Does being cheap lead to petty crime?
In the mirror.
I sat reading a magazine on a stool with a coffee cooling next to me. The jingle of a bell warned of company entering. I looked up slightly and observed a man in a grey woolen suit enter, maybe mid-forties. This one. I could already see it in his eyes.
I dropped my eyes back to the magazine so as not to arouse his suspicions. He was already skittish as it was. He moved from the door towards the fridges and out of direct line of sight. But, the curved mirror had him clearly in frame.
I motioned to my girlfriend standing a few steps away with a nod of my head indicating. This one. She played it cool. We had done this many times before. She continued with what she was doing but also kept an eye on the mirror.
There he was standing at the open fridge, reaching in he took a beer and then another. A quick glance left and right and he slipped both cans into his coat pockets. Closing the fridge, he moved towards the counter where my girlfriend was counting change for close.
He took a newspaper from the stand, a chocolate bar and asked for a lottery ticket. She rang the items up and with a lovely smile asked, 'and the two beers in your pockets?'.
Red handed
His face immediately went red as he said 'umm, ah, excuse me?'. She repeated with the same pleasant smile. 'Oh! I forgot about those! Yes, these too, of course.' as he reached into his pockets and produced his evening aperitifs.
As said, this was one of the many, many occasions my girlfriend (ex) and I went through this process. I would pick her up from a corner store where she worked at while studying and this would be an almost nightly event with a whole range of customers you would not expect to behave so.
Finns like to talk about the lack of corruption in the country and if quizzed on 'general traits' of a Finn. Quiet, honest and trustworthy are often the first three. So why would so many people shoplift?
Well, one trait they don't list is being extremely cheap, especially in the older generations. Even so they don't mention it, many are very proud of their near hoarding cultural tendencies.
On the wire
For example, when renovating our 1960's built apartment, my girlfriend's (same ex) father helped. We ripped old wiring out from walls in pieces that were a few feet long. They were still good in his opinion and he neatly coiled them up and took them on the 400 kilometer drive home and stored them with all his other coils of wire. I am all for conservation and repurposing but that is next level.
The thing is, he didn't do it because he thinks he may have a use for it, he does it because he can't not. His sheds are full of old sporting equipment and bits and pieces of this and that. It got so full (but organised), he built another shed.
Now, he is definitely not one of the petty thieves though. His moral and ethical view would not allow it. He is like a Lannister and will always pay his debts, even if he doesn't need to.
But not all are like him. This is not kleptomania, this is straight theft. Finns will do anything for something free. This goes beyond frugality.
Line up
A store was opening a new location and had a giveaway of 200 buckets with a few odds and ends in there worth about 20 dollars. Two of my students took time off work to go and line up for them. They lined for 3 hours. They earn around 50 euros an hour (salaried) for their particular work so the 20 euros of stuff that may be useless is not the draw. It is getting something for free. This behaviour is very common in Finland and it is also common that fights break out when they run out of free stuff.
My question is, does this lead to petty crime? Could being cheap be used as a possible general indicator for ones predisposition for theft?
Of course, it is likely not a very good indicator but I wonder if grouped with other traits also. Maybe desire for power or level of compulsion. Perhaps it is because they view themselves as trustworthy and honest because they are not paying attention to the reality of the situation.
My girlfriend didn't start to recognise these low-level crooks until I started pointing them out and telling her what to look for. I worked retail in Australia and we are not so trusting, and often proved untrustworthy too. The world's largest convict island, it may be in the blood. Or maybe it is because it is a far off island and a captured audience, the prices are exorbitant.
A broken image link
Once she started to witness it first-hand though, her opinion of trustworthy Finns went down quite dramatically. She started seeing them everywhere. Not just at her work, she was spotting them in other stores and cafes too. Under her new level of scrutiny, the generalisation just didn't hold up anymore.
