A friend of mine standing in line at Wal-Mart saw another customer hiding an unpaid item under their coat. My friend quietly reported the theft to another cashier and was told to forget it, don’t make a fuss. The store let the person leave with the stolen item.
When around 12, a friend stole an Andes mint from an open candy jar near the counter of a small grocery store. I think they were 5 cents. Busted. Held. Cops came. Then his mother, crying and in shame. Cop and his mom both gave the rest of us a Come To Jesus lecture. Quite a different world.