this time, had other personal stuff in there as well, I didn't have the time to spend looking for it, but all this time it has bothered me that a fellow Marine would do this.
 
dseag2 said:
When I see that Kobe Bryant's widow was awarded $16 million in cash for leaked photos while many in the US scrape along to pay the bills it does make me understand how the underprivileged feel.
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That’s a little different. IMO, it was meant as punishment for those who shouldn’t have shared those photos of her deceased loved ones. I hope she donates it to charity; she sure doesn’t need it.

Not that many years ago our paper used to print the crime report and the locations. Now I read FB and learn of all the thefts. It’s everywhere and often.
 
I remember once around Christmas time I went to a place that was selling Christmas trees to see if I could find some broken or loose branches to make a wreath. I found plenty on the ground and went around picking up odd branches here and there and when I had all I needed I went to the cashier to pay for them. To my shock the cashier said there was no charge because they had been watching me and I was the only person collecting loose branches that actually expected to pay for them. Everyone else doing the same thing just tried walking away with them like they were free.

Being honest sometimes pays off!

The only time I can understand theft is if someone who is really poor and can't afford much in the way of groceries and needs to feed their kids, so they steal a jar of peanut butter or something so the kids don't go hungry. No greed intended there, just desperation.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Stealing, basically right in front of you, was pretty bold.
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That reminds me of an incident last summer. Around here, a common expression is "You've gotta be able to prove it!" Individuals commit crimes in front of other people, and people often don't report crimes, because of this.

One day last summer, a neighbor's bike was stolen- in front of him. He saw the individual take the bike, saw the individual start rolling the bike up the street, and when he yelled "I'm calling the police!" the individual sarcastically yelled back "You've gotta be able to prove it!"
I don't know how it eventually turned out, but it's possible the thief could've hidden the bike before the police arrived, and it's also possible the neighbor couldn't prove the bike was his.

But it's one reason there's so much crime of all types in this area.
 
I had a female friend who worked in a doctor's office part-time. One day, she wanted to give me a bag full of gauze, bandages, etc. that she had taken from her workplace. I was shocked, and told her so. Her reasoning was that, because she worked for minimum wage, she felt it was okay to take these things. I felt differently about her after that, and eventually distanced myself from her.
 
i think as many of the posts show there is not a rational reason behind most stealing........
that is why it angers me so....... when people write it off as the thief must have been so poor and they needed item more then the victim
That is simply NOT true in may cases.......
some people do it just to get away with it...some sort of thrill ............. some people do it out of anger or a get even type of thing .........
people who feel like someone owes them........
Most of the people i knew at work who stole in some way or another .... honestly were NOT the people who gave 110% but the slackers who felt slighted or just felt entitled.
 
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Jules said:
That’s a little different. IMO, it was meant as punishment for those who shouldn’t have shared those photos of her deceased loved ones. I hope she donates it to charity; she sure doesn’t need it.

Not that many years ago our paper used to print the crime report and the locations. Now I read FB and learn of all the thefts. It’s everywhere and often.
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I can see both sides of @dseag2 ' comment. You are right that the suit was meant to send a message. My understanding is that the pictures were extremely graphic and should never be viewed by anyone but the first responders, investigators of the tragic incident. It's unlikely the family would want to see them. And who else would? I sure wouldn't want to see something like that.

I too had the thought that I hope she does something charitable with the money. She doesn't need it. This isn't a widowed person in a working or middle class situation where someone might desperately need the money from a wrongful death lawsuit or something like that.
 
caroln said:
The only time I can understand theft is if someone who is really poor and can't afford much in the way of groceries and needs to feed their kids, so they steal a jar of peanut butter or something so the kids don't go hungry. No greed intended there, just desperation.
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About 15 years ago an employee on her day off came up to me at work. It was the weekend so administration wasn't there. She said she had a kid at home with a fever and said "I have absolutely no money." I could tell she was embarrassed to ask. I went to the supply room and got her a bottle of tylenol.

