Shoplifting - Lecture notes 4-5 PDF

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Shoplifting...

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Shoplifting is a common form of theft that involves taking goods from stores. The Retail Council of Canada estimates that inventory shrinkage costs businesses several billions of dollars a year. The shoplifter is usually thought of as trying to snatch goods—jewellery, clothes, DVDs, appliances— when store personnel are otherwise occupied. The socalled five-finger discount is an extremely common form of crime. Retail security measures add to the already high cost of this crime, which is passed on to the consumer. Shoplifting incidents have increased dramatically in the past 20 years, and retailers now expect an annual increase of 10 percent to 15 percent. Some studies estimate that about one in every nine shoppers steals from department stores. Discount stores have a minimum of sales help and depend on highly visible merchandise displays to attract purchasers, which make the merchandise vulnerable to shoplifters. The Shoplifter. Only 10 percent of all shoplifters are professionals who derive the majority of their income from shoplifting. Sometimes called boosters, or heels, professional shoplifters resell stolen merchandise to pawnshops or fences, usually at half the original price. The majority of shoplifters are amateurs. These snitches are usually respectable persons who do not conceive of themselves as thieves but

are systematic shoplifters who steal merchandise for their own use. They are not simply seized by an uncontrollable urge to take something that attracts them; they come equipped to steal. Usually, they have never been apprehended before, lack criminal experience, and lack association with a criminal subculture. Drifting into criminality because of situational inducements, they are unlikely to think of themselves as criminals. Shoplifters are likely to reform if apprehended because they are not part of a criminal subculture. Getting arrested has a traumatic effect, and they will likely not risk a second offence. Apprehension sometimes has a labelling effect that can result in repeated offending, but youths who are apprehended for shoplifting are usually deterred by the official processing of their offence. A first offence is often the only offence.

However, in addition to the customer who shoplifts are employees who are responsible for a significant percentage of company theft. Thinking the employer owes them something, they steal inventory or from the till. For example, undercover investigators are often hired to see whether bar- tenders are stealing....