Is Shoplifting Ok if the Shop Owner is Awful?

A recent New York Times article, «Is Shoplifting OK if the Shop Owner Is Awful?» offers readers the story of an American woman who sees shoplifting as a symmetrical response to what she sees as dishonest and unfair retailers. She deliberately and systematically removes goods from stores in order to punish their owners for mistreatment of employees and exploitation of labor in violation of human rights. The woman considers her actions to be an act of civil disobedience and is aware of and accepts the possible consequences if she is detained.

This position can hardly be justified, if only because the behavior and profits of large retail chains are not affected in any way by the damage caused in this way, but rather the ordinary employees who will be fined or obliged to compensate for their losses.

Small retailers will have to compensate for their losses by raising prices for good customers in case of a mass trend of such «ideological» shoplifting.

In addition, the ideology of conscious violation of law and order itself can lead society to social and economic chaos, from which everyone will lose, including the unprotected segments of the population, about whom the thief — fighter for justice is so concerned.

But how many people nurture such ideas in their heads, and won’t ideological shoplifting and the fight against capitalists become a social trend in conditions of social inequality?

Security and anti-theft technologies and measures should evolve towards predicting and preventing offenses. Should be designed to protect the rights and safety of good consumers, employees and business owners.

Algorithms of behavioral video analytics, tracking objects in high-precision 3d models of Shoplifter Prediction premises allow you to identify at any point of the sales floor visitors whose behavior is deviant and potentially dangerous. Real-time notifications about them allow the staff to react quickly and prevent the offense from being committed.