Those who may be shoplifting at Target and thinking they’re getting away with it—it’s very likely they are not. As discussed in a fascinating Reddit thread about Target’s top-rated forensic lab, investigators may be studying the crime, even if they don’t set out to catch the suspects on the spot.

Reddit user StiggyPop found this out firsthand. In Reddit’s Today I Learned community, he wrote about his former life as a shoplifter. Upvoted has verified the legitimacy of his story.

He starts by talking about how he would steal things.

“So, at a different point in my life I had a serious drug problem and my main source of income was shoplifting Blu-Rays which I would fence to a used game store. During a ~4 month period I stole about $15k worth of Blu-Rays from a single Target location. “There was no magic to it, I’d walk in and fill a hand basket with new releases and walk out the door. I’d run to my car and drive away, and towards the end I would basically fast-walk through the parking lot, they will not chase you out of the store. “I didn’t take any measures to disguise myself, and I drove away in a car which was registered in my name—albeit to the address I had during college in a different state.”

He mentions that the store he’d sell the stolen items to would make specific requests, and give him about a third of the sticker price in cash. “Like, they’d ask me to get them PS3 controllers, or Family Guy box sets,” he writes. “I think they went off of what sold well on eBay.”

After doing this for months, StiggyPop was finally stopped on his way out of the store.

“I left my apartment and drove about 25 minutes to my usual Target. I went in early, it was around 8:30 AM. I followed my usual method of filling a basket and went to leave the store. I got through the first set of doors and as I went to leave the terminal doors two guys stepped in and addressed me by name and told me to stop. I made a half-hearted struggle and just gave up. “These were two guys from the higher level of Target loss prevention. Not only did they know my name, they knew my apartment and started asking me specific questions about who else lived there and who drives the silver car that was there that morning. “They had actually watched my apartment that day and followed me from my doorstep to the store in order to catch me in the act. They also knew the store I sold the discs, too, and asked me some general questions about that process.”

Target takes shoplifting very seriously. The company has a top-rated forensic services laboratory in Las Vegas and Minneapolis, where a forensic team helps solve organized retail crimes committed at Target stores through video and image analysis, latent fingerprint and computer forensics, according to its website.

It’s unique—the lab is among 390 crime labs accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), and the team of crime-stopping scientists also “tackles felony, homicide and special circumstances cases for law bureaus that need the extra manpower, facilities, resources and time—free of charge.”

Organized retail crime, which often refers to theft groups but can also apply loosely to thieves and resellers conspiring to steal and sell retail merchandise, costs the retail industry approximately $30 billion each year.

According to Reddit user droidpoo, who wrote that he once worked for Target in the electronics section, managers like to wait until a shoplifter steals a certain dollar amount so that the punishment would be a felony rather than a misdemeanor. The specific amount depends on state law. In California, for instance, a felony charge can apply if the stolen merchandise has a value of $400 or more. Target did not confirm whether this is their practice.

Back to StiggyPop’s story. After he was caught, something interesting happened.

“I want to say that they gave me something I did not see much of during that time period—respect. They recognized that I did this to feed an addiction, not because I was a worthless person. “I showed them respect and they were really very good to me. They actually asked me what I did with the hand baskets. I told them I threw them out of my car window and the guy said, ‘Aw man, those are like $60 a piece!’ and we shared a laugh. “It was the last time I stole from Target, though I wish I could say the last time I stole in general. No other retailer made this kind of effort. Target was really invested in finding me. I was processed for grand larceny and afforded a continuance from the state. After a year of good behavior, the incident was off my record.”

StiggyPop added that years later, after he had been able to hold down a job and become “a contributing member of society again,” he was informed that he had seven outstanding larceny warrants for his days of shoplifting.

“I got a packet in the mail that was inches thick, with some wonderful pictures of me, my car, and my old apartment,” he wrote.

But with the help of a lawyer, he was able to show the state that he had turned his life around, and the charges were dropped.

“I still have the packet of information from Target, and occasionally I look at the pictures and remind myself where I came from,” he described. “I can’t even imagine shoplifting now. It’s really surreal.”

Coming out of this experience without serious marks on his record was his “greatest break in life,” he now says. He has a wife, a home and a great career.

“Never forget that people can change,” he says. “Including you, or your friends or family members who might be struggling. … Amazing what is possible when your mind is clear.”

He notes that he does still shop at Target occasionally, but he feels very uncomfortable when he’s there.

“I feel watched (and may very well be) but I also start to sweat and my heart rate increases and it’s still a flood of memories,” he says. “Every time I go in there, I think about the loss prevention guys and would like to see them again and show them how I am doing.”