Shoplifting

Excerpt:

“All these companies that are screaming about theft, they’re kind of complicit in it because they keep reducing staff,” says Steven Rowland, the host of The Retail Warzone podcast and a former retail store manager. “From an hourly standpoint, a lot of these folks feel like they’re not paid enough to care anyway. And then you have store managers who are bleeding out, basically, because they have a lack of payroll, they don’t have enough staff just to get their basic functions done.”

• Did everything go smoothly?
• Did you get caught or did you have to abort an attempt?
• DId you try out / discover any tips?

Archived Version

Fascinating discussion - how can an autistic person (or anyone else) with a crippling fear of disobeying authority and breaking rules work their way up to shoplifting and other acts of anti-capitalist civil disobedience?

Here's how: dwell in the discomfort of public rule breaking until it becomes routine. And you can do it too:

Be a bit unusual on purpose. Do something harmlessly forbidden. Disagree with someone openly when you’re supposed to be polite. Bring up a bizarre conversational topic out of left field, simply because you are interested in it. Expect to feel strange about it. And then do it anyway.

After you’ve practiced dwelling in increasing levels of discomfort, then you are ready for the second step of becoming ungovernable: learning how oppressive systems enforce the rules (and often, fail to enforce the rules), and then exploiting these patterns for your benefit.

And the final lines:

And so, Anon, I hope that you can get well practiced in the skill of defiance. In order to get by, many of do have to learn how to steal our food, upset our loved ones, and be guided by a principled spirit of noncompliance. The more of us learn to live by these skills, the stronger we all will be.

Original link

Excerpt:

How Target Helps Drive Youth Incarceration

The exhibit was inspired by Unicorn Riot’s reporting on Target’s SafeZone surveillance program created in 2004, and the Downtown 100 (DT100) program created in 2010. Through the SafeZone surveillance system, Minneapolis police and the DID staff monitor Target-donated surveillance cameras in efforts to crack down on “lifestyle” offenses: shoplifting, panhandling, vagrancy.

The DT100 was a quarterly list of 100 names of youths, nearly all of them Black, who frequented downtown Minneapolis and had the most police contacts. Target surveillance has been used to prosecute youths on the DT100 for minor infractions that typically don’t cross the threshold for criminal offenses. Near the shirt rack in the showroom was a pair of headphones where visitors could listen to a song created by youths on the DT100 called Keep It 1hunnit. “They got 100 people that they keep on the list, 100 laws to be followed, 100 tickets to give,” raps Batmn da Kyd, a Minneapolis based hip-hop artist who was formerly on the DT100.

The over policing of young people on the DT100 pushed many youths in need of housing and resources into the criminal justice system. While the list in its original form no longer exists, the harm it caused in communities across the Twin Cities has lasting effects. Demands from Target by community members were listed on a corkboard hanging on the retail rack next to the police uniforms.

Excerpt:

In 2022, according to the survey, “shrink” — an industry term for inventory losses from theft, damage, or administrative errors — was 1.57% of total retail sales, up from 1.44% in 2021. This means that an average of $1.57 in inventory was lost for every $100 in sales. The shrink rate in 2022, the NRF reports, is the same as it was in 2020 and 2019. Over the last seven years, shrink has oscillated between 1.3% and 1.6%. Experts note that “the share is largely in line with past years and is considered a normal and healthy level of shrink.” In addition, “when retail sales go up, as they did in 2022, shrink also tends to rise,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Retailers, according to the New York Times, are more likely to talk about shrink “during times of economic distress…when their profits are already being squeezed.”

Image description: a two panel meme with a bearded man speaking.

Panel 1: "You wanna know what I do when I see people stealing food or baby formula?"

Panel 2: "Fucking nothing because I'm not a fucking asshole."

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV/Gray News) - A 39-year-old O’Reilly’s store employee was arrested and charged in connection to the death of a suspected shoplifter, according to authorities.

Carl Kemppainen was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Diamond Steen, according to the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office.

