There’s no such thing as casual stealing

I’d like to blame the increase in petty theft on the rise of self-checkout counters, but I think public morality is the real cause. The machines may create opportunity, but they don’t make people steal — people make that choice themselves.

Shoplifting rates in Canada rose in 2024 for the fourth year in a row. I chalk it up to post-pandemic entitlement. 

After being sequestered away in their homes with nobody but themselves to think about, these opportunists have been released into society — and our grocery stores — with more self-absorbed mindsets.

They’re ready to shop with expensive taste but not ready to pay for it. A concerning number of my peers have told me their vice is mislabeling apples. They want a Honeycrisp at the cost of a McIntosh. So, they scan it as one.

The audacity offends me. Not because someone scanning expensive apples at lower prices particularly affects me, but because who are they to decide they’re above the prices that everyone else pays?

Believe me, it’s exorbitant to charge $2.38 for a single Honeycrisp apple, but take that up with the Atlantic Superstore store managers, don’t use it as a reason to shoplift at the self-checkout. 

Little acts of defiance don’t create meaningful change, and if you’re upset enough about high grocery prices to steal, you should also be upset enough to push for reform. 

Some of my peers are also frequent “tag-switchers” at Value Village. This means they swap the price tags on two items to get the one they want for a lower price.

Hint: “Finding” a pair of vintage Levi’s for $3 is not a bargain if it was manufactured. What’s the satisfaction in that?

Beyond these people not having thrifting skills, they’re also dumb for not realizing that tag swapping is illegal, just like stealing. Whether someone slips an item into their bag or purchases it under another tag, they can be charged with fraud under $5000.

Paying a portion of the price, rather than none, doesn’t legally protect anyone or morally justify their actions.

If I’m being honest, I’d rather people just steal. Stealers should just stuff their bag or coat; they should own their actions and spare me the excuses of paying the “rightful” price or Value Village being a greedy corporation. 

The Wall Street Journal recently published an op-ed titled Thou Shalt Not Steal, arguing that shoplifters wrongly paint themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods. They pride themselves on taking away wealth from those who disproportionately have it, like large corporations. 

But Robin Hood isn’t a hero, and this isn’t a fairytale. Two wrongs don’t make a right. 

It’s a slippery slope once we start breaking the law. Society operates on order, and if shoplifting seems like an insignificant act, it’s because most people don’t partake in it. If everyone did, prices, businesses and neighbourhoods would fall into chaos. 

While that’s the worst-case scenario, there are already practical consequences being passed on to everyday consumers because of shoplifters. 

Retail shrinkage, for example, the loss of inventory and income, leads retailers to charge consumers higher prices to account for a loss of revenue due to factors like shoplifting. 

The irony is satisfying. The money that shoplifters save in the moment is likely paid back through every other legitimate purchase they’ve ever made. 

That’s not quite enough. Shoplifters are frequently under-punished as Halifax police lack the resources to prevent the increasing thefts.

When enforcement isn’t possible, social pressure is the remaining deterrent. Therefore, the burden of reprimanding shoplifters falls onto ordinary citizens like me. 

I don’t struggle with that. It’s easy to criticize a wealthy robber.  

The people I know who shoplift are the same ones with thousands in their bank accounts, school paid for by their families and expensive purses on their arms.

Even without their nice clothes, their privilege shows. The ability to steal out of boredom or desire, rather than necessity, is a clear display of entitlement.

Recently, my friend told me a story about how she was shopping at Walmart when a woman shoplifting baby formula was caught and chased out of the store by security. 

I would never criticize a mother for trying to provide for her child. In my books, desperation justifies shoplifting — entitlement does not.