Back in the dark ages when I policed, we transported shoplifters for merchants and processed them into the system while the merchant obtained the warrant. It was a misdemeanor committed out of our presence, so we basically executed the warrant and put them in jail. We didn't go to court unless we'd added an assault charge, as in when we had to fight to get the handcuffs on or something similar.
Some merchants always prosecuted shoplifters, but we found that often the smaller, more local stores would be less inclined to go that route. And we were not excited about arresting someone who was clearly hungry with stealing food. Many times we could talk the merchant into not prosecuting if the food was paid for and the person promised never to come back. We did this out of our own pockets. In one instance I remember a young mother stealing cereal and milk for her kids to eat breakfast. She was completely broke and had nothing to feed her kids. Officer bought her some bread and sandwich stuff, too. She was lucky because the merchant preferred the money to having to deal with court.
In the case of hungry children, our chief didn't really give a damn about what the merchant thought. He would have us pick the kid up, make sure he or she was fed and hand them over to the juvenile division so they could figure out how to make sure the kid was off the streets and safe. He'd tell us to tell the merchant if they didn't like it to call him.
This might sound like I'm trying to paint us all as St. Francis, but we also had our fair share of rule sticklers. Most of us, though, we more inclined to use officer discretion when it came to things like just being hungry. And, honestly, it was easier and less paperwork to feed someone than to haul them in.
Despite the bad press police get, you'd be hard-pressed not to find a cop that hasn't helped someone out because it was the right thing to do. Most public service employees are that way: cops, firefighters, probation and parole officers, social workers, teachers. Feeding a kid on the streets was kind of a no-brainer and I've seen acts of spectacular kindness on a routine basis by people in all of those professions.
So, if your story demands a kid steal food, but not end up with a record, it was entirely possible for that to happen with my department, which wasn't rinky-dink by any means. We were encouraged to think of what best-served society in the long run.
Jim Clark-Dawe speaks to those who ended up charged in the system, but a lot of kids never ended up in the system because they weren't charged, at least in my jurisdiction.
