The manager of a petrol station in Enschede is so fed up of petrol thieves that he has taken to publicly naming and shaming them on a Facebook page, reported RTV Oost.

In addition to posting their details online, the manager of Tankstation De Laares has embraced his inner private eye and tracked the thieves down to their homes. The manager told RTV that his approach has been successful so far.

While these novel methods have gotten the manager his money back on several occasions, some thieves have objected to their faces being broadcast on Facebook. They demanded that the photos be removed for privacy reasons.

The latest culprit on the station’s Facebook page is shown stealing only €4.17 worth of petrol before making a not-so-speedy getaway on his moped.

Outside the law

The manager declined to comment further, as he fears that an increase in publicity may encourage would-be thieves to take up the challenge and try their luck at his station.

‘What we do is not explicitly against the law,’ a member of staff at the station told DutchNews. ‘Catching them is the job of the police, but the police don’t do anything about it and that makes things difficult for us.’

Police warning

‘You can’t say whether someone is a crook or whether they just made a mistake. That is a matter for the police and justice department to decide’ said police spokesperson Frank Brouwer.

‘It’s not forbidden, but when you put someone’s picture on social media you damage them and violate their privacy’ he said. ‘And going to someone’s door for money is not smart. People shouldn’t take that risk.’

The BETAM trade association too has warned other station owners against taking a similar approach, warning that knocking on thieves’ doors could lead to unwanted confrontation.

A wider phenomenon

It’s not just gas station owners who have been embracing social-media vigilante justice. A woman in Gelderland used Facebook to track the man who stole €350 from her purse in December.

The thief relented and agreed to pay back the money after the woman threatened to publicly post security camera footage of the robbery.

‘You are publicly shaming someone,’ she said. ‘But at the same time, I did give him the chance to come forward. And he should keep his paws off my property.’