Elderly Shoplifter: What Would You Do?

Jan. 14, 2011 — -- Crime among the elderly is on the rise. Some statistics suggest that a geriatric crime wave could be underway. What's certain is that more senior citizens than ever are committing non-violent offenses like shoplifting.

So, "What Would You Do" producers wondered how witnesses would react when they see an elderly shoplifter. Would they be sympathetic to an elderly man or woman, both old enough to be grandparents, caught shoplifting?

We set up our hidden cameras in a family-owned supermarket in Burlington, N.J., outside of Philadelphia. Shoppers come to either load up for the week or just pick up a few items. Most shoppers are looking for the best bargain, but there is one elderly shopper who isn't just searching for the best deal -- he is going for a five-finger discount, hiding products under his raincoat. He is an actor hired by "What Would You Do." Throughout the day at the supermarket "WWYD" receives a variety of reactions to the actor's attempted theft.

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At first, most customers don't seem to notice our elderly shoplifter. They are focused on comparing prices and hunting down items. Then shopper Gus Piccotti passes by our shoplifter, and it turns out he is doing a little acting himself. He tells us he'd seen everything our actor was doing, but pretended not to. He knows it is wrong not to report the elderly shoplifter but he felt sorry for the man who is evidently down on his luck. "I didn't want to be a snitch," Gus says.