Everyone knows that stealing has consequences, right? There’s no doubt that thieves will get caught and consequences will be painful. And even more painful is when teens decide to steal, get arrested and just like that, they ruin their own future with one dumb decision.

Unfortunately, this Reddit user’s neighbors’ kid who decided to steal his expensive package and get caught on surveillance footage had to learn about this the hard way.

More info: Reddit

If a person gives you a chance to fix your mistake, it’s better to do so

Image credits: Kindel Media (not the actual photo)

This person’s $2200 item got stolen, camera footage showed that their neighbor’s kid was actually the thief

Image credits: ali Shot80 (not the actual photo)

They tried to speak with his parents, who completely ignored it, and in order to get a replacement they had to fill out a police report

Image credits: Born-Department3769

3 months later, the teen was arrested and the person is being shamed by the community and his parents for ruining the future of a child, as he’s going to lose his scholarships

A few days ago, one Reddit user took their story online asking for a community verdict on whether they were in the wrong for reporting a high school student for stealing their item, resulting in him losing out on a scholarship. The post caught a lot of folks’ attention and received over 12K upvotes and 6.6K comments.

The original poster (OP) starts their story by sharing that they ordered a monitor for their work that cost $2200, but it was stolen. OP adds that they have camera footage where it’s visible that their neighbor’s 17 Y.O. son took the package. They kindly went to the neighbor to bring it up, thinking maybe the kid took it by mistake. However, his parents ignored and denied everything.

Now, OP notes that after contacting the seller, they found out that the only way to get a replacement was by getting a police report. After reporting it, 3 months later, police arrested and charged the teen. However, the community and parents are telling OP that they ruined the kid’s future for $2200 dollars and now they’re starting to feel bad.

Well, a Reddit user backed the author up and assured them that the teen and his parents were actually the ones who ruined his life. “So does the community just expects OP to eat the 2200 dollars? If the community cares that much they could have chipped in to make it right,” one user wrote. “You gave the parents a chance to not have this pursued with the police. They declined. You made the right decision. This 17-year-old is the one that screwed up his/her life by their actions, not you,” another added.

Image credits: Darya Sannikova (not the actual photo)

“Although I share the parents’ and others’ concerns that the police report will be a problem for the teenager going forward, I can’t condemn the victim of the theft for what they did,” shared with Bored Panda Dona Matthews, PhD, who is a developmental psychologist and an author. “They’d given the parents an opportunity to rectify the situation without police involvement.”

Dona adds that in her view, the parents are the ones who are at fault in this situation for not taking it up with their child and making things right with the victim. “They had a chance, and they blew it, so IMO they’re at fault here for the victim feeling they had to go to the police,” she emphasized.

Speaking about potential long-term consequences the involvement of law enforcement might have on the teenager’s life, she shared that the teen must be held accountable for their actions. She pointed out that this is almost certainly not their first theft and that it should have happened much earlier, but it’s better that it happens now than later.

“Given that the parents didn’t seem to think it was their responsibility to help the child learn about the consequences of stealing, the teen is going to have to learn about this from the outside world, aka the police,” Donna noted.

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

People steal for different reasons. Of course, it also depends on age – kids steal because they don’t really know that you can’t do that or if they know that it’s bad, well, maybe consequences are not clear. Adults, probably, most of the time steal as they are desperate for money or are in debt to somebody, but why do teenagers do so?

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According to Newport Academy, teenagers who shoplift tend to be more complex, and parents need to be aware of this because the triggers are frequently ingrained in adolescent psychology. 

So among the most frequent causes of child theft are peer pressure—in order to show their buddies that they’re “cool,” teenagers frequently steal from stores—inadequate impulse control, or to even challenge authority—teens are likely to rebel against their parents and social norms at this phase of self-discovery.

The Burlingame B reports that between 10 and 11 percent of Americans have stolen something at some point in their lives. Food, drink, or clothing are among the stolen valuables.

Furthermore, popular teen retail firms including Urban Outfitters, Pacsun, and Brandy Melville have suffered significant financial losses as a result of stealing in recent years. The Los Angeles Times reports that $700,000 is lost to theft for every $1 billion in sales at a retail establishment.

But what do you guys think about this whole situation? Did this person really ruin the teen’s life, or could his parents have done something? Share your thoughts below!

The author provided more information about the whole situation and Redditors backed them up

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