Shoplifting is no victimless crime: it harms us all

Our expose on the scale of shoplifting in Scotland makes for staggering reading. There are some people in society, and admittedly they are few, who feel such a crime is victimless.

They argue that, after all, those affected are big businesses who will be recompensed by insurance companies.

There are also those who say that the rise in shoplifting is the result of poverty, with families forced to steal to clothe and feed their children.

On the first point, this is not a crime that can be considered fair game or one in which only corporations lose out.

How much do you think a security guard or the person sitting behind a till gets paid?

Most will be on minimum wage. Yet they are the ones expected to tackle criminals as they try to flee a store with their wares.

Being punched, spat on, threatened with weapons or screamed at will be a daily hazard for some staff.

So, no, this is not a victimless crime. On the second point, yes, poverty will fuel shoplifting in some cases, while drugs will play a bigger part as addicts steal to feed habits.

But in many incidents, those responsible are out-and-out thieves; professionals who steal not to put food on the table but to pay for their next holiday to Las Vegas.

They work on an industrial scale, planning each operation in detail and using technology to beat sophisticated security systems.

Indeed, their operations can be linked to organised crime with shoplifting profits used to fund the buying of drugs and guns.

So, the next time you see a bargain on Facebook, or happen to be offered a cut-price pair of trainers in your local pub, think about where they came from.

Think about the poor security guard who dreads going to work every day.