自助式盜竊

Bill,

I got bound over today by the magistrate, just as you predicted. Not sure if this is normal procedure for the DOJ, but I even got a letter in response from the chief prosecutor before my court date informing me of their decision. You must've heard this a thousand times by now, but I shan't waste the chance that they've given me. I can and will be a better person from now on and do everything I possibly can to ensure that I don't end up in the same position as I have been in the past month. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you one last time. Even if you think that all you did was offer words of comfort and (minor) advice, I assure you that it meant the world to me. A complete and utter stranger, who I had not even met in real life, took time out of his day to look over the draft of a letter, a request that came out of the blue and also kept in contact with me, offering me advice all the while and expecting nothing in return. All I can say now is that I won't let you down. Maybe this is where we part ways, and maybe we'll never talk to one another again. Just know that I will always remember the kindness that you have shown me and all others in similar situations, and hope that you will continue to offer help to those that made a mistake and ended up on the wrong side of the law. I don't know why you made the jump from being a prosecutor to helping those being prosecuted, but please, continue to do so. It might be a thankless job, one where those you help simply vanish after their cases are closed, but an important one nonetheless, and our society will suffer a great loss should you decide to stop. Thank you for your sacrifice and service.

XXX

前些時提及的大學生給我寫了上面這篇電郵, 我鬆了口氣, 好像是自己受到的寬待, 獲法外施恩的是自己一樣。他這件案纏擾了兩個月, 圓滿結束了, 也是他人生新的開始。我相信他會經此一役, 變成更好的、對社會更有貢獻的人。他這封信是對我的鼓勵, 不單是因為他申請成功, 而是他的悔悟。我手上還有幾宗, 大部份我都感受到他們犯錯後的煎熬。有位女生還未上庭已和我通了40篇電郵, 我像在做輔導工作, 我不想放棄任何一個犯了小錯的人獲得自新的機會, 陪伴他們走過爭取過程的每一步, 也希望分享到他們獲寬待那一刻的釋懷。

早幾天看到一篇Australian National University犯罪學家Dr Taylor對超市盜竊硏究的報導, 把店鋪盜竊的人稱為SWIPERS--seemingly well-intentioned patrons engaging in routine shoplifting (swipe這個字其中一個解釋為「偷」, 所以拼了swipers這字出來)。澳洲兩大超級市場Coles同Woolworth近年都設有自助購物的出納, 顧客自己掃描貨品的電腦條碼, 由頭到尾都不涉職員處理。問題來了。超市發覺紅蘿蔔的出售量比起存貨量還要多。理由好簡單, 蔬果類多數沒有預先包裝, 顧客選購時用膠袋裝好, 付款時自行過磅及輸入貨品種類, 有人會把貴價貨譬如車厘子及提子當作紅蘿蔔和洋葱來付款, 就等如以前沒有電腦條碼年代換轉價錢貼紙的做法(switch label)。有些人當初是無心之失搞錯了, 之後赫然發覺這種瞞天過海的方法十分容易, 所以便養成這種習慣了。當然, 不涉自行磅重及輸入種類的貨品, 便乘機少掃幾件。

Dr Taylor, who began her career trying to outsmart in-store security at UK grocery giant Tesco, said one of the biggest issues with self-scan was that otherwise honest customers seemed to regularly use it to underpay for groceries.

These shoppers often got their start in stealing by accidentally not scanning an item or scanning a grocery item for a cheaper item.

"But upon experiencing how easy it was they continued to steal regularly," Dr Taylor said.

"It has been suggested that perpetrators of this kind of discount theft would not ordinarily steal, would not consider shoplifting by any other modus operandi and do not necessarily even view their actions as theft.

"In fact behaviour such as the carrot trick is often referred to as cheating rather than stealing, a means of gamifying an otherwise mundane or pedestrian experience."

In fact behaviour such as the carrot trick is often referred to as cheating rather than stealing.

(4/8/2016 Sydney Morning Herald)

這位犯罪學家相信, 有三份一自助購物的超市顧客經常這樣偷竊。看來我還是少用這種自助購物機為妙, 正是瓜田李下, 容乜易被視作那三份一的人。我一般都會用信用卡而少用現金付款, 但買很少東西時未必會印單據(因為當你買少數量貨品時, 這些自助購物機會問你印不印單據), 有時只買一兩件我會不印, 為了環保嘛。從今之後要份外小心, 多做保障自己避受嫌疑的事好了。