Middleclass shoplifter

What do you think of Lisa’s shoplifting? Have you ever stolen anything from a shop? If so, why did you do it? Did you feel guilty afterwards or was the adrenalin rush worth it?

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Comments

[Holly]

i spent £65 in Boots in Belfast but forgot to pay for a blusher worth £5.Even though the blusher was unopened, undamaged and had been off the shelf less than 10 minutes, I was detained for 2 hours, ordered to pay £90 in civil recovery, arrested and given a caution which will remain on my file forever. I am in my final year at University but have had to abandon both my first career choice of entertainment law and my second choice of teaching.Boots lost nothing that day, I lost everything. One cant help but wonder if their policy to always prosecute shoplifters is more to do with their desire to squeeze as much money as possible from people through civil recovery. If that's the case,then I guess the moral they live by is that 2 wrongs DO make a right.

[justin]

ALL OF YOU ACT LIKE YOU'VE NEVER STOLEN ANYTHING.....WELL GET OVER YOURSELFS EVERYONE HAS DONE SOMETHING THERE NOT PROUD OF AN IN GODS EYES STEALING IS JUST LIKE MURDER EVERY CRIME HAS THE SAME PUNISHMENT IN GODS COURT......SO REMEMBER THE GOOD DEEDS OUTWEIGH THE BAD....AND IF SHE FEELS BAD ABOUT WHAT SHE DID THEN SOME GOOD HAS COME OUT OF THE WHOLE ORDEAL.....

[Stewart Gibbs]

I'm a Retail Security Officer working at one of the UK's leading supermarkets. I see people like Lisa on a regular basis, Nicking for a kick. Its a hell of a drop back to earth when you get caught. I dont agree with your victimless crime, you affect everyone. Rising prices and a real danger of violence and abuse is faced by all when some-one like me approaches you to legally recovery a stores propery. I for one if i caught you would issue you with a Civil Recovery Notice (to recovery security costs and loss of stock)and would definatly have you arrested. Its not the end of the world being arrested for theft but certainly will make it more difficult for you to get a job when you finish college or Univercity. Lisa you may feel you are off-setting your crimes by doing charity work but not even a charity would want you if they found out what you were doing. Do everyone a favour and stop. Do yourself a favour and call it a day, yes its a kick but its a sure kick in the backside when you (and will) get caught. i would love to have someone like you come work for me and see it from the other side. Yes its great fun ( nothing better than stopping some-one like you) but its also dangerous having knives and Needles pulled on me and often being assaulted. I know what your thinking "i would'nt fight" but you dont know that untill someone tries to detain you after all you have alot to lose.

[SJ]

She is an idiot! If everyone went round doing what she does the world's economy would crash. She actually thinks she can make up for her actions by doing charity work. She needs to take responsibilty for her actions and getting caught would be a wake-up call!

[elizabeth]

ok i'm not from the uk but i do share the same story

i steal from huge chains but it doesn't stop there.
i steal from bffs..

i don't feel guilty either and i know it's morally wrong but i can't help it.

[TINA]

I THINK SHE WILL BE CAUGHT AND WHEN SHE IS SHE SHOULD GO TO PRISON. SHE IS PATHETIC AND IF IT WAS SOMEONE DESPARATE DOING THIS THEY WOULD PUNISH THEM ACCORDINGLY.IF I WAS A SECURITY GAURD I WOULD BE WATCHING AND WAITING FOR HER.

[Top Cat]

She will get caught,its not a question of if but when,You never get away with it been there done that.............

[R Alonso]

I could not help myself but to laugh after reading this article. Me and my wife was at Morrison's coffee shop one time having our breakfast when we saw this lady soplifting by getting large number of sugars straight into her bag. Thief is always a thief!

[arden]

I think that Lisa is in denial nad needs profesional help, not only is she robbing from the British economy and adding to inflation. She is stealing from the law abudubg customers as prices are increased due to her wreckless behaviour

[o thomas]

i got out of a realationship cause my x gentleman who earns £25,000 a year was a shop lifter. it was very scaring for me.

[kin]

I've stolen numerous times before when I was a lot younger and I admit the thrill is there, but for me, so was the guilt.

I'm not sure if I'd like to do it again. I certainly believe in karma and I think you can't exactly 'balance' the guilt out like what Lisa did (to become a social worker.. huh?) Nah, I don't get that at all.

[Lyokat]

She clearly has an addiction but no real intention of fighting it. She should take a leaf from other people with addictions who have featured in this magazine and have fought against their addictions, like the self harmer in the same issue or the people with eating disorders, drug addictions etc.

[rose stowell]

What an idiot.Not only a thief, but stupid, too. I suspect the big photo that accompanied the article is now doing the rounds at all the stores! Her morals are low - it is still stealing, whether it is a little thing or something worth loads of money. She certainly should be sacked for gross misconduct from hre 'social worker' job. Most of us don't 'manage' to dodge a train fare - there has to be calculation there. And yes, I would return too much change. Grow up Lisa, you are a thief.

