Shoplifting

Shoplifting has fast become an occurrence in today's society, with many people stealing items that they want. What is interesting, however, is not everyone steals because they can't afford it, some people do it for the thrill.

There is no doubt that a high percentage of shoplifting will be due to not being able to afford the item. People have been known to steal food and drink, which leans towards the belief that these people cannot afford to eat and have to steal in order to survive. Although this may be seen by many as an awful thing, under the law that we live, it is still seen as taking something without paying and therefore by society's rule, is wrong.

What should also be considered is the economic downturn that Britain is starting to slowly recover from. As this report details:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6157556/Shoplifting-hits-high-under-Labour.html shoplifting rose by 10% during the recession. However Tory MP Phillip Dunne made an attack on Labour government, saying that Labour had 'ignored' this and shoplifting continued to 'rise'. This is an interesting attack to make as Dunne is trying to present himself as being concerned about the issue, yet he ignores the problem and just sets out to shame the Labour party.


As mentioned above, there is also a different viewpoint to consider and that is the thrill of shoplifting. In 2001 actress Winona Ryder was convicted of stealing £3,500 worth of clothing from a Beverley Hills department store. As an actress it is pretty much a guarantee that she would have been more than capable of paying for the items herself, yet she still shoplifted. This appears to be for purely for the buzz of the situation she was in.

What is even more interesting is when asked about the situation by Vogue magazine years after the incident she appears to show no remorse: "I didn’t have this tremendous sense of guilt, because I hadn’t hurt anyone. Had I physically harmed someone or caused harm to a human being, I think it would have been an entirely different experience.”

http://www.popcornnation.com/news/winona-ryder-talks-shoplifting/

Therefore, it is evident that shoplifting still continues to exist in society and while some people may do it for survival and perhaps feel a sense of remorse, some people don't particularly view at it as that much of a serious offence and it may be for that reason alone that in continues to be a problem!