Four Year Old Shop Lifter!!

[feralmerril]

Durring world war two mom raised me alone in a old large country store in a small village in wisconsin. I was a small tyke and remember I was taught to not take cookies out of the cookie case etc, when people were in the store because probley customers couldnt afford stuff for their kids.
My mother was born into the general store business. She also was a fireball her entire life. She was absolutely fearless and would light into any man. Once a gypsey band came in. Ma caught a gypsey woman ripping stuff off, grabbed her and bodely threw her out. The gypsey wished a wart on her nose and ma claimed she got one! Another time the folks ran a resort for a short time. They hired a band and the guitar player for some reason called mom a B----. She grabbed his guitar and broke it over his head!
Here is a old snapshot of her and dad in front of the store evidently the day they got married in july 1937. I also found another thumbnail picture of mom, dad and some uncle and aunts standing in front of the store. My grandpa, moms dad is on far right.

 

[mkk41]

I still get ticked when I see the news , and some thug , er , poor underprivledged , misguided , misunderstood , inner city youth(sarcasm) gets shot by a legally armed citizen during a robbery or home invasion or police while in the commission of a violent felony , and points a gun at them. The parents , relatives and 'reverands' are all marching to stop the violence , ban guns , and crying that "he was a good boy , they didn't have to kill him!" , even though he had a lengthy and violent arrest record since the day he could walk.

 

[mg357]

If i may add my .02 cents i think that the security guard could have handled it a little better.

 

[Faulkner]

If i may add my .02 cents i think that the security guard could have handled it a little better.

Could be . . . but if the parents had taught the little munchkin that stealing is wrong there never would have been an incident for the security guard to mishandle.

 

[feralmerril]

Untill later years in california I lived a sheltered life. At some point I started even seeing security guards in burger kings! When I was a boy I never seen barred windows, then I went through St lewis etc. It`s now a sorry day when even small business`s have to hire a guard! 50 years ago no guards were in DMV`s, post offices and court houses. The younger people are born into it and expect it. To me it`s a shame and disgrace to see that we need it! And yes, I did it myself for almost 36 years, but not in a mall but at a huge defendse plant and a movie studio. Do you know what cost that adds? If a guard gets say the minimum, $12s, the business probley pays his contractor $20 to $25s a hour or so. Maybe I am behind the times and it well could be more in the big citys. They have to pass that on to the customers. Small business`s really get hurt by that. This is mostly because of shoplifters. Like any and all thieves, they will steal stuff they dont need just because they think they can pull it off. Probley most of the stuff gets thrown away! What gets me, even some well known millionair movie stars shoplift!
I hate a shoplifter as bad as I do a burglar that will break into your house. It costs everyone. I am no expert on at what age kids understand, but I do think the parents should have educated them by four years old. I am sure I was! If they havent, its probley because they think its cool themselves.

 

[badam0112]

The guard should have pepper sprayed her first.I mean she could have been concealing a toy I mean weapon. She probably needs probation on top of the banning.

Where or where has common sense gone?????

 

[USAF385]

When I worked customer service, I saw kids do the same thing on a few occasions. I simply told the parent's that their kid opened candy and they would have to pay for it. Each time the parents did pay, apologized, and scolded the kid. The end. Never had any problems.

 

[Thuer]

And that is the way to do it.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I find that children in the age of around 2-5 that have octopus arms seem to always be spoiled to some degree. You can always spot the well behaved and well disciplined kids by the degree of octopus arms syndrome they have.

As for security guards that have as yet illiterate four year old children scrawl a little something on a paper telling them they are now banned from all Safeway stores… Was this the guy that got beat up on a regular through high school or the jock that now that he's out of the football spotlight can't get the local PD to sign him onboard??? This isn't a PC issue, it's a moron issue. I guess telling the father that his kid just opened a package and put it back was too simple of a solution.

 

[feralmerril]

Well bob, you sure have the ground covered on that one. From the guard either being a wimp picked on in high school to the high school jock?

 

[Maximumbob54]

Well bob, you sure have the ground covered on that one. From the guard either being a wimp picked on in high school to the high school jock?

I'm only trying to imply that I'm not sure what type of human being wants that level of enforcment on a four year old. Those that tame measures too far tend to fall into personality types that clash when given their little bit of power. There is something wrong with that guy and only a professional could tellvypu to what degree of wrong there is in him.

This story is right up with the pregnant lady that was arrested. Simple screw ups should not jump several levels of available responce options.

These stories are the same to me as if a cop decided to use his tazer on a jay walker or baton someone for reading a paper they pick up before they pay for it. You are supposed to have the mental ability to make judgment calls in situations like these. That is how you figure the level of responce to your threat. And a screw up if this magnitude sounds like the guy's head is just not on straight.

If that doesn't explain it enough then I'm not sure what else to tell you other than sorry.

