Your rights
Ask yourself this
Is he shoplifting?
What you've said...
Talk to his brother without pushing him into doing anything and listen to his reasons for shoplifting and then think about what he says before jumping into things and losing control of the situation the decide from there whats the best action to follow.
i think that he should talk to his brother and say its not cool to shoplift
i think he should ask richard why he is shoplifting before he does anything else, because he might be getting bullied into it or something.
he should talk to his brother and explain to him that he knows what he saw and that if it does not stop he will tell his parents and if it then carries on he will report him to the police. the fact that he is being given a ultimatum may scare him into not doing it again.
talk to your brother it might that he is trying to impress his frends
Adviser feedback...
Hi Nick,
I'm sorry to hear that you have this problem at the moment and it's understandable you are worried. It is good that you understand shoplifting is against the law and what your brother is doing is wrong. I know that you have confronted your brother about this and although he has denied taking the DVD's, it might be a good idea if you actually try and talk to him about the consequences of him shoplifting.
You can explain to your brother that shoplifting in any form is theft and shops have the right to protect themselves against it. For example shops have the right to refuse you admission, ask you to leave or even call the police. From 14, you are responsible for your actions in criminal law just like an adult. So maybe try and emphasise that if the shop does decide to press charges, a criminal record would stay with him for a long time and could affect his chances of getting a good job in the future. So is it really worth it?
Maybe explain to your brother that you don't want to tell your parents, but you are worried that if he doesn't stop you might have to. Most shops have security guards and cameras and quite often DVD have electronic tags attached. Suggest just because he has got away with it so far it doesn't mean he will again.
If your brother does want some extra cash to buy more DVD's why not suggest he gets a part time job? As your brother is 16 he can work in lots of different places to earn money so he doesn't have to steal. Why not offer to help your brother look for a job in his area? You might also like to suggest your brother contacts Connexions Direct to talk confidentially to an advisor about this matter or get advice with looking for a job. We are open from 8am until 2am 7 days a week. You can either web chat or email us via our web site www.connexions-direct.com or phone us for free on 080800 13 2 19.
Nick's story
Nick is 15. He lives at home with his parents and has an older brother, Richard who's 16.
Nick and Richard both receive the same amount of pocket money from their parents every month, and they usually spend it on a new DVD each. Nick has noticed that recently, Richard seems to be getting a lot more DVDs than usual.
When they went to the supermarket, with their parents last week, Nick was convinced that he saw his brother put two DVDs in his bag without paying for them. He asked Richard about it but he denied it and said that Nick was imagining things. Nick knows what he saw, but doesn't want to get Richard in trouble. He doesn't want to tell his parents but knows that he needs to make sure that Richard doesn't do it again.
What should Nick do?
