could we play catch the clothes pinchers!

[wickscorrie]

afer watching the news today, i think i will play spot the clothes theives the next time i go to inverness, because according to the news they hold up clothes for ages, could to a good way to spend a half hour in a shopping store some day
would i play it like bingo but shout thief instead of house hmmmm!

[pat]

Thought you meant they were being pinched from your washing line - was going to say leave dirty pants out and see how often they come back to your washing line!

Folk who saw that programme either got ideas as to how to shop lift the professional way or will be more careful and warey when looking at clothes and be more uncomfortable at looking at items.

Know when I go down to Edinburgh and Inverness shortly I will certainly be watching more - amazing how often you do see the shop lifters. Even if you say to security or staff they often will not do much as they are aware there are more than one of them, they will call for back up but by the time they arrive the lifters have scarpered with full bags.

[Gronnuck]

Retailers in Edinburgh's Princes Street work together with a police team based very close by to stop thieves. Most are known to the police and many have been banned from many stores. Retail security guards can only apprehend a thief once they have left the premises. However they can be tracked by CCTV if they do a runner.
If we had a credible government they would introduce a three strikes rule and with a credible judiciary thieves would be jailed for a long enough time to deter them.
As it is we have a revolving door judiciary and the same people make a career of thieving accepting their 'punishment' of community service and meagre fines as part of the job. At the end of the day, for many of them, it's easier than working for a living.

[Turquoise]

Well that's all very well but there are no changing rooms in Ethel's, for example, so you have to hold the clothes up to check they will roughly fit...

Is this what it was on about? I never saw it so not sure what you mean??

[onecalledk]

you hold the clothes up to shield the actions of the accomplice from the camera! Watched most of the programme and couldnt believe the bit with the presenter saying that they legally werent allowed to identify the biggest gang in scotland, if you looked behind her at the screen showing 2 of the women involved you could clearly see their faces as they had not fuzzed them out ! it was very quick but if you had recorded the programme you could stop it at that point :-)

it sort of makes a mockery of our "justice" system does it not when CRIMINALS are not allowed to be identified doing what they do which is CRIMINAL ......

K

[Turquoise]

you hold the clothes up to shield the actions of the accomplice from the camera! Watched most of the programme and couldnt believe the bit with the presenter saying that they legally werent allowed to identify the biggest gang in scotland, if you looked behind her at the screen showing 2 of the women involved you could clearly see their faces as they had not fuzzed them out ! it was very quick but if you had recorded the programme you could stop it at that point :-)

it sort of makes a mockery of our "justice" system does it not when CRIMINALS are not allowed to be identified doing what they do which is CRIMINAL ......

K

Yes, I did see a bit on the BBC website about a notorious Glaswegian family who are responsible for a huge proportion of clothes pinching. They follow clothes store staff home and threaten them with violence, if they attempt to do anything about it. They make off with thousands of pounds worth of gear in a few minutes [disgust]