Cretins and cops ~ update

You might recall a few weeks back my post regarding the shoplifter incident, the one in which some half-wit cretin so blatantly stole a high value item from my place of work as to make it nigh on impossible to ignore and do nothing about.

What happened next got lost among my upset at Poppy's death just a few days later but a progression has bought the matter to the fore again.

What transpired immediately after the incident left me almost spitting with annoyance. Bear in mind here that I am familiar with this territory and whilst it is a fair number of years since I was involved in the pursuit of shoplifters on a reasonably regular basis it is not something one forgets.

So, having almost crippled my unfit self in my attempts at catching the aforementioned half-wit and having spent over an hour giving a statement, one might expect perhaps just a small thank you from one's boss. One would be very wrong!

What I actually got was told off, not a hint of gratitude in sight. A fanfare I didn't want nor expect but a 'cheers bud' would have been kind of appreciated.

Company policy it seems goes along the lines of 'don't give chase, we don't want your risking being injured'. That translates directly to 'we don't really give a damn about you the individual, we just don't want you injured and suing us'. Now I understand that and I would never advocate someone who knows nothing about that particular situation giving chase, or doing anything other than alerting a member of management, but I am familiar with the situation and ultimately, if we all sat by and just watched when things get a little 'iffy' instead of doing something about it, would that not result in anarchy?

For me it's simple, the cretin did wrong, I could do something about it, so I did and I have to say, I'm sorry but regardless of company policy, if I was presented with the same scenario tomorrow I would take the same action. Yes the company owns a part of me for the time I am there but they don't own all of me. Hell, I'm hardly likely to take unnecessary risk am I, strangely I kinda like my life!

Anyways, my annoyance at the lack of anything positive being said about the incident subsided until yesterday when the police asked me to attend an identity parade one day next week, that's fine said I, I'll be there....and on informing my employer there was still an apparent and decided lack of support.

There is a part of me that wonders why I bother, I know really why I bother, the same reasons as I took action in the first place. I'm happy to use my own time to attend the I.D. parade, and if it ends in court I'm happy to do that in my own time and at my own expense but still, a little tiny thank you wouldn't go amiss and the initial 'telling off' still rankles!!!