13 yr old shoplifter

[C_Dave45]

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/story.html?id=4405488

13 year old boy of a single Mom gets caught stealing a chocolate bar from Zellars. First offense. Police decide charges are unwarranted and instead enroll him into "alternative measures program for youth".
Zellers decides to hit the Mother with a $595 bill. Global has a poll going, I'm curious to see what most here think.

Zellers: Too harsh?

or..Punishment fits the crime.

[focusdriv3r]

Electric chair jeeeze

[Jeremiah]

WOW, that's a bit steep, the chocolate bar is $1 and then they send her a $600 bill? LOL..

Thats a hefty "restocking fee"

What happened to public humilation by putting their photo up, or banning them from zellers for a set amount of time??....

Have fun explaining to Grandma why you can't go into zellers with her to buy you a gift. Thats more of a punishment than anything...

[Sugarphreak]

...

[revelations]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
How is punishing the mother going to teach the kid a lesson?

Teach her to not have any more kids until she can raise the ones she has better



(seriously, who hasnt stolen a candy bar, even by accident - ive walked out with stuff in my jacket pockets before after forgetting to pull them out at the checkouts)

[lellowrx7]

zellers cant legally charge the kid.
theyre losses are covered by insurance.

personal experience with this issue at the bay

[Xtrema]

Zellers doesn't give a shit, they are all probably renamed as Target soon anyway.

[shakalaka]

Originally posted by lellowrx7
zellers cant legally charge the kid.
theyre losses are covered by insurance.

personal experience with this issue at the bay

They may not be able to sue for monetary compensation. But there are no guarantees from getting criminally charged, if the offence warrants for it.

[max_boost]

LOL

Way too harsh.

[revelations]

Originally posted by shakalaka
They may not be able to sue for monetary compensation. But there are no guarantees from getting criminally charged, if the offence warrants for it.

Good juck finding a judge who will convict a 13 year old, especially a first time offendor. Complete waste of the courts time and public money.

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by revelations

(seriously, who hasnt stolen a candy bar, even by accident - ive walked out with stuff in my jacket pockets before after forgetting to pull them out at the checkouts)

how did you get into the habit of putting stuff in your jacket pocket in the first place? i have never once done that in my life...

[Graham_A_M]

Its harsh, but their trying to make an example out of this kid. With this getting the news attention the Zellars managers wanted it to; each parent is going to have the same conversation with their kid.

[syritis]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
Its harsh, but their trying to make an example out of this kid. With this getting the news attention the Zellars managers wanted it to; each parent is going to have the same conversation with their kid.

more reason for the rest of us not to shop and zellers.
I can says i'd be willing to avoid the place based the their inability to be reasonable. so what could have been a 1$ loss for them has become loss of my business and others which could count for a loss of a couple hundred dollars.

[dexlargo]

This isn't new. A number of stores do this all the time - they send shoplifters a demand to be paid their 'costs' in controlling shoplifting. It's usually a letter threatening that if you don't pay, they'll sue you (in trespass, I think).

I don't think they ever actually follow through and file a lawsuit, though. They just send a letter and hope you pay.

[beyond_ban]

Originally posted by tobypaddock


how did you get into the habit of putting stuff in your jacket pocket in the first place? i have never once done that in my life...

I haven't put anything in my pocket, but i left Canadian tire with some new signal bulbs in my hand and drove home before realizing i just walked out without paying because i was talking on the phone and didn't even think of it. Perhaps i'm subconsciously a thief

[revelations]

Originally posted by tobypaddock


how did you get into the habit of putting stuff in your jacket pocket in the first place? i have never once done that in my life...

When I run in to grab a lunch (safeway for eg.) I used to be lazy and didnt grab a basket.

Usually I ended up with stuff in my pockets because I picked up more items than just lunch (dinner items) and ran out of hands.

I carry a basket now.....

[xxviet]

the kids first offense, they should scare him straight and make sure he wont do it again, making the mother pay that huge fine wont solve shet. the kid can easily go back and steal again if he wants, learning nothing... the person being punished here is the mother shouldnt it be the kid?

[cream]

Originally posted by max_boost
LOL

Way too harsh.

Werd.

Also, who even shops at Zellers?

[Mar]

Zellers' self checkout software is a piece of shit. I write software and I would be embarrassed to put my name on that, I tried using it and it was a huge fail. I swiped a jug of milk, leaving it on the scale, waiting for it to allow me to scan my only other item and get the hell out of there. This machine absolutely refused to do anything until I put the milk in a bag (there are no bags, WTF?) and because it was sitting in front of the barcode reader, it rang in the milk about 35 more times while I was standing there. What a fucking pile of garbage.

This was all while the 15 year old girl working there was guarding the plastic bag lockup like a damn ninja. That place is an embarrassment, I don't even go there anymore.

[911fever]

Absolutely ridiculous