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Comment by pavel_lishin | Hacker News Reader

Everything else aside, it just does not seem like an economic use of my time to find an employee, alert them to shoplifting, and stick around long enough to get the measly £1 credit on a loyalty card.

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Also the social penalty for being a grass, the risk of major embarrassment if you’re mistaken or if it can’t be proved, the risk of running into the accused person later outside. It doesn’t make any sense.

On top of that, if this was in the US, nearly 99% of major retailers have a whole policy and procedure on what constitutes being able to even make a stop on a person suspected of shoplifting.

If visual contact is lost for even a moment, you’ve lost the case instantly, and it takes the correct management to be able to make the observation to qualify for a stop in the first place.

Do you also not find it an economic use of your time to, say, comparison shop for groceries?

I'm not sure I understand your point. The savings from comparison shopping will surely be greater than 1 GBP per shopping trip. And practicing that is a skill which you get better at and expend less effort doing over time -- reporting a shoplifter, not so much.

Reporting a shoplifter is something you can do opportunistically, and which will likely take quite little time if you happen to notice one.

Sure, but - again, ignoring all other ethical considerations - I have to stick around long enough to get that pound credit, too.

Reporting a crime out of a sense of civic duty is a wholly different proposition to doing it for a buck.

If it doesn't net me more than a dollar savings, no.

Much like I don't drive an extra 10 minutes to a gas station that costs two cents less per gallon.

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