Shaming of Teen Shoplifter?

November 30, 2022, 12:06 pm 16.5k Views 69 Comments

By an edhat reader

I recently saw a Facebook post from a local business that included a photo of an alleged shoplifter. It’s a teenager from a local high school, they posted a photo of his face and his school ID card with the full name.

I’m curious if readers think this is appropriate given the teen is underage. 

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Written by Anonymous

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69 Comments

  1. Without regard to whether the kid took something or not, there is a lawsuit possible against the publisher for “intentional infliction of emotional harm” on this kid. Look at the lawsuit now being considered against Stanford University for simply notifying a student that they would have to show up before a student disciplinary process to explain an apparent assault on another student. There is no need to go to this extreme in humiliating a child. In fact the store seems the more childish party here.

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    • “In fact the store seems the more childish party here.” – Absolutely. The adult thing to do would be call the parents and the cops (if needed or wanted) and allow them to deal with this situation, then ban the kid from the store. No need to shame him permanently on Facebook. 9th graders are usually about 14 years old, they make stupid mistakes, fall in with the wrong crowds, etc etc. Attempting to steal from a skate shop is bad and he should be punished, by his parents, not shamed in front of the entire Facebook community.

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  6. whatever…. I don’t see an issue with shaming him. You mess with the bull, you get the horn, that is what my generation was taught. All you people with your hurt feelings stuff. I don’t think we need to avoid hurting peoples feelings, I think we need to teach people/kids how to work through and overcome embarrassment, shame, and anxiety.

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  7. Do not blame the store or their methods to cut down on theft. The person who would not have had his picture taken along with their school ID is the thief. Good chance the kid has learned a good lesson and most likely he will be kicked out of his private high school. Of course it could have been done differently, but it is what it is and he’s not going to be stealing from THAT store any time soon. Lost income, lost jobs, and “insurance” does not pay for all of the theft. Look at how many retail stores in San Francisco have closed down due to rampant theft. I believe Walgreen’s alone has shut down over 20 stores citing theft as the reason. Good thing this kid was not caught in Detroit, Chicago, New York, or a host of other wonderful cities where punks get the shizzazzle beat out of ’em for doing what he done did.

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  10. “Juvenile delinquent’ is a contradiction in terms. ‘Delinquent’ means ‘failing in duty.’ But duty is an adult virtue—indeed a juvenile becomes an adult when, and only when, he acquires a knowledge of duty and embraces it as dearer than the self-love he was born with. There never was, there cannot be, a ‘juvenile delinquent.’ But for every juvenile criminal there are always one or more adult delinquents—people of mature years who either do not know their duty, or who, knowing it, fail….
    These children were often caught; police arrested batches each day. Were they scolded? Yes, often scathingly. Were their noses rubbed in it? Rarely. News organs and officials usually kept their names secret—in many places the law so required for criminals under eighteen.”
    ~Starship Troopers

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  12. Zero
    Stores, gas stations etc take video of you all day every day and they own the footage. If you go onto their property and steal, they can put the footage out into the public. If you don’t like it, you can sue, but all they have to do is have a notice posted by the door that noting that by entering, you acknowledge you are being filmed.
    The State takes pictures of you at stoplights and anywhere in public right of ways where they have camera and you have no rights to the footage and no recourse

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  16. What the store owner doesn’t seem to realize is the power of social media to literally ruin lives. This kid (allegedly) did a stupid thing, but 100x more stupid is posting his PHOTO ID on social media. It’s been shared dozens of times and this is a small town. As a parent, I truly hope they are sued and literally lose their business. A 14-year old kid is careless, but adults should not be this stupid.

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  18. Personally I think there should be consequences but leave it up to the police and the parents. Kids are dumb and do dumb things, the business shouldn’t publicly shame them. Is it even legal?
    Now if this was an adult, yes by all means but the business might find themselves liable for defamation if there aren’t formal charges.

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  19. Yeah, not ok at all. If he hasn’t been charged and convicted, they shouldn’t be posting his photo and name, even if caught red-handed. Not sure they could even if he was convicted if he’s a minor. I’d have some serious words with the owner if they did this to my kid, well…. after I had some words and punishments meted with my kid!

