Posted on 06/21/2010 12:50:43 PM PDT by Palter
The A & N Food Market on Main Street in Flushing, Queens, has an almost entirely Chinese clientele. The inventory includes live eels, turtles and frogs, frozen duck tongue and canned congee. These goods, like products sold in every neighborhood of the city, attract their share of shoplifters. But A & N Food Market has an unusual way of dealing with the problem.
First, suspected shoplifters caught by the stores security guards or staff members have their identification seized. Then, they are photographed holding up the items they are accused of trying to steal. Finally, workers at the store threaten to display the photographs to embarrass them, and to call the police unless the accused thieves hand over money.
We usually fine them $400, said Tem Shieh, 60, the manager, who keeps track of customers on 30 video monitors in the stores surveillance system. If they dont have the money, then we usually hold their identification and give them a chance to go get it.
The practice of catching suspected shoplifters and demanding payment is an import from China, several experts in retail loss prevention said, where there is a traditional slogan that some storekeepers post: Steal one, fine 10. Whether this practice is legal in the United States is open to interpretation.
New York State law allows shopkeepers privileges that fall somewhere between the police and a citizens arrest. The law also details civil recovery statutes, by which retailers may use the threat of a civil lawsuit to recover substantial settlements for even minor thievery. But threatening to report that someone has committed a crime can be considered a form of extortion.
Neither the Police Department nor the Queens district attorneys office said it had received any complaints about the practice.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I like that motto, “Steal One, Fine 10.” I think I’d modify to say “Steal One, Find 10” because they have to find the money to get their ID back.
Just throw the shoplifters to the EELS!
Local newspaper often have "police blotter" column listing the names of persons arrested by the police and the charges pending. It doesn't violate due process. Those persons still go through the court system. The results of their court trials are later reported in the same papers.
I think the shopkeepers are overstepping their authority. They should detain the accused thief and call law enforcement to arrest them. Provide evidence at the trial and insist on restitution for the theft and any time required to pursue the prosecution. If the accused it acquitted, the false accusation by the shopkeeper should carry a penalty as well. That improves the odds against false accusations. In some cases, the restitution won't be worth the effort to pursue the charges.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2bwjedB1Y
More citizens should get involved with taking down thieves like these Chinese law-abiding citizens did.
” The inventory includes live eels, turtles and frogs, frozen duck tongue and canned congee...”
And people are trying to steal this stuff?
It’s actually a biblical concept. Restitution, times two or four or so depending on the nature of the offense.
No doubt the ACLU won’t complain-after all, diversity is our strength...
I’ve been arguing for a form of “Steal one, fine ten” in regards to dealing with Islamic terrorists for years. I’d call mine “Kill one, lose ten.” It would be a public pronouncement that for every US citizen killed by an Islamic terrorist, ten Islamic mosques would be destroyed without warning, starting with those in Mecca.
Correct but usually you get a local bet din (court of two or three Jewish men gathered to judge a matter) to hear the matter and render a just verdict.
I didn’t notice this the first time I saw this video but there is a Chinese dude trying to go Whorealdo on one or both thieves using a chair! LOL!
It appeals so strongly to my sense of justice.
If I had received four times the value of my stolen wallet etc., it would have helped me be far less bitter and suspicious of others. Whenever someone tries to talk to me at a store any more, I wonder, are they after my wallet?
I got nothing. The perp went to prison for 2 1/2 years AFTER defrauding two banks. They didn’t care about the defrauding of me. Identity theft, the whole nine yards.
eel is always better fresh.
If our country/society/culture were not broken, this would not be needed.
jw
“Whenever someone tries to talk to me at a store any more, I wonder, are they after my wallet?”
You are quite right. Thugs, customer service reps, and women are after your wallet. The more aggressive they get they more aggressive you have to become.
If we would incorporate this Chinese tradition, it would mend a small but pervasive problem straight away.
I rather fancy this very practical means of handling petty crimes. However, as the article states "Whether this practice is legal in the United States is open to interpretation."
Now if we could simply consult with nations like India on how to handle aggressive Moslem recruiting, we would be MUCH better off.
lol
All women or just the trashy ones? ;-)
Just the gold diggers. The decent women are more precious than rubys and fine gold, but they do expect you to make a living.
Imagine the alternative, under sharia law....
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