Interesting article in this morning’s Telegraph:
(The middle class) are responsible for a surge in the crime to new heights, the annual study by the Centre for Retail Research for retail security company Checkpoint Systems found.
The average shoplifting ‘bill’ now tops £80, while shoplifting has risen by 20 per cent in the last year to £4.88 billion.
Neil Matthews, vice president of Checkpoint Systems NCE, said: “We are seeing more instances of amateur thieves stealing goods for their own personal use rather than to sell on than before.
Previously the midle classes paid their way.
“This is epitomised in the recent uprising of the middle class shoplifter, someone who has turned to theft to sustain their standard of living, and this is driving theft of items such as cosmetics, perfumes and face creams, alcohol, fresh meat, mobile phones, computer games and DVDs as well as small electrical goods like cameras, iPods and personal care gadgets.”
Cooked and fresh meat, cheese, seafood and alcohol now all “feature strongly” in shoplifters’ wish-lists, the survey found.
Mr Matthews said that the £4.88bn lost to shoplifters was “the equivalent of criminals taxing every UK household £227 per year.”
Filed under: Current Events, Funny Old World | Tagged: middle class shoplifting
I’ll be “in” for my dug biscuits shortly!
Any rise in the theft of designer pets?
Middle-class pilfering is nothing new, only it’s hitherto been known under a variety of names such as charitable-status private education, tax avoidance and the UK housing market.
Curious list of items the ‘middle class’ is stealing. I’d have thought, given whatever definition of middle class you believe in, most would have virtually all the items. Plus the fact most alchohol is cheaper than bottled water these days, what’s th point of nicking it?
whats this middle class crap the bitch said the class war was over
Aye right
Well let me say I have had extensive experience of many many shoplifters in Dumbarton over the years.
There are many and varied adjectives which apply to them but “middle class” isn’t on the radar!