It first happened in 2006 and was an innocent mistake — I walked out of a shop with something in my hand that I hadn’t bought. I’d paid for everything except a hair band for my ******** that I’d grabbed at the last minute and was still holding.
At that moment, I should have walked straight back inside, gone to the checkout and admitted what had happened. But in that moment of deliberation, as I stood on the pavement realising what I’d done, did I feel remorse? Not in the least.
Far worse, it actually gave me a buzz — an actual high to get something for nothing. I reasoned to myself I’d paid some of the way, after all. I wasn’t a proper criminal, I was just taking a bit extra to redress the ridiculous mark-up to which consumers are subjected.
And that, I’m afraid, was the beginning of my spiral into shoplifting.
