Stealing from a store is a direct cause for many rising prices, which costs everyone in the long run. hi, you are my public defender for a shoplifting case This has happened several times over the years. If I have no doubt that the person was really stealing, I alert the store manager, or at least someone who has some authority in the store. If I see something that appears to be stealing while on the street, I report suspicious activity, or a suspicious person to the proper authorities. Don't think that just because you raise your children not to steal, that they will be squeaky clean. I know a woman who did her level best to teach her offspring not to take anything that isn't theirs, and to pay for everything they get. Yet, she failed to take into consideration what kind of friends they had, assuming that just because she grew up knowing all types of people, from Mafia to alcoholics, to druggies, and she was always honest, that her children would follow her lead. Her eldest son, when in his early teens, stole from a local store, and was caught. She not only had to pay the fine, since he was still a minor, but she was also terribly embarrassed, but had to make sure that her son never again entered that store, as he had been banned from ever again entering the establishment. It took many years for him to straighten out. Thankfully, he finally grew into a decent person, and is now father to two wonderful kids, and step father to two more. Her younger son, though a straight arrow, and a promising athlete whose goal was to play pro baseball, was arrested and faced with a felony, just because he was with someone, who was a minor, who took something at gunpoint. My friend's son happened to be the driver of his own car, and the young "friend" who was with him asked him to stop at the home of this person's friend, who had "something of his, that he wanted back." Not suspecting anything wrong, he waited in the car while the younger late teenaged boy went inside, and returned to the car with the item. They drove off, only to be stopped a few minutes later by the local law enforcement. Both were arrested, but while the guilty party was released to his parents, and only faced probation, the innocent party spent six months in jail, for a crime he knew nothing about. He was shocked to see the kid even had a gun. Yet, since he was no longer a minor, and the car was his, he had the book thrown at him. Thankfully, his employer saved his job for him, as he knew that this young man was not guilty of any wrongdoing. He had a Public Defender, who convinced him that it in his best interest to take the punishment, than to fight the charges. When he was finally released, he still had a job, and was even made manager of the place he worked. He is now married, and has two children, who are really great little kids, and he and his wife are good parents. I have known my friend for about twenty-six years, and watched her kids all grow up, so I know them all very well.