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  24. Kid looks high as a kite in the post. It’s still not ok to post his pic and name, public shaming of a minor is not really a great way for a business to behave. Maybe the business owners are trying to garner sympathy and attention but if it was my kid, after I grounded him and had my own consequences, I would be talking via an attorney to those store owners

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  26. Defamation?
    No way.
    Definition:
    the action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel.
    The kid was caught stealing. How can his good reputation be defamed by saying he was caught stealing, if he did in fact steal?
    Kids need to be taught they are born with good reputation, good reputation is put into play by stealing, and when caught stealing, often the consequences can spin out of control. Parents of the friends of this young man should counsel their children about this event. Let’s say the store owner tries to grab the stolen item, gets pushed by the thief, falls, hits his head goes into a coma and your kid gives the thief a ride home. Accessory. Or if your child is the thief, a push over $50 theft turns into assault with great bodily injury. A 14-15 year old can rebuild their reputation quickly by learning the lesson, taking the consequence, understanding that they took the risk of an unjust consequence upon themself by putting themself into play. IE: Do stupid crap, win crappy prizes

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    • You are aware that you can find young people in jail and prison that were involved in what started out as minor crimes that went off the rails and sideways?
      Hypothetical or not, the god of unintended consequences gets the last cackling laugh and could give a damn about your circumstances

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    • If they do not have video proof of the kid stealing, they are up a liability creek here if the parents choose to sue. We don’t know the circumstances of the *alleged* attempt to steal. There’s also the issue of if they caught him inside or outside of the store. If inside, that’s a big problem, legally, because technically one hasn’t stolen until they leave the premises with product. Lighthouse better hope their cameras caught evidence and they did everything by the book, otherwise they are looking at a settlement here for what they’ve written. Must be provable.

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  27. As a small business owner I get what they were trying to do. Get the word out don’t steal from us.we basically catch 1/2 of out thiefs. We call the police. This is a huge problem not only teens but adults. Most are not remorseful just pissed they get caught. This boy has learned his lesson and hopefully stops others from ripping off that store.

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    • No. Call the police, call the parents, admonish the kid and let him go…or get over it. Perpetual punishment (the internet is forever! And Google-able…) is not the answer. I think it is cruel and unusual punishment. This is why they got rid of public mugshots in CA, it’s not right to societally punish someone permanently.

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  33. This is such an interesting thread to read. Social media has created a whole different playing field which I do not yet understand. And it can be so ugly. But reading this carried me back decades…..because many of the comments reflect ‘back in the day’ value systems. We think we are so evolved. I bet most of the commentators are over 60. that is the vibe I am getting. For me, it is refreshing. It’s apolitical. No accusations of ‘woke’/unwoke’ (whatever all that means).

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  34. Maybe they should shame the parents instead for not teaching their children to be better citizens like don’t take things that don’t belong to you. It’s a crime. Maybe this will prevent this kid from becoming a career criminal. The kid needs to know there are consequences to his behavior. Community service of some kind. IMO a lot of parents are not being parents these days because they are either to busy or instead they are trying to be friends with their kids so there is no parental guidance.

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    • LOVEMYSB – Sometimes, kids, even well raised ones, fall into the wrong crowd and do stupid things. Parents can’t, especially with young teens like this, follow their kids around 24/7 making sure they’re not making mistakes. It’s not always the parents fault. The fault here lies with the young teenager, but it doesn’t mean he should be permanently shamed on the internet as is now happening.

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    • Most agree that this should have been handled by the shop owner and police letting the parents deal with it. However, too many kids have parents who really don’t give a damn about their kid’s behavior and either ignore it altogether or choose to beat the crap out of the kid. Not all 14 year-olds have loving, caring parents.

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  35. Looks like they deleted the post. Good. Unfortunately, a little too late. I truly hope they learned a valuable lesson here. Posting photos and names of minors who are suspected of attempted shoplifting (they said he tried, not that he did) on the internet is not only unethical, it’s bad business.

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  37. This story and Ehatter reactions about this kid trying to rip off the skate store r-e-m-i-n-d-s me of when John “The Palm” Palminteri shoved that kid out of the camera shot. Some thought The Palm was abusive, where others (like me) thought the kid should not have tried to get into John P’s face. The kid and his parents were very/very apologetic for the whole matter. Bottom line is that the “camera jumper” realized that he did something wrong and learned a good lesson. I will assume that the thief from the skate store will forever be reminded by his classmates about his brush with infamy. The store on the other hand won a victory of sorts from the general public for not putting up with the nonsense that other businesses decided to put up with. Unfortunately, the shoplifter is going to pay a hefty price for some years to come, and hopefully will turn his life around and refrain from his “five-finger discount” practices.

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  39. In our woke state thefts under the $950 threshold in value are barely meted out a slap on the wrist, even for “adults”, and as was noted the 152-mile-an-hour Lamborghini driver on the 154 was not arrested, his car was NOT impounded…. he drove away with impunity. Seriously, do you fault a shop owner for wanting some vigilante justice?

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  40. Seabird – do you drive a “deadly weapon” too? Not that vigilante actions are right, but when our goverment “leaders” send an unmistakeable message that theft is OK in our society, and back that up with directives to law enforcement, just what do you think is going to happen? We just had an election and we really blew it didn’t we? Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

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