Shoplifters in Minsk
"We immediately feel when the situation in the country is bad," supermarket security says.
"They are called shoplifters, not criminals. Only the court can call them criminals. Thieves can be five-year-olds or very old people ," the security of a central Minsk supermarket told Euroradio.
6-year-old children gather in groups of three and steal chocolates, chewing-gums and candies. Teenagers aged 12 or 13 steal to resell the goods at half the price in Kamarouski Market.
"Adults steal expensive goods like caviar, olive oil and coffee and sell them to nearby restaurants," the security of one of Minsk supermarkets said.
One and the same people are getting detained for it. They often work in groups distracting the security's attention.
A group of shoplifters works this way: a man gathers goods all over the shop and enters a zone that cameras cannot reach. He gives the goods to another group member there. So, if the cameras display a man stealing, the person trying to take the goods away from the shop will most likely be a woman.
"We should inform the police about all such incidents. But when I see an 83-year-old woman trembling, I start thinking that the police may not arrive in time and that an ambulance may be needed soon," confessed a security guard.
The majority of the detained say that they forgot to pay, brought the goods from another shop or complain that their parents are alcoholics and they want a chocolate.
Very old and young shop-lifters are usually let off after a conversation.
