Because walking backwards while staring into the security cameras with huge eyes and a look of "I'm totally not doing anything suspucious", is so much better... xD
A smart man would have a diploma and a good job so he wouldn't need to steal. Unless he was very unlucky and had to quit school to support his mother, since his dad left when he was only 12 years old. Things only got worse when he found out that his little sister had a serious illness. He had 2 part time jobs and was underpaid since he was to young and uneducated for a serious job. Things got worse when when a thief broke into their house and stole the little they had. His mother became depressed after dad left, and it wasn't long before she had a gambling addiction. The little money he made would disappear every now and then by his own mother's hands. She lost grip on reality, and the government came in. He and his feeble sister were put in a orphanage and separated from each other. Life seemed hard for our little guy, but he was able to get a scholarship since he was smart enough. At the age of 16 he graduated from high school, and went to look for his younger sister. He would-
The VCR connected to the cameras doesn't care what happens on screen. It'll just do what it always does, record everything because there never is a camera supervisor.