Officers responded to the O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Kansas City, Kansas, around 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday for the report of a disturbance.

When they arrived, the first responders learned two men had entered the store and began to shoplift. A fight broke out shortly after between the suspects and store employees outside the store, resulting in one of the suspected shoplifters being killed.

Authorities identified the man as Steen and determined he died of strangulation.

Police said the other shoplifter suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.

Kemppainen was booked on a $125,000 bond. According to online jail records, his bond was posted.

The range of sentencing for the reckless second-degree murder charge is 109 to 493 months in prison.

Anyone with additional information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

The new technology has run into teething issues. Staff in several countries have raised concerns to management that the technology may actually make theft easier, according to the people, who asked not to be identified.

archive

archived version

BBC has the bodycam footage, and of course the police were in no danger.

Check out the cross-post; !Memes@lemmy.ml goes hard.

Excerpt:

“This is not a contested finding in the field of criminology,” said Jake Horowitz, director of Pew Charitable Trusts’ safety and justice research. “Even a severe sanction like a potential felony, in which you’ll spend more than a year in prison, is not an effective deterrent.”

A 2018 report from Pew bears this out. Since 2000, at least 39 states have increased the value of stolen goods required to trigger a felony charge. States that increased their thresholds experienced the same overall decline in property crimes over the last two decades as states that did not, the analysts found.

archived version

For most of America's history, one of the most righteous anti-white supremacist tactics available was looting.

This is from 2014. The same author (Vicky Osterweil) published a book under the same title in 2020, which is kinda a follow up / more in depth look at the topic. You can get in the anarchist library (archived version) or buy it from your local bookstore

archived version

NBC Affiliate Title: Mother accused of shoplifting in Seminole County while children sat alone in car

Archive.ph link

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —

A Seminole County woman is facing charges after allegedly shoplifting at a store while two of her children were left in the car.

Thursday, deputies responded to a Target in Lake Mary around 5 p.m. regarding reports of shoplifting.

According to an arrest report, Latasha Brooks, 31, had one of her children with her when she went into Target and left two of her other children alone in the car.

The arrest report states, "The car was off while two of the children were sitting inside waiting for their mother to come back out."

Brooks is accused of scanning only some items during self-checkout at the store and failing to pay for the rest.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said Brooks is facing multiple charges, including neglecting children without great bodily harm, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and petit theft.

Yes, but brothers and sisters, girls and boys
Ja, men bröder och systrar, töser och pågar

It's a pleasure to present to you market-thief music!
Det är en glädje att presentera för er äppelknyckarjazz!

The neighbor is in trouble, he claims that I steal from his apple tree
Grannen är hack i häl, han påstår att jag stjäl från hans äppelträd

(Run!) I want to, but I have to do something about our misery
(Spring!) Jag vill ju väl men måste göra något åt vår misär

(Run!) Father he is proletarian and works late but can't afford jaw like that
(Spring!) Far han är proletär och jobbar sent men har inte råd med käk så

(Run!) Of course I have my reasons and besides, the neighbor is a millionaire
(Spring!) Klart jag har mina skäl och för övrigt är ju grannen miljonär

I have to run now, because if the neighbor catches up to me, it will probably end badly
Jag måste springa nu, för om grannen hinner upp mig får det nog ett tråkigt slut

(Hey!) No, I can't hesitate now, because if the mother finds me, there will be a curfew
(Hey!) Nej, jag kan inte tveka nu, för om morsan kommer på mig blir det utegångsförbud

Mother she is a missionary and says that I miss the heavenly world that
Mor hon är missionär och säger att jag missar den himlavärld som

(Run!) The priest promised my soul at Sunday prayer but I wasn't there, and
(Spring!) Prosten lovat min själ på söndagsbönen men jag var inte där, och

(Run!) That I'm causing trouble in the neighborhood but the food isn't here, so
(Spring!) Att jag skapar besvär i grannskapet men maten är inte här, så

(Run!) Where is Jesus when we need help paying at the store?
(Spring!) Var är Jesus när vi behöver hjälp med att betala i affär'n?

I come like a thief in the night to the great estates and possessions in the country
Jag kommer som en tjuv om natten till storgodsen och ägorna på landet

The dispatchers sit on punch verandas but notice nothing of the strong brandy
Disponenterna sitter på punchverandor men märker ingenting för den starka brandyn

At least fills up the duffel bag with apples to sell down at the market
Fyller upp åtminstone kappsäcken med äpplen att sälja nere på marknaden

And put every penny in the mattress in the hope that I won't have to pay the tax
Och stoppa vartenda öre i madrassen i hopp om att jag slippa betala skatten

I have to run now, because if the sheriff catches me, I'll have to sit inside now
Jag måste springa nu, för om länsman hinner fatt mig får jag sitta inne nu

(Hey!) No, I can't answer now, but you can call next week, then I might have slipped up
(Hey!) Nej, jag kan inte svara nu, men du kan ringa nästa vecka, då har jag kanske sluppit ut

The tax authorities are chasing me, I'm declaring something wrong on this little thing
Skattmasen jagar mig, jag deklarera' fel på nå'n liten grej

(Run!) Thinking of giving me a new form to fill in, but that can't be right, because
(Spring!) Tänker ge mig nå'n ny blankett att fylla i men det kan inte va' rätt, för

(Run!) The directors live fat and earn more in salary than my whole family, so
(Spring!) Direktörerna lever fett och tjänar mer i lön än min hela släkt, så

(Run!) Something must be wrong, I have to steal apples to keep me full, it works
(Spring!) Nå'nting måste va' snett, jag måste stjäla äpplen för att hålla mig mätt, det går

I have to run now, because if the neighbor catches up to me, it will probably end badly
Jag måste springa nu, för om grannen hinner upp mig får det nog ett tråkigt slut

(Hey!) No, I can't hesitate now, because if the mother finds me, there will be a curfew
(Hey!) Nej, jag kan inte tveka nu, för om morsan kommer på mig blir det utegångsförbud

I want to do the right thing, but the sheriff is chasing me with a baton and a horse
Jag vill ju göra rätt men länsman jagar mig med batong och häst

(Run!) Tell me is it better to rob people with banks and high interest rates
(Spring!) Säg mig är det bättre att råna folk med banker och höga räntor

(Run!) What happens next?
(Spring!) Vad händer härnäst?

Will it be a trial or an after party?
Blir det rättegång eller efterfest?

(Run!) I hope to be released but the prosecutor wants prison, so
(Spring!) Jag hoppas bli släppt men åklagaren yrkar på fängelse, så

Can you tell me what happens when safes and cash change hands?
Kan du säga mig vad som händer när bankfack och kontanter byter händer?

Big money it flies between countries while I get caught for broken apples
Storfinansen den flyger mellan länder medan jag åker fast för knyckta äpplen

At the airport where the pampas arrive in top hats and gold teeth
På flygplatsen där pamparna anländer i höga hattar och guldtänder

With capital invested in voter registers to have continued power over the poor
Med kapital investerat i röstlängder för att ha fortsatt makt över fattigdrängen

Yes, this is the official break, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters
Ja, detta är det officiella breaket, mina damer och herrar, bröder och systrar

This is the moment, for you, to raise your tails, and show that you are human
Detta är ögonblicket, för er, att lyfta fram era stjärtar, och visa att ni är människor

And shake them like there's no tomorrow, like there's no worries
Och skaka dem som om det inte fanns någon morgondag, som om det inte fanns några bekymmer

I have to run now, because if the sheriff catches me, I'll have to sit inside now
Jag måste springa nu, för om länsman hinner fatt mig får jag sitta inne nu

(Hey!) No, I can't answer, you know, but you can call next week, then maybe I've slipped out
(Hey!) Nej, jag kan inte svara, hörru du, men du kan ringa nästa vecka då har jag kanske sluppit ut