[elaine]

I read this article with interest as I was a shoplifter in the past. I did not do it for a buzz or a thrill but because I was sick. I did get caught and I was prosecuted but I also sought professional help. I believe Lisa is also in need of help, the fact that she has put herself in the spotlight in the magazine, looks to me like she is asking for help even though she has come across very self righteous and arrogant in the interview. I am not standing up for her or condoning what she does, I am just trying to put across another view. Like I say I was ill and perhaps this girl is too.

[j jay]

can i just say after reading this article that Lisa is a delusional no good thief and no amount of charity work will make up for her behaviour i hope the organisations she volunteers for get rid of her because she can't be trusted. I work as stock auditor for a large clothing chain and people like lisa cause no end of problems to people who work in retail. Heavy theft causes bonuses not to be paid, job losses and prices to be increased. It also really affects morale when you work really hard to achieve sales targets only to lose out because of criminals like Lisa. I have passed lisa's picture to all our stores. My fiance is ladies store manageress and has passed the picture to her shopping centre security to pass on and would urge other retail staff to do the same. So Lisa i suggest you try to sort out your life.

[Grace Bridge]

It's sad to think this young lady doesn't know right from wrong. She seems to think that because it's only a "few quid" it's ok to steal. The fact is these item are NOT hers to take adn wether or not the owner is a large department store or an individual the result is the same - theft.

I'm sure her parents would be very disappointed in her and utterly ashamed.

Many of us didn't have spare money when we were growing up but we didn't steal other people's property. We went without and it didn't do su any harm.

[jessica]

I work for a large, well known retail chain and I can assure you that it does 'hurt the big stores'. It hurts the people who work there. Its people like this who make our jobs harder. After a stocktake result comes in which is poor, we end up having to re-do it. When it still comes in poor the store has to re-coup the cost of the loss - by cutting the wage budget. This means not replacing someone who leaves and therefore leaving less staff to do the same amount of work. Also security guards in the store are ending up losing their jobs. People who brag about shoplifting for the buzz are even more disgusting than those who steal to fund a drug habit. You should pass her details onto her local police force!

[Claire]

As a shopworker I was honestly speechless when i read what she had to say, what a cheek she has, she is extremely deluded and needs a reality check if this is how she gets her thrills.What is she thinking... admitting to shoplifting (and getting a kick from it) and then painting herself as a model citizen? She obviously has no clue of the knock on effects from her stealing... the main one being stock prices go up - which affects everyone and even Lisa when she does pay for things, in the long run, she's shooting herself in the foot!

[ann langford]

So Lisa Gladstone thinks her stealing is "different" from other people, and she has boundaries. Does it occur to her that decent law abiding people are paying more money for their goods because of the likes of her! What to her middle-class parents think.

[Anonymous]

A thief is a thief, no matter what the cost it is still theft and giving back to the community does not justify this. I am a great believer in paying your own way in life and quite clearly Lisa is a self obsessed calculating thief and justice should be done. Lisa should be hauled up in court and face her criminal activity, she has openly admitted that she is nothing but a common thief.

[Maz Michelle Watkiss]

I think Lisa is a disgrace, in my view she is worse than a drug addict who steals to fund their addiction, she does it through greed. And how dare she try justifying her thieving by also being a volunteer social worker and charity worker- the hypocrite, as a social worker she should be setting an example all i can say is with her help god help our children and vulnerable families etc and as a charity worker surely one of the most important things should be honesty and trust worthiness?

[LilMizGiggles]

I shoplifted when I was 13.I was best friends with someone and I thought it was cool,it was like £2.99 lipgloss from Woolworths.The rush of getting away with it was amazing,even though the whole way home I kept expecting the police to catch up with us and take us to the local police station. However this woman is just sick,to say she does it for thrills and doesnt want to be classed as a professional criminal is wrong.she IS a professional criminal..........
She should be brought to justice and made to pay back everything she has stole no matter how small,and if she is shamed then so be it,she has already gone public by not disguising her face in your magazine!!!

[trisha hollamby]

i think lisa gladstone is probably a spoilt brat.why is her stealing different to others?i work for a big store and if our profits are down then so is our bonus.not only is she stealing from companies but their workers too.what about the innocent people who cannot afford a pair of £50.00 shoes but wouldnt dream of stealing them?she can afford to buy them.she compensates by volunteer work!!i wouldnt want her working for the social services.she is a thief-simple as.

[dig4lroy]

hello..... your as bad as the average pick pocketing criminal...even if it is from a big chain and even if you do have enough money someone somewhere has to take the rap when a stocktake is done and what about the average working claswho admire goods wish they had enough money to buy them, sigh coz they dont and put them back... who gives you the right just to take them??!! grow up, and ihope you get caught next time!!

[Lynda-Anne]

She should be ashamed of herself,she"s one reason that my pay rate is so low its people like her that keep our pay down as someone has to pay for stinking little thieves like her,I can only say that her parents did"nt do such a good job in raising her!! ONE VERY ANNOYED RETAIL SHOP ASSISTANT