I’m a middle class mum who’s stolen £1,000s from supermarkets… I don’t need the money & it’s the shops’ fault I do it
SCANNING the supermarket shelves for a perfectly ripe bunch of bananas, Emma* looks like any other mum doing the food shop.
But hidden amongst her fully-packed trolley is a secret stash of goods she has absolutely no intention of paying for.
As the 40-year-old scans most of her shopping through the self checkout, she carefully leaves a select few items worth £4.50 in her trolley bags.
She then grins broadly at the security guard as she pushes the trolley out of the supermarket, before adding her stolen goods to a growing haul back home.
Regularly shoplifting once a week, Emma isn’t a desperate mum on the breadline struggling to feed her kids.
With a successful career as a private nurse and her husband having a well-paid job in IT, it's not about the money. Emma is doing it for the huge adrenaline rush.
Feeling elated, she then loads the shopping into her car and drives back to her four-bedroom, detached home, secretly thrilled she’s got away without paying for all of her shopping.
Emma is one of an increasing number of middle-class shoplifters stealing items along with her weekly shop, and it's said to be costing supermarkets billions.
M&S chairman Archie Norman previously said the rise was a "social phenomenon that has become a global problem", as recorded instances of shoplifting rose 22 per cent last year.
Emma, who lives in a leafy commuter belt village in Kent with her husband and two daughters, now seven and eight, says: "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've become addicted to the thrill of shoplifting from supermarkets.
"I only steal small items, the odd thing here and there but I was horrified to realise that stealing a few pounds worth of items every week means I’ve stolen more than £2,000 over the years.
"I think of myself as a very honest and respectable person and in every other aspect of my life, I’m the ultimate goody two-shoes. I've never had a parking fine, or even returned a library book late.
“As a child, I wouldn’t have dared to even help myself to an extra sweet from the Woolworths pick ’n’ mix.
"But now I just can't help myself from taking something during every solo weekly shop without paying for it.
"I think it's a fairly victimless crime, stealing from the big supermarkets - it's not as though I'm taking these things from an independent farm shop."
'I never told a soul'
It all started when Emma's oldest daughter, now eight, was a newborn.
She says: "Sleep-deprived, I nipped into our local supermarket alone for some essentials, and when I got to the car, I realised I'd forgotten to pay for an extra large pack of nappies that I'd popped under the pram.
"My instinct was to go back and pay for them, as they were probably worth about £20 - but there were no security guards coming after me, so I just drove off with them.
"I never expected to get such a thrill out of it - like I'd won a tenner on the lottery.
“I never told a soul though - I'm sure my husband would be horrified if I told him I'd not gone back to pay. He's such an honest person.
"I didn't intend to do it again, but for some reason, I was amazed when I never experienced any guilt."
A 'secret buzz'
The next time she went shopping, Emma found herself slipping tins of dog food under the pram.
She says: "When I went through the till, I tried to convince myself I'd forgotten it again, knowing if anyone stopped me I could just feign horror at forgetting to ring it through the till.
"Now, I pop something in my basket for free nearly every time I shop.
"It's not usually anything big or expensive; a greetings card here, a bunch of grapes there.
I think a lot of middle-class mums do the same, because it's a little way of rebelling against authority
Emma
"It adds up to such a high sum over the years, which makes me feel awful.
“I think a lot of middle-class mums do the same, because it's a little way of rebelling against authority.
“We've followed the rules our entire lives, and this is a bit of a secret buzz, but I also know that sometimes I’m just making excuses for myself.
"I can afford to feed my family, but we don't have the spare money for a holiday, or a meal out anymore, so this habit affords some minor treats.
"I suppose saving a couple of pounds here or there by shoplifting makes me feel like I'm getting one over on the big companies that are hiking prices up.
"I know that ultimately, people like me are part of the reason prices are going up, but everything is so expensive these days, any money you can claw back feels like a win.
"Although I don't speak about it with my friends, I have a feeling I won't be the only one doing it.
"I read news stories all the time about the amount of money the big shops are losing to shoplifters, and every time I see one I'm hit with a pang of guilt.”
‘IT’S A SELFISH CRIME’
RETAIL expert Clare Bailey, who appears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Sky News, says: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Everyone is a victim."
She explains: “Because shops and businesses suffer so much loss due to theft, they have to raise prices to cover that loss. If there was no shoplifting, prices might actually come down. So we are all paying for it.
“Shop staff are also victims. While some people might be very sneaky about how they steal, others can be quite violent. The charity Retail Trust is getting increasing numbers of reports from shop staff who have had to confront people who are stealing.
“They are being faced with quite severe, violent responses. It’s becoming rather scary.
“These are often people who work for the minimum wage and have no training to deal with these situations.
“But they face them day in, day out, when they should never have to.
“Shoplifting is on the rise and it’s almost as though, as the cost of living has gone up, people think, ‘Why shouldn’t I?’
“But we need businesses to make a profit to keep the economy going and we need institutional investors to make enough money so they can pay out for things like pension funds.
“Tesco might be one of the biggest investors into your grandparents’ pension fund.
“If they lose money, everyone could be affected.
“As most of us are honest, we are quite accepting of the security tags and plastic boxes stores have had to introduce to manage theft.
“Of course, the tags and cases cost money too, but it’s better than losing the product.
“If caught shoplifting, you risk a criminal record and this will further impact your employment and earning opportunities.
“It’s a crime and it’s a selfish one. Everyone is paying the cost of shoplifting.”
For more info, see retailchampion.co.uk.
'I am a good person'
The British Retail Consortium says retailers are suffering a whopping 55,000 thefts a day – with shoplifting costing them more than £1.8bn in 2023.
But for Emma, it’s not enough to put her off slipping a few extra items into her trolley every week.
“I’d never dream of stealing from a small business,” she says.
“In fact, if a small shop or café ever accidentally leaves something off my bill, I make a point of letting them know they’ve under-charged me.
"I think it’s probably because I want to prove that I am a good person.
I think it's a fairly victimless crime, stealing from the big supermarkets - it's not as though I'm taking these things from an independent farm shop.
Emma
“I tell myself that supermarkets are saving money by me using self-service checkouts - they're employing fewer staff, and I'm doing the work for them.
"If I slip a bulb of garlic into my shopping bag without paying, I can sort of justify it as their payment to me for me doing their work.
“If they got rid of self-scan tills, and had staff working on check outs, I think fewer people would do it.
“Often, if I have a problem while at the self-check till, I have to wait for ages before a member of staff is free, or, can be bothered to come to help me.
“If they don’t employ enough staff to take payment for their shopping, they shouldn't be too worried about the money they’re losing to shoplifters."
A shameful habit
Despite shoplifting for years, Emma has never been caught.
She says: "I always have a plan if I do, by keeping a couple of items to the side, which I say have failed to scan in case I get selected for a random check. I think it makes me seem more honest.
“I also try to make sure the items I’m getting for free would be hard to check anyway – veg that is weighed that I’ve ‘lost’ the sticker for; they’re never going to try to scan that in a random check – it’s the easy to scan items on the top of the trolley that they double check.
"And I'm always overly friendly and chatty to shop assistants and security guards.
"I can’t imagine what would happen if I were to ever get caught. As I only ever steal one or two things at a time hopefully I wouldn’t be prosecuted for it.
“But maybe getting caught would be what I need to finally put a stop to my shameful habit.”
*Names have been changed.