If someone at work told me they had no food, I'd go out to my card and get them some money. At one place I worked the administrator was an immigrant and said he knew what it was like to be dirt poor. He said in a meeting "if anyone comes up and has a need for food, tell me, I'll get you items from our kitchen. You just have to ask."
 
Nathan said:
One of the boys in the neighborhood when I was in my early teens was from an "affluent" family, had all the goodies a spoiled child could want. But, he regularly stole items from stores down at the shopping centers. Inexpensive items, things that he easily could have paid for.
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You have to wonder how they were going forward into adulthood.
 
JaniceM said:
That reminds me of an incident last summer. Around here, a common expression is "You've gotta be able to prove it!" Individuals commit crimes in front of other people, and people often don't report crimes, because of this.

One day last summer, a neighbor's bike was stolen- in front of him. He saw the individual take the bike, saw the individual start rolling the bike up the street, and when he yelled "I'm calling the police!" the individual sarcastically yelled back "You've gotta be able to prove it!"
I don't know how it eventually turned out, but it's possible the thief could've hidden the bike before the police arrived, and it's also possible the neighbor couldn't prove the bike was his.

But it's one reason there's so much crime of all types in this area.
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Wow, that's a story for people to think about getting an engraver or take pictures. They also say to video your home in case you ever need to make an insurance claim. Probably the garage and yard also.

Again you have to wonder how a brain can be so bold and so entitled.
 
dseag2 said:
I've never stolen anything. I was always brought up to respect the law, and with the exception of exceeding the speed limit I always do. I had an iPod, a prescription pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and gas credit cards stolen out of my car when it was in for service at an Audi dealership several years ago. The dealership reimbursed me for the costs. Seems it was a thievery ring that was running serviced cars through the carwash. They were arrested outside of Dallas in a brand new $50k truck with a collection of credit cards. :rolleyes:

I understand, but don't approve, of the mindset of some who are less fortunate who steal to make ends meet. When I see that Kobe Bryant's widow was awarded $16 million in cash for leaked photos while many in the US scrape along to pay the bills it does make me understand how the underprivileged feel.

However, I will never understand those who are in a good position financially and choose to steal. In the 90's, I worked with the Administrative Assistant of the VP of Sales. She was very buttoned-up and had a great reputation. She had bought a nice, new house and we had dinner there. Years later, she was arrested for booking complimentary cruises for her friends and charging them. She had embezzled over $400k.
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When I have anything done with my car, I take the money I keep in one of the little drawers, my CDs, PO Box keys and the car registration, insurance proof and put them in the trunk. I then give them my second extra key. It doesn't open the trunk. They stole your glasses which no one could even use but they didn't know that. They were just out for your expensive glasses. And as a glasses wearer, I know what they cost.

Never give your full key ring people when having any car serviced like an oil change. Give them your second key or take the car key off the ring and take all valuables out of the car or secure them. My old car had a separate key for the glove box but this car doesn't have a lock on it.

Wow, crooks are everywhere and you never can tell.
 
Remy said:
Wow, crooks are everywhere and you never can tell.
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yes they are and regardless if you take your car in for service .... or even any other business ......
a insurance payout because their employee or sub- contractor stole from you does not make it WHOLE... you feel violated .... you lose trust to ever let someone even service your car.....
I drove a few places yesterday saw no less then 10 cars/ trucks with plastic taped over windows that are gone from what i can guess are smash and grabs ....... even people who left nothing of value in them
 
One of the reasons I decided not to pursue a career in psychology after studying basics for a year after already having a successful career in hardware electronics is because I realized I would never have the patience to work with significant numbers of people I viewed as having over years hopelessly developed flawed behaviors and tendencies for illogical thinking. IMO, our society and culture would benefit from K12 schools teaching ethics, morality, and logical thinking. A decade plus after I'd graduated from HS, I took a college class in logic and the professor absolutely destroyed the flawed thinking processes of everyone else in the large class except for two of us.