 

[feralmerril]

Bob, thats good nuff for me. The real thing is I belive none of us know exactly what happened as we didnt witness it. Neither did the reporter! I dont see any report of anyone asking the guards version either. Yes, the guard may be even more guilty and off base than even you suspect. On the other hand the story can be wrote with 6 different spins with 6 different reporters given the same released info. All depends on their interest`s.
I once worked with a old retired sgt. major from the army. This guy was claimed to once be the highest rank a non com could get.
I remember him bragging to me that he could take a raw recruit kid and by the time of his first furlow program him into going home and cut his parents throats!!!
I refuse to be incited by a reporter that easily! Besides whatever I or you think, it aint gonna change what happened or whats going to happen, so I aint gonna sweat the story. It`s just entertainment talking about it.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I guess I just took special burn over talk of a four year old kid being told to sign a paper that says the kid can't come back. The rest of the story could be spin talk, but who has a kid at that age do something like that??? I just don't get that part no matter what direction I try and play the story. And I'm never impressed by guys that try and hype rank or war stories. The guys I know with real stories of war don't like to talk about them much until it gets real late around the camp fire and their tongue has been wet with something high proof. Then you see the eyes glaze over and they start up and you are transfixed with the horror that man can unleash on one another. It isn't for entertainment; it's more of an attempt at cleansing the soul when these stories are told. But the chest of ribbons and medals type guys that are willing to gloat are their own special breed I guess. I don't hang out with that crowd if I can avoid them.

 

[Gutpile Charlie]

Hey! Stuff can happen.

When my now, middle aged daughter was just a few months old, I was walking through a Sears store in Lawton, OK. She was just a babe in arms and I had her over my shoulder and was not doing anything. I even thought she was maybe sleeping. She couldn't have been six months old.

Well, I walked through the store and exited to the parking lot. As I am walking away I feel something bumping into my back. I turned and saw that the baby had grabbed a very large woman's purse during our trek through the store and was carrying it out!

Well, I immediately turned around...re entered the store and returned the purse to the appropriate display.

No problems....but kids can do the darndest things!

 

[Maximumbob54]

I don't include that age in the "octopus arm syndrome" age... But I guess to a degree it can still apply...

 

[therevjay]

I don't think the guard is the sharpest tool in the bin. Still he shouldn't have been fired, a butt chewing and corrective guidance would have done fine.

Also however if I was his boss, along with the apolagy to the kids parents I would have added. Please don't bring her back to our store until you have taught her about not taking things without asking you first.

P.S. The people who said she learned from her mom are likely right.

 

[Kanewpadle]

The guard is probably a youngster that has no children, and no common sense.

Knowing that you have a youngster working security, the store and the security company should have made sure that guidelines were in place accompanied by a good training program.

Unfortunately this young man is the scape goat for the failure of the store and his employer. They hung the poor guy out to dry.

I listened to a radio interview of the mother today. Sounds like a real winner.

I still question where the little girl learned to open a package, take a bite, and then reseal it? Little boys and girls that age learn by example.

 

[oldman45]

Has anyone even considered that the guard could have did as he did to put a memory on the child?

1. The child is a minor and nothing he signed would be legal.
2. Since the child cannot read or write, the act of signing a scribbled note would be for a learning tool.
3. The parents apparently did nothing to support the store, the guard or whom ever. The only thing they did was go to the media to complain and more likely to make a case for a lawsuit that would bring them money. I never read where they scolded, spanked or even offered to pay for the items.
4. The kid was wrong and most here is taking up for the kid because his is four. If he was 14 and took a cash register, would you still take up for him?
5. How many lessons did an adult give you as a younster that lasted for your life? The guard was giving a lesson to the kid that hopefully would make a lasting impression.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Where or where has common sense gone?????

At the end of the story the Safeway spokesperson said that their shoplifting policies are in place to protect the customers and are built on common sense. She went on to say that everyone understands what common sense is. Apparently, the security guard didn't understand so there's a flaw in Safeway's thinking.

Someone once said that common sense is not so common.

The scenario as reported is not overly complex, so one might think that common sense should be applicable. Now look at the wide array of views here as to the judgment of the security guard-- ranging from supporting the actions of the security guard to that of a psycho and moron. In the business world, relying on the common sense of others will return lots of surprises.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Has anyone even considered that the guard could have did as he did to put a memory on the child?

1. The child is a minor and nothing he signed would be legal.
2. Since the child cannot read or write, the act of signing a scribbled note would be for a learning tool.
3. The parents apparently did nothing to support the store, the guard or whom ever. The only thing they did was go to the media to complain and more likely to make a case for a lawsuit that would bring them money. I never read where they scolded, spanked or even offered to pay for the items.
4. The kid was wrong and most here is taking up for the kid because his is four. If he was 14 and took a cash register, would you still take up for him?
5. How many lessons did an adult give you as a younster that lasted for your life? The guard was giving a lesson to the kid that hopefully would make a lasting impression.

I can see the point you are making, but that is putting a huge amount of faith in what just stinks of what is sadly and all too common the reality that far more people than ever just flat out suck at being a proper human being. If the guard had really been decent about it in the manner you describe then I doubt it would have been a story. Clowns make for good stories. Good people don't get headlines and camera coverage very often, and if they do it's a feel good blip and the last few minutes of the news cast or on the back page. Sad, but all too true these days. Sorry for always being a downer but I run into too many badges that are stinkers and don't carry the respect that those honorable men carried before them.