Rule Britannia: Inside Britain’s Shoplifting Epidemic

Shoplifting in the UK has exploded to record levels, a crime wave fuelled not by master criminals but by addicts, single mums and ordinary people pushed to the edge. With the cost of living biting hard, stealing has become less about greed—and more about survival. One man who knows this world better than most is Cullan Mais. Once one of Britain’s most prolific shoplifters, he stole an estimated £3 million worth of goods over a decade to feed his addiction, serving multiple prison sentences along the way. Today, after turning his life around, Cullan is a popular content creator and recovery advocate. In this episode of Rule Britannia, filmmaker Will Fairman follows Cullan back to the Welsh streets where he grew up to expose the hidden ecosystem of shoplifting—far removed from organised gangs, and closer to home than many might think. What unfolds is the iceberg beneath the statistics: a raw, unfiltered look at theft driven by addiction, poverty and systemic failure. #VICE #shoplifting #shoplifters Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE About VICE: The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE. Connect with VICE: Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice Follow VICE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vice Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/vice Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vice?lang=en The VICE YouTube Network: VICE: https://www.youtube.com/VICE MUNCHIES: https://www.youtube.com/MUNCHIES VICE News: https://www.youtube.com/VICENews VICE TV: https://www.youtube.com/@VICE-TV/featured Noisey: https://www.youtube.com/Noisey Motherboard: https://www.youtube.com/MotherboardTV https://www.youtube.com/@VICESports Waypoint: https://www.youtube.com/WaypointVICE