The following summary essay for an employer audience does a good job reflecting on some ways people rationalize their behaviors that sheds light on other situations of liars, cheats, and criminals:

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/cri...r-profile-of-fraudsters-criminology-essay.php
snippets:

About Lying, Cheating and Stealing, Gwynn Nettler, suggestions these understandings on cheaters and deceivers:
  1. People who have experienced failure are prone to cheat.
  2. People who are not liked and who hate themselves are more likely to be more deceitful.
  3. People who are thoughtless, capable of being distracted and unable to delay fulfilments are more likely to involve in deceitful crimes.
  4. People who have a sense of right and wrong (fear of anxiety and punishment; that is, awareness of disclosure) are more resistant to commit a crime.
  5. Intelligent people are more likely to be honest than uneducated people. Middle and elite-class people tend to be more honest than lower-class people.
  6. The easier it is to fraud and cheat, the more people will do so.
  7. Individuals have different needs and levels at which they will be adequately driven to lie, cheat, or steal.
  8. Lying, cheating, and theft increase when people are under stress to attain important objectives.
  9. The struggle to survive leads to deceit.
  10. Individuals lie, steal and cheat on the job in a variety of individual and administrative situations.
There are 25 reasons behind employee crimes that are looked by authorities in white-collar crime (criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, auditors, risk managers, police, and security experts):
  1. The employee believes he can escape from it.
  2. The employee thinks he/she badly needs or desires the money or articles that are stolen.
  3. The employee feels unsatisfied or disappointed about some part of the job.
  4. The employee feels upset or unhappy about some aspect of his personal life that is not related to job.
  5. The employee feels mistreated by the employer and wants to get even.
  6. The employee fails to think through the penalties of being caught.
  7. The employee thinks: ''everybody else cheats, so why not me?''
  8. The employee thinks: ''they're so big, stealing a little bit won't damage them.''
  9. The employee doesn't know how to manage his/her own income so is always penniless and ready to steal.
  10. The employee feels that defeating the organization is a contest and experiment and not a matter of financial advantage alone.
  11. The employee was economically, socially, or traditionally deprived during childhood.
  12. The employee is compensating for an emptiness felt in his personal life and needs love, care, and friendship.
  13. The employee has no willpower and steals out of an impulse.
  14. The employee believes a friend at work has been subjected to embarrassment or misuse or has been treated unethically.
  15. The employee is just simply lethargic and will not work hard to earn enough to buy what he/she desires or needs.
  16. The organization's internal controls are so relaxed that everyone is attracted to steal.
  17. No one has ever been put on trial for stealing from the organization.
  18. Most employee thieves are caught by coincidence rather than by audit or design. Therefore, fright of being caught is not a warning to theft.
  19. Employees are not encouraged to discuss personal or financial problems at work or to seek management's advice and guidance on such matters.
  20. Employee stealing is a situational phenomenon. Each theft has its own former situations, and each thief has his/her own purposes.
  21. Employees steal for any reason the human mind and thoughts can call up.
  22. Employees never go to jail or get strict prison punishments for stealing, deceiving, or cheating from their employers.
  23. Human beings are weak and susceptible to to sin.
  24. Employees nowadays are morally, ethically, and mentally ruined and bankrupt.
  25. Employees tend to follow their superiors. If their superiors steal or cheat, then they are most likely to do the same.
 
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Remy said:
When I have anything done with my car, I take the money I keep in one of the little drawers, my CDs, PO Box keys and the car registration, insurance proof and put them in the trunk. I then give them my second extra key. It doesn't open the trunk. They stole your glasses which no one could even use but they didn't know that. They were just out for your expensive glasses. And as a glasses wearer, I know what they cost.

Never give your full key ring people when having any car serviced like an oil change. Give them your second key or take the car key off the ring and take all valuables out of the car or secure them. My old car had a separate key for the glove box but this car doesn't have a lock on it.

Wow, crooks are everywhere and you never can tell.
Click to expand...
And don't forget your garage door opener that's probably clipped on your visor. They have your address!
 

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