Money was stolen from a cashpoint at Asda in Caerphilly town after it was left at the machine by mistake.
The theft happened at the store on Pontygwindy Road at around 3.30pm on March 10.
Gwent Police are asking the woman pictured to help with their enquiries.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 quoting log number 290 10/03/15 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
This case will raise divided opinion. How many of us have come across a find in the street and blessed our good fortune?
As the law states: you are only guilty of theft if you appropriate the property of another. However, if someone has abandoned it, the property is yours. Why would you go to a cash point and leave the money. Reckless abandonment one could argue.
The saying “finders keepers, losers weepers” is not entirely correct either; a more legally accurate adage might be the rather less succinct “finders may become keepers if they try to find the owner, but losers still have the best claim unless they have abandoned the item”.
Ideally, the person concerned could have contacted the bank and kept a clear conscience. Playing devil’s advocate, was the money left behind? Who’s to know?
The fact that police time and resources are absorbed in this case is surprising, when there are many more serious cases to be resolved.
I dont follow your preamble, but, I do agree with your last paragraph.
I do not understand why, when there appears to be no `victim`, the police can become involved at all, but, it maybe in this case case there is a victim, (but who is not being identified for the purposes of this article,), other than the bank, ( who abandone customers in most cases of theft by cyber crimes from bank accounts) and in such cases the police WILL NOT BECOME INVOLVED.
This case will raise divided opinion. How many of us have come across a find in the street and blessed our good fortune?
As the law states: you are only guilty of theft if you appropriate the property of another. However, if someone has abandoned it, the property is yours. Why would you go to a cash point and leave the money. Reckless abandonment one could argue.
The saying “finders keepers, losers weepers” is not entirely correct either; a more legally accurate adage might be the rather less succinct “finders may become keepers if they try to find the owner, but losers still have the best claim unless they have abandoned the item”.
Ideally, the person concerned could have contacted the bank and kept a clear conscience. Playing devil’s advocate, was the money left behind? Who’s to know?
The fact that police time and resources are absorbed in this case is surprising, when there are many more serious cases to be resolved.
I dont follow your preamble, but, I do agree with your last paragraph.
I do not understand why, when there appears to be no `victim`, the police can become involved at all, but, it maybe in this case case there is a victim, (but who is not being identified for the purposes of this article,), other than the bank, ( who abandone customers in most cases of theft by cyber crimes from bank accounts) and in such cases the police WILL NOT BECOME INVOLVED.
You could always consult your moral compass and hand it in to the store/police station with your name and address for a reward or a claim on the money if not claimed by it’s owners. These things can be traced by an ATM techie so it is viable. Also worth remembering that rewards are not always financial. Like for instance when someone questions you what would you do in a hypothetical scenario similar to this one. You can answer with confidence rather than blushing and changing the subject.
Let’s bring this back to the real world:
1. Handing it to the store – the store assistant will either keep the money or put it in the till. The store assistant will then say “no” when someone comes in asking to see if anything has been handed in. Assuming the initial store assistant put it aside, when there is a shift change the new assistant could steal the money and lie to the person asking, and lie to their colleague if ever questioned. No one will know what happened and the store or a person will be £20 better off.
You could always consult your moral compass and hand it in to the store/police station with your name and address for a reward or a claim on the money if not claimed by it’s owners. These things can be traced by an ATM techie so it is viable. Also worth remembering that rewards are not always financial. Like for instance when someone questions you what would you do in a hypothetical scenario similar to this one. You can answer with confidence rather than blushing and changing the subject.
Let’s bring this back to the real world:
1. Handing it to the store – the store assistant will either keep the money or put it in the till. The store assistant will then say “no” when someone comes in asking to see if anything has been handed in. Assuming the initial store assistant put it aside, when there is a shift change the new assistant could steal the money and lie to the person asking, and lie to their colleague if ever questioned. No one will know what happened and the store or a person will be £20 better off.
Then hand it to the police and ask for a log number if you don’t trust the store as there is always an alternative in the “Real world” Ms Smythe. Even if it does’nt get back to the owner you still get to inhabit the moral high ground.
Yes, I agree, the shop does not own the cash machines so handing money to them is futile. I have found money in purses and wallets before now and have handed it in to the police. In all cases the person who lost it has recovered their money.
In this case it is the person who drew money that has lost out, not the store, nor the bank, because the bank is not liable for money legitimately drawn from an ATM but not taken by the person who made the transaction.
As I said in my original post “hand it to the store/police”. If you don’t think it’s a good idea to hand it to the store as you don’t trust them, then there are other alternatives. To revert to the ” if I don’t steal it then someone else will” justification is just as bad as intending to steal it in the first place. You haven’t got to to have it, it does belong to someone else. I bought a bike when I was a teenager that I knew to be stolen goods. I went everywhere on this bike until I had it stolen from me. I then realised what the original owner who paid 8 times what I paid had felt like when stolen from them and have checked my moral compass ever since. Might be an idea for this woman to do the same as it’s never to late.
Then hand it to the police and ask for a log number if you don’t trust the store as there is always an alternative in the “Real world” Ms Smythe. Even if it does’nt get back to the owner you still get to inhabit the moral high ground.
Yes, I agree, the shop does not own the cash machines so handing money to them is futile. I have found money in purses and wallets before now and have handed it in to the police. In all cases the person who lost it has recovered their money.
In this case it is the person who drew money that has lost out, not the store, nor the bank, because the bank is not liable for money legitimately drawn from an ATM but not taken by the person who made the transaction.
As I said in my original post “hand it to the store/police”. If you don’t think it’s a good idea to hand it to the store as you don’t trust them, then there are other alternatives. To revert to the ” if I don’t steal it then someone else will” justification is just as bad as intending to steal it in the first place. You haven’t got to to have it, it does belong to someone else. I bought a bike when I was a teenager that I thought to be stolen goods. I went everywhere on this bike until I had it stolen from me. I then realised what the original owner who paid 8 times what I paid had felt like when stolen from them and have checked my moral compass ever since. Might be an idea for this woman to do the same as it’s never to late.