This.
I understand, and please note this, I understand that thieving is a part of the wasteland life, but the way that it is implemented in this game is a GIANT drain on it.
If you steal from someone, you just got their hard earned items with a skill that doesn't take that long to level (Don't question this, I have done a thief)
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In my experience most people who are grieving aren't actually thieves. They just try to scare you away from the trader to trade themselves, or they just like to annoy the hell out of you. Don't blame thieves for that.
Level 1 bursters and their friends can take your items with just as much ease and without any consequences either. It doesn't even require leveling. Should we ban level 1 accounts with SMGs from towns or should we make it impossible to use bursting in guarded towns?
And as stated, in guarded cities like NCR and Junktown and the like, you cannot even pull out your gun to attack them, and stop them. They can just walk around grabbing peoples items with NOTHING to stop them. NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!
As stated by me, I have successfully bursted a thief in Junktown (inner town) without getting killed.
You need to be very quick. Having your gun in the 2nd slot, moving it to the active slot, burst, move the gun to the 2nd slot.
I'm sure it's possible in some NCR areas too.
As for NCR inner city, there's actually a simple solution:
Every failed thief gets arrested automatically and all his items are seized by the guards.
The thief gets jailed for a few real-time hours, which could depend on his rep with the town.
If there's a way to determine from whom the items were stolen (up to devs to say if that's possible to implement), victims can get them back for a fee.
The thief can get undeclared items back for a fee as well once his jail time is over.
The fee should be a percentage of the value of the items.
I am not saying GET RID of stealing, because then the thieves would be all wtf? about it.
This system MAKES SENSE. I have pointed out why aswell, if I am trading with someone, bartering my items. I am going to be paying an extreme amount of attention to my items, and the same when it is my inventory.
This is what I have to say about it.
You're also paying an extreme amount of attention to the merchant's inventory instead of your own's.