Stealing Food Is Not A Crime In Italy - Is That True?

explorer

explorer

Community Member
Dec 19, 2016
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I was going through some online articles where it is said that stealing food items is not considered as a crime in Italy. You can steal food if you are very hungry and lack money.

I personally feel that this is not a right thing to do. The rule should be like that if somebody is hungry and doesn't have money to buy food he/she should approach the shop owner for food. In each and every shop there should be a separate provision for it. Making something like stealing legal can have adverse after effects. There are people who take advantage of such loopholes in law.
 
Stealing is always a crime I believe, I mean, business owners selling food should not be responsible for people who don't have what to eat. Where have you accessed that information @explorer?
 
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explorer said:
I was going through some online articles where it is said that stealing food items is not considered as a crime in Italy. You can steal food if you are very hungry and lack money.

I personally feel that this is not a right thing to do. The rule should be like that if somebody is hungry and doesn't have money to buy food he/she should approach the shop owner for food. In each and every shop there should be a separate provision for it. Making something like stealing legal can have adverse after effects. There are people who take advantage of such loopholes in law.
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I do not believe stealing is okay at anytime. I can't believe they don't change the rules like you stated @explorer that they should ask the shop owner for something to eat, then they could be provided with a hot meal or the provisions they need.:)
 
to7update said:
Stealing is always a crime I believe, I mean, business owners selling food should not be responsible for people who don't have what to eat. Where have you accessed that information @explorer?
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It was in the the news a few months back when somebody stole cheese and sausage from a supermarket in Italy. The person who committed this was extremely hungry and in light of this incident the Honorable Court released an ordinance that stealing food is not a crime if it is done to beat hunger. I think it's OK to be humane at times but a court should not encourage such culture. As I said earlier all restaurants and hotels should have a daily provision to meet emergencies like this and this will reduce the tendency for stealing food. I found a link on net which is shared below :

Italian court rules food theft 'not a crime' if hungry - BBC News
 
It is a crime, in the case stated it didn't say it wasn't a crime, but the circumstances were mitigating. I do feel that it was a dangerous rule to set, though and could be open to abuse.

The case would never have come to light if the store had not decided to prosecute, but the thief in question was a Ukranian migrant. The actual ruling is stealing small amounts of food in desperation are not considered a crime, rather than stealing food itself.

There are charities and food banks that people can use instead of stealing, and while some might be too proud to do that, I feel that they must accept charity rather than expect others to allow them to take things at will.
 
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