Shoplifting

Definition: Usually small-scale theft of items from retail establishments by consumers

Significance: Although individual acts of shoplifting are typically petty, the aggregate annual costs of the crime to American retailers are measured in billions of dollars, and the survival of many retailers depends on their ability to prevent shoplifting—a crime in which retailers themselves play a role in the apprehension of suspects.

Shoplifting goes back at least as far as sixteenth century England, when shoplifters became so prevalent that retail merchants sought laws punishing those that stole their products. As Western societies became more urbanized and consumers purchased more goods from stores, shoplifting became one of the most prevalent crimes in developed countries. During the nineteenth century, the scale of shoplifting rose to new levels, as advertising of products became a growing industry in its own right. Manufacturers and retailers used advertising to increase product sales, but mass advertising also increased demand for products that many people could not afford to buy, thus encouraging ever more people to take up shoplifting when they entered stores.

Nature of the Crime

At first, the rise of shoplifting was little understood. The rising numbers of women who were caught shoplifting was initially attributed to the desire of women to acquire goods they could not afford. In 1830, a new word entered the English language—“kleptomania,” the uncontrollable urge to steal for the simple pleasure of committing thefts without being caught. The mere thrill of successfully committing crimes became the accepted reason for shoplifting items of little value or interest to the shoplifters. During the twentieth century, kleptomania occurred primarily among young women and was associated with depression and anxiety. As the century progressed, however, kleptomania became a less acceptable explanation for shoplifting and merchants became more willing to prosecute even those who said they were suffering from mental illness and were compelled to steal.

It was becoming clear that shoplifting was a crime often committed by people who could not afford basic necessities, as well as by those suffering from such psychological problems as obsessive-compulsive behavior that left them unable to control their impulse to steal. Alcoholics and drug addicts also stole to raise money to support their habits. In the United States, shoplifting became a means for adolescents to impress friends and to earn acceptance within groups. Adolescent girls in particular who were seeking the approval of their peers shoplifted for the thrill of committing crimes and not getting caught.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s, some radical groups advocated shoplifting as a means of attacking the capitalist economic system and undermining retailers. The radical leader Abbie Hoffman exemplified his dislike of the system by titling his manual on becoming a hippieSteal This Book (1971). However, proponents of using shoplifting to attack the system were ignored by most people.

During the 1990’s and early years of the twenty-first century, shoplifting cases involving celebrities were widely publicized. Examples include former Olympic gymnastics champion Olga Korbut, tennis star Jennifer Capriati, and actor Winona Ryder. However, celebrity shoplifters represented an insignificant part of the larger problem. Shoplifting thefts created huge losses for retail stores and led to higher prices for consumers. It was estimated that by the 1990’s, stores were suffering billions in losses from “leakage”—the industry term for shoplifting. As stores utilized better methods of spotting and catching shoplifters, shoplifters themselves began using more clever means of stealing.

Throughout the history of shoplifting, those guilty of the crime have used a variety of techniques to fool retailers and escape with their stolen items. A common simple technique is switching tags of lower-priced items to more expensive items, which shoplifters try to pay for at the lower prices. Another method is hiding stolen goods inside clothes or bags. Many shoplifters steal clothes by taking them into changing rooms and putting them on, under the clothes they are wearing when they enter the stores or hiding them in bags containing items for which they have already paid.

More complex methods of shoplifting involve people acting in concert. A simple technique used by small teams has one person distract a salesperson while another steals items. A second method involves shoplifters working with store employees, who ignore their thefts. In a modification of this technique, employees ring up their confederates’ purchases at much lower prices or run items through checkstands without ringing them up.

Prevention, Apprehension, and Prosecution

As merchants have waged an escalating war against shoplifters, they have grown less willing to accept their losses and have more aggressively sought to find, arrest, and prosecute shoplifters. Many merchants now use cameras and electronic detection systems to protect their merchandise, while fighting to increase the penalties for shoplifters. Increasingly common sights in retail establishments are signs warning, “This store prosecutes all shoplifters.”

In contrast to most crimes, in which police are primarily responsible for investigating and apprehending offenders, shoplifting is a crime that is often initially investigated by merchants. Detection of shoplifting combines high-tech surveillance including hidden cameras and electronic devices attached to products and old-fashioned human surveillance. Most merchants rely on their employees to watch for suspicious behavior and apprehend shoplifters in the act of stealing.

Surveillance from specially placed cameras provides security, especially in places not observed by employees. Many merchants place surveillance cameras on ceilings that monitor their entire stores. Some cameras are placed behind two-way mirrors, especially in store areas in which shoplifting is most likely to occur and in spaces that ceiling cameras cannot observe. Videotaped evidence of shoplifting is especially valuable in prosecuting shoplifters, as it is generally more persuasive at trial than eyewitness testimony.

A crude but effective method for deterring shoplifting is the use of grossly oversized packaging, especially of small high-value items, such as DVDs and music CDs, that might otherwise be easily slipped into pockets and purses. Such packages—which also cannot be opened easily—make it difficult for the items to be removed from stores unobserved.

A more high-tech line of defense is the attachment of electronic detection devices to products, particularly those most likely to be stolen. Such devices trigger alarms if they pass through store exits without first being deactivated by clerks at the time of purchase. Another device is the use of price tags with bar codes that identify individual products. As purchases with these tags are processed through checkstands, bar code readers bring up the products’ names on registers so that clerks can match the items with their price tags. At the same time, detection devices embedded in product packaging are disabled. Some merchants use price tags that release ink when they are improperly removed, rendering the stolen products unusable and visibly marking the shoplifters.

Most states have laws permitting retailers to detain shoplifters while calling for police assistance. This merchant privilege gives store employees the power effectively to arrest shoplifters caught in the act and detain them until police arrive. However, stores must take great care not to detain suspects without adequate probable cause to avoid liability for charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault, or slander that may subject them to paying damages.

Merchants who catch shoplifters have the choice of prosecuting them, releasing them without charges being filed while banning them from reentering the store, or taking no action whatever. As shoplifting has become a more costly business, merchants have become more willing to prosecute. However, many stores are still content to release shoplifters with warnings, while banning them from ever returning.

Bibliography

Caputo, Gail A. What’s in the Bag? A Shoplifting Treatment and Education Program. 2 vols. Lanham, Md.: American Correctional Association, 2003.

Cleary, James, Jr. Prosecuting the Shoplifter: A Loss Prevention Strategy. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1986.

Segrave, Kerry. Shoplifting: A Social History. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland Publishing, 2001.

Sennewald, Charles, and John Christman. Shoplifting. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992.

Whitlock, Tammy C. Crime, Gender, and Consumer Culture in Nineteenth Century England. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2005.