Five finger discounts aren't just for unruly teenagers acting out. The most shoplifted item on the market right now is fresh meat, because the prices have been on the rise for the last few years, according to CBS New York.
"People steal stuff because they need it," said Joe Giacalone, a former NYPD detective. "And also, people steal stuff because of greed."
When you think of someone stealing meat you wouldn't think about the quality, but the most popular cuts of meat that are stolen are filet mignon and lamb chops.
After meat, the most popular items stolen from stores are razors, baby formula, cosmetics and alcohol, according to Business Insurance. Stores have been upgrading their anti-theft defenses by hiding security tags under the price label and have even gone as far as installing security tags inside the pad under the meat that soaks up the juices.
"Believe it or not, there's a street value to something like that [meat]," said Commander Dave Colglazier with the Auburn, Wash., police department. "We deal with shoplifting and a lot of times, and it's not uncommon, that they steal meat because it is an item of value. It's not uncommon that they put it down their pants or in their bag," reported My Northwest.
Some people even plan their meat heist as if it was a diamond heist. "We had a guy break in through an old ventilation hatch and he went straight to the meat cooler and stole everything he could get his hands on," said Sonja Noski, owner of Auburn's Grocery Outlet. "He took steaks, chicken, ground beef, anything that was in there he took. He also took frozen foods, and health and beauty products."
"They'll put it on an 8-year-old or a 6-year-old knowing that the police aren't going to arrest them," said Joe Giacalone, an NYPD detective.
Back in the 1970s there was an ample supply of cattle, so the prices would stay down and were affordable. However, the times are changing and with the hype of high protein diets such as the Atkins Diet, prices skyrocketed due to lack of supply and increase in demand. Cattle farms are going to sell less female cattle for meat products so that they can amplify the cattle population with more births. The idea would that with more cattle being birthed, the prices would decrease since the supply would be larger.
