Credit crunch driving middle-class Brit teens to 'shoplift'

The London News.Net
Wednesday 26th December, 2007 (ANI)

London, Dec 26 : A financial crunch is driving middle-class British kids to shoplift expensive gifts denied to them by their parents, says a charity.

Crisis Counselling for Alleged Shoplifters (CCAS), which helps families of suspected shoplifters, said that it has been flooded with hundreds of calls from parents in recent times.

The charity hears from families when a teenager has been caught, but there has been a rise in calls from parents whose children return home with items they could not possibly afford to buy from their pocket.

The boys are falling for electronic goods while girls steal expensive cosmetics.

The major influences behind the behaviour are said to be - drink, drugs and peer pressure.

Harry Kauffer, the founder and chairman of the charity, said that the parents of such kids are devastated.

"The parents are distraught and devastated. They have told youngsters they cannot have the expensive presents they may have had in previous years and they know there is not enough pocket money to buy these things," the Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

"These are middle-class families. The parents are astounded. They are used to giving kids expensive presents but there is a big change going on. They have warned the children they cannot afford the same presents," he added.

Kauffer advised parents of children coming home with stolen items to parcel them up in the youngster's presence, make them write an anonymous "sorry" on a note and then send them back to the shop, taking the cost of postage out of pocket money.

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