Oompah Oompah, stick it up ya jumpa!

lemonjelly

fedupfreda wrote: »

From my admittedly limited experience, it's not an urban myth.;) Don't know about the world of finance but I can recall some instances where, shall we say, 'managerial discretion' was used...;).... usually where the employee concerned was still in full time education, they did not want to be seen to be ruining a persons future prospects for an immature mistake.

To me, the above seems a fair enough use of discretion.

However I can also recall cases where managers themselves were helping themselves to shop stock. Usually they would be moved to another store and given a 2nd chance - with much supervision. I well remember the night managers who helped themselves to food from the staff canteen. When that little scam was detected, and the fridges locked, they took to liberating stock from the warehouse. Things like frozen pizzas etc. Which they would then cook in the staff canteen. This wasn't rumbled until one day they forgot to tidy away the evidence in time for the following morning when the store manager came round. He was not impressed. As I recall they were 'redeployed' not long after :D:D. I could tell many tales in similar vein but won't, I fear I am too well known in these parts and would be easily identified!

I think it is actually more widespread than we all think, & a lot more are supporting their position via similar means.

They do still prosecute sometimes though. Usually for actual cash theft. You would be surprised how many staff think it is possible to tuck cash up their sleeve/in their socks and get away with it.

This one is the one which confuses me, as now money etc is so traceable.

Comments above in bold.

lostinrates

carolt wrote: »

I must be missing something from the figures quoted in the OP.

How can the average loss be £1595 per incident, when clothes shops and supermarkets are included? How big is their jumper if they can fit over a grand and a half's worth of food/clothes up there?

I here about some amazing thefts/attempts at theft from my high end retail mole.

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

I her about some amazing thefts/attempots at theft from my high end retail mole.

Do share!

Actually, there was some funny cctv footage on the bbc website.

I'll bet fc123 has some stories too;)

fc123

lemonjelly wrote: »

Do share!

Actually, there was some funny cctv footage on the bbc website.

I'll bet fc123 has some stories too;)

Mountains of them....but may have to wait until tomo....OH driving back tonight so I may spend evening talking to him


Actually, I have so many horrendous theft tales it could take a few hours to write them down

For now, I could own outright a nice, tasty BTL Empire in Aberdeen (say 10 props with zero mortage) from what I have lost in theft over the years.

inspector_monkfish

have you been reading about all the poppy charity box thefts?
seems to be up

fedupfreda

lemonjelly wrote: »

I think it is actually more widespread than we all think, & a lot more are supporting their position via similar means.

You are quite right, LJ; it's been going on for donkeys years and always has been. Probably always will, particularly with the subsistence level wages they pay retail staff in this country.

Trouble is the rank and file are the ones that get caught and prosecuted. Those higher up the ladder have more opportunity to get away with it, from what I have seen. My OH used to work in an off licence, many many moons ago - the number of 'breakages' that used to leave the shop via the senior managers car boot was shocking.:eek: The staff all knew about it - they had seen him do it - but no-one reported him because he was well known for being a bit of a bar steward and also friendly with the area manager, the only one who had the b***s to say anything had their life made such a misery that they left soon after. Admittedly this was in the days when the burden of proof was on the employee - but such intimidation of staff still goes on in many places even now.

All too often the whistleblower is the one to feel the axe.:( So you can hardly blame some staff for turning a blind eye, and others for following the 'example' set by those higher up.

lemonjelly

fedupfreda wrote: »

You are quite right, LJ; it's been going on for donkeys years and always has been. Probably always will, particularly with the subsistence level wages they pay retail staff in this country.

Trouble is the rank and file are the ones that get caught and prosecuted. Those higher up the ladder have more opportunity to get away with it, from what I have seen. My OH used to work in an off licence, many many moons ago - the number of 'breakages' that used to leave the shop via the senior managers car boot was shocking.:eek: The staff all knew about it - they had seen him do it - but no-one reported him because he was well known for being a bit of a bar steward and also friendly with the area manager, the only one who had the b***s to say anything had their life made such a misery that they left soon after. Admittedly this was in the days when the burden of proof was on the employee - but such intimidation of staff still goes on in many places even now.

All too often the whistleblower is the one to feel the axe.:( So you can hardly blame some staff for turning a blind eye, and others for following the 'example' set by those higher up.

Completely true! Agree with all of this.

I recall a friend years ago was travelling up to spend christmas/new year in the midlands. He'd nicked a couple of bottles of spirits. Word got around the staff there were going to be spot checks/searches done (as the store was closing for a week).

He nicked a box & some wrapping paper, ran downstairs & wrapped them up as christmas presents. When searched, he refused permission to open them & got away with it!

He was a deputy manager at the time.

Those higher up generally set a pretty bad example IMO. Seems to regularly be a case of do as I say, not as I do.

hearts

It doesn't take a genius to work out that higher unemployement = more crime. In fact your decision to limit it to "petty crime and fraud" was amusing?
A couple of questions though.

1. Isn't shoplifting a petty crime?
2. Why did you specifically mention fraud?

Oh another thing. QUOTE: "I'd suggest they are trying to sustain an unsustainable lifestyle, and their shoplifting is a lot about status"

Is this not the case for 99% of shoplifters. The other 1% being the ones who do it for kicks.

ruggedtoast

As far as I'm aware 50% of the population of the UK are thieving violent arzeholes whacked out of their illiterate little pea brains with glue and white lightning. So I'm not surprised crime is going up.

IME any rise in the figures are probably down to more accurate reporting rather than an increase in actual crime.

squack

i think in supermarket shoplifting its luxury food items like top notch cuts of meat etc. that cash strapped people cant buy anymore :money: