It takes a thief.

I watched in disbelief the programme on channel five last night, It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief.

In part of the programme it showed how much theft there was from charity shops and measures that were needed in one shop to combat it. Caught on camera were people of all ages. From a child of three, to a senior citizen and an Eastern European woman stealing from a pensioners bag. I know times are difficult for some people at the moment but to steal from charity shops is beyond the pale. Maybe they are just easy targets because there is no security or security tags. I was shocked to say the least. at how prevalent theft is.

Re: It takes a thief.

There is a programme on midday where an ex shoplifter shop lifts then shows shop owners how to protect their stock. Shocked me how brazen people are and how unashamed and unapologetic when caught.

Re: It takes a thief.

It was the same in the programme that I watched too, Julie. Ex. Shoplifters showing people how to protect their goods. What times we live in.

Re: It takes a thief.

Desperate times desperate measures I suppose, we used to get desperate measures in spirits years ago, the old thumb in the measure trick and the unasked for water, theft behind the bar was rife and widespread, not anymore though with the advent of security cameras, and the risk of losing ones job in these times is far too risky.
My wife and daughter used to give a lot of stuff to the charity shops, they put it on the internet now, my daughter says the best stuff is kept by the staff for themselves, and some of the clothes in some charity shops are dearer than the high street, whether there's any truth in that I don't know, none of my business, she says they've lost the run of themselves and she wont be contributing to them anymore, so there!

Re: It takes a thief.

What your daughter says about some of the staff in charity shops is quite true. Not sure if it's theft or if they pay the rate for them but I know for a fact that they cherry pick the goods. And in some cases the goods find their way to car boots.

I no longer donate my unwanted items to the big charities any more. They go to a local charity.

Re: It takes a thief.

Yes I give mine to small, local charities. Some of the prices in the larger charity shops are mind blowing!

Re: It takes a thief.

Most shops they pay for each item they take. Although TBH if they are giving their time voluntarily I wouldn't begrudge them taking a few things free.

Re: It takes a thief.

This is unfortunately quite common where donated goods are cherry-picked for sale elsewhere, often without permission from the Charity itself, so the Charity loses out.

It's down to unscrupulous low-lifes and most Charities are trying to curb this but it is very difficult when your Volunteers are not vetted and / or your shop management is "in on the deal" and that's quite common too, although most Charities will say otherwise.

I work for a Charity and it it often reported that tin-rattlers have been seen collecting for us but we have no knowledge of this, so the public are being conned.

The effects are that the public then no longer donate at all because their trust has been compromised and it's almost impossible to regain trust.

My wife and I donate to Cancer Research and they have systems where you register with them so that they can reclaim Tax on the sale value of everything that they sell that you donate to them.
This means that anything sidelined will actually show up for all to see so theft is that much harder.

It's not ideal of course and someone will find a way around it but Charities being what they are cannot afford high-level security and that's the problem! stevmk2

Re: It takes a thief.

If goods are taken without the consent of the charity it's my opinion that it's common theft. When I gave my unwanted goods I did not give them to an individual to keep for their own use or to sell on for personal gain, I gave them in good faith. They are no better than the customers who shop lift.

Re: It takes a thief.

I agree Mall, as yerwoman once said "A crime is a crime is a crime"