Florida cop decides not to arrest shoplifter

[Kevin Hamilton]

instead pays for the food she was stealing and changes her life:
www.cnn.com/2013/10/22/us/cop-helps-shoplifter/

A single mom down on her luck was caught shoplifting at a Miami supermarket, but she didn't get hauled off to jail.

Instead, the officer who responded to the call from the Publix supermarket last month did something that brought the suspect to tears.

Jessica Robles told CNN affiliate WSVN she was desperate and had no money to pay for groceries for her daughter and two young sons. According to Miami-Dade Police, Robles walked out of the store in late September with a cart carrying $300 worth of groceries that she didn't pay for.

When Officer Vicki Thomas asked Robles why she did it, the young mother said her children were hungry.

Thomas looked at Robles' criminal history and didn't find any major charges, WSVN reported. Instead of being taken into custody, Robles was issued a notice to appear in court and charged with a misdemeanor.

When the officer asked if she had food at home, Robles said, "I looked at her in her face, and I told her, 'Not at all.'" Thomas decided -- in addition to telling Robles about food banks, churches and other places she could get food -- she was going to help Robles and her family.

"I made the decision to buy her some groceries because arresting her wasn't going to solve the problem with her children being hungry," she said.

Thomas went back inside Publix and purchased $100 worth of groceries for the family. She told CNN on Tuesday she used her debit card.

"I have done similar things before, and the people I work with have also done similar things," said Thomas, a 23-year police veteran.

Seeing Robles' sons rummaging through the bags was more than reward enough for her act of generosity, Thomas told WSVN.

Lil update to that story too:






And in before the "surprised this was Florida" jokes.

Just a great story.

[xCompackx]

That's awesome. Just goes to show how there's still plenty of great people in the world and also that the law isn't always black and white.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

I hope this isn't one of those stories that turns out to be either BS or widely exaggerated because it's a genuinely good and important one. Doing this is much more constructive than digging her hole deeper by arresting her and making her pay a fine and/or sending her to jail. If someone turns to crime because they have no money, making them pay more money they don't have isn't going to solve the problem and neither is sending them to jail where they'll have to deal with more hardened criminals.

Honestly, I believe for the most part prison and fines are widely inappropriate ways to deal with crime and indeed helping people improve themselves and find legitimate ways to make a living is much more helpful for everyone. Plus that way you also lessen the problem of prison overpopulation AND that relieves pressure on taxpayers.

It's good that it's a cop who did this too as it can encourage other law makers and enforcers to support this type of methods and hopefully lead to more constructive attitudes when it comes to preventing crimes.

[Reflecto]

Dec 20, 2015 13:44:18 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

I hope this isn't one of those stories that turns out to be either BS or widely exaggerated because it's a genuinely good and important one. Doing this is much more constructive than digging her hole deeper by arresting her and making her pay a fine and/or sending her to jail. If someone turns to crime because they have no money, making them pay more money they don't have isn't going to solve the problem and neither is sending them to jail where they'll have to deal with more hardened criminals.

Honestly, I believe for the most part prison and fines are widely inappropriate ways to deal with crime and indeed helping people improve themselves and find legitimate ways to make a living is much more helpful for everyone. Plus that way you also lessen the problem of prison overpopulation AND that relieves pressure on taxpayers.

It's good that it's a cop who did this too as it can encourage other law makers and enforcers to support this type of methods and hopefully lead to more constructive attitudes when it comes to preventing crimes.

Even then, though, the problem with some laws is that sometimes the letter of the law makes people have to deal with prison to get to the spirit of improving themselves and their family's life- this was the '60s-'70s, but my father knew a guy who was sent to jail literally for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family.

No, really. That was actually the crime he had.

The whole point was added- yes, the guy could have gotten off for the charge, but willingly chose jail time and refused parole when it was offered, solely because due to the laws at the time- if he was out of jail and couldn't work, his family was stuck and unable to get any help whatsoever...but if he was in prison, then his wife was able to apply for food stamps and welfare and actually help the family (again, at the time the story happened).

[2 time pro bowler Fred Dryer]

Dec 20, 2015 14:59:10 GMT -5 Reflecto said:

Dec 20, 2015 13:44:18 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

I hope this isn't one of those stories that turns out to be either BS or widely exaggerated because it's a genuinely good and important one. Doing this is much more constructive than digging her hole deeper by arresting her and making her pay a fine and/or sending her to jail. If someone turns to crime because they have no money, making them pay more money they don't have isn't going to solve the problem and neither is sending them to jail where they'll have to deal with more hardened criminals.

Honestly, I believe for the most part prison and fines are widely inappropriate ways to deal with crime and indeed helping people improve themselves and find legitimate ways to make a living is much more helpful for everyone. Plus that way you also lessen the problem of prison overpopulation AND that relieves pressure on taxpayers.

It's good that it's a cop who did this too as it can encourage other law makers and enforcers to support this type of methods and hopefully lead to more constructive attitudes when it comes to preventing crimes.

Even then, though, the problem with some laws is that sometimes the letter of the law makes people have to deal with prison to get to the spirit of improving themselves and their family's life- this was the '60s-'70s, but my father knew a guy who was sent to jail literally for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family.

No, really. That was actually the crime he had.

The whole point was added- yes, the guy could have gotten off for the charge, but willingly chose jail time and refused parole when it was offered, solely because due to the laws at the time- if he was out of jail and couldn't work, his family was stuck and unable to get any help whatsoever...but if he was in prison, then his wife was able to apply for food stamps and welfare and actually help the family (again, at the time the story happened).

Let me guess, the arresting officer was named Javert?

[Reflecto]

Dec 20, 2015 16:53:08 GMT -5 2 time pro bowler Fred Dryer said:

Dec 20, 2015 14:59:10 GMT -5 Reflecto said:

Even then, though, the problem with some laws is that sometimes the letter of the law makes people have to deal with prison to get to the spirit of improving themselves and their family's life- this was the '60s-'70s, but my father knew a guy who was sent to jail literally for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family.

No, really. That was actually the crime he had.

The whole point was added- yes, the guy could have gotten off for the charge, but willingly chose jail time and refused parole when it was offered, solely because due to the laws at the time- if he was out of jail and couldn't work, his family was stuck and unable to get any help whatsoever...but if he was in prison, then his wife was able to apply for food stamps and welfare and actually help the family (again, at the time the story happened).

Let me guess, the arresting officer was named Javert?

That's honestly the reason it shocked me when my dad told me the story- but again, that's basically the story. The whole thing did boil down to- according to the laws at the time there- you couldn't apply for government assistance if the man and woman were married, but if it was a single parent household you could apply for assistance...and it was counted if one parent was in prison. So, yeah.