Maybe because of this lack of cultural awareness, petty thievery has been able to flourish, for the chances of getting caught are very low. I don't know the real reasons why, I just find it interesting to look at a theory or two. Especially since whenever I shop, store security is not far behind.
Do you think that being cheap increases the chances of petty crime?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
This is a really interesting analysis of Finnish culture and attitudes. Because I don't know much about the Finns, I find it fascinating, and really appreciate the article.
I have no Finnish ancestry myself, but my paternal grandmother's 1st husband was a direct Finnish immigrant. So, I have a half-uncle, a half-aunt, and five cousins with Finnish ancestry. I would say my great-uncle fit this description you give pretty closely, as does his oldest son. They had money, because my great-uncle married into money, but they were and are SO cheap.
It is very common. For some it is because of the lack of things in the war. They feel they must keep all they can just in case. Others maybe carry the idea but have no real reason. I see friends argue over a euro or two splitting bills
Sometimes I think it may fall between opportunity and poverty, while others are in for the thrill. As for hoarding, that is something that is very born in the fear of scarcity. As my garage fills with things I may possibly use someday, I remember the times I needed something I couldn't afford, so knowing I can have something free instead of paying, even if I may not need it now, I'll pick it up. As I make more, I've started to control the things I bring home. But I think that the problems with petty thieving is universal, not simply the Finns or Aussies. Great article, though I wonder what is your telltale sign someone is about to pinch? Subtle or laughably grandiose.
The eyes. They are looking around in a way that does not fit a shopping expedition. When you shop, you likely look at things in the store, when a shoplifter shops, they look at places that are not required for shopping too often. Of course with some, it is just the massively out of sync body language.
As you said about scarcity, for many here it has been trained through since the war times when scarcity was a very real problem. It hasn't been an issue in Finland or Australia (generally) for several decades.
There are of course many reasons for it but watching it here seemed different to Australia. In Oz it often looked like opportunity, need without means or occasionally thrill.
Here it would fall more thrill or some kind of twisted retribution, balancing the scales kind of thing. Many here express pessimistic views coupled with the world is unfair and I am a victim of circumstance. Everyone knows their entitlements and will take the maximum available regardless of need. In a socially orientated state, that can be quite a lot and when you are pushing for maximum for what is rightfully yours, the line to what is not yours becomes very thin.
Of course, this is all observational and very open for discussion and interpretation but I have been watching fairly attentively for a while now. Still, my skills are far from brilliant so I will allow a fair margin of error.
The retribution is an interesting idea if never really conceived; revenge against a society or its values that's in contrast with ones desires or needs and an act of vandalism so petty and yet prelevent it actually does put a serious dent in businesses.
Thank you for taking time to respond to my queries, human nature fascinates me and I've never dealt much in the retail sector, but as a waiter I remember the people who started getting very fidgety before the bill came.
Fascinating observations and good catch on your part. I worked a retail department store job on the low end watch & jewelry counter and was instructed not to personally confront the thieves, but to ring store security. Sometimes, they were captured, others the store cameras caught and the thief brought to trial. I served on on such trial for the same store for jury duty. A man came in the store & lifted around 20 Ubu sweatshirts (expensive name). He was given his sentence as he snoozed on the witness stand. Crimes of shoplifting are prevalent in the USA. Erie, Pennsylvania is a poorer city, so perhaps it's a factor, but morals & ethics factor in, for sure. Thank you for sharing.
Something for nothing is always an attractive offer and for some, the jail time or record is not classified as a major issue perhaps.
I have never been on jury duty, what is it like?
It is something that is required of the US government... And you can be called into jury duty at any time. Employers have to give you the time off and some pay you something like $12 a day LOL... A jury of 12 I believe is selected by prosecution & defense lawyers. Some trials can become very involved... This particular one was only one day. It is a very interesting process. After all the evidence is presented the jury is sequestered and comes to a decision. There is a head juror that will announce the decision of the jury and once it is made the judge then pronounces a sentence..
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