Febmary 28,2007
Features
High Life Page 13
Shoplifters who benefit from corporate
losses face consequences for their crimes
Five-finger
discount shoppers
dicover there may
be more benefits to
buying a product
once they learn
about the penalties
of shoplifting.
BYJMNNELEFLOCH
Photographer
Shopping at the mall
on a Saturday after
noon sounds innocent
enough; that is until
you enter your favorite
store and fall in love
with a pair of gold
hoop earrings. They
cost 20 dollars, but you
only have 20 dollars i n
your pocket.
Attempting to re
main inconspicuous,
\"OU glance the area for
security cameras. Dis
creetly, you put the ear
rings in your bag and
head toward the exit.
During tlrose few steps,
adrenaline enters
through your blood
stream, and you feel
like the most vulner
able person on the
planet until you leave
the store.
“1 did it for the
rush. Also, it was so
easy that it didn't make
sen.se to pay for it," said
an anonynnous male
sophomore.
Once outside the
store, another feeling
takes over—tire thrill of
getting away with a
crime. However, penal
ties for stealing a
simple pair of earrings
can be very harsh. In
2000, laws regarding
shoplifting were
updated to include
many consequences.
Several scenarios
can then occur. Police
officers can arrest the
culpri t and parade him
or her through a store
in handcuffs; the guilty
party can face charges
of theft and pay dam
ages; and the culprit
can be banned from a
certain store or an en
tire shopping establish
ment. A teen facing a
repeat arrest must live
with a criminal recoi d,
making it difficult to
find a job, to gain ac
ceptance into college,
or even to acquire
creditor financing.
Shoplifting is an ad
diction. This particular
addiction, however,
costs retailers more
than ten billion dollars'
worth of merchandise
in the United States ev
ery year, according to
the National Retail Se
curity Survey. Extreme
losses force stores to go
out of business.
Shoplifting is blind
to gender, age, race,
and social background.
In fact, statistics show
that 24 percent of shop
lifters are teenagers be
tween the ages of thir
teen and seventeen.
Such data is alarming,
considering that only
ten percent of the entire
U.S. population is
comprised of teens.
"I can't stand it when
I go into a store and
clerks assume 1 am go
ing to steal simply be
cause I'm a teenager. As
soon as 1 see a salesper
son following me, I
leave the store, because
it's not fair to judge a
population based on a
small group of offend
ers," said an anony
mous female junior.
One can classify'
shoplifters into two cat
egories; professional
shoplifters who steal
expensive items, such
as jewehy or designer
clothing, in order to
iHBI
This shop sign warns shoppers of consequences if
they are caught stealing an item from their store.
resell them, and ama
teurs, or casual shop
lifters, who do not en
ter a store with the in
tention of stealing. Sev
enty percent of the
time, these young
people simply see an
opportunity' "to lift'
something, and ironi
cally' enough, teen
shoplifters steal items
they do not really
want or need.
'Ihey often take whai:
they' cannot afford,
such as CDs and cos
metics, or items they
are unable to purchase
legally like cigarettes.
Even though shoplift
ers fref|uently cannot
explain why' they steal,
experts at the National
Association for Shop
lifting Prevention have
detennine many' causes
why teens shoplift,
the foremost reason
being they think
the stores can afford
the losses.
"1 don't see any'thing
wrong [with stealing]
because I steal from
corporations that
oppress their own
workers," said a former
Grimsley student.
Teens also assume
they will not get
caught. Many' cannot
overcome temptation,
and others do not know
how to work through
their feelings of anger,
frustration, depression,
unattractiveness, or
lack of acceptance.
Yet another motiva
tion for shoplifting
among teens could be
the pressure to have the
same expensive, sty'lish
clothes they see other
teens wearing or just to
prove they' can fit in
with friends who also
shoplift in order
to draw' attention
to themselves.
"I got caught shop
lifting once, so I quit for
a while, but after meet
ing a new friend w'ho
pi'essured me to steal, I
began again because of
the peer pressure. It
was like a game to us,"
said a Grimsley parent.
Kleptomania is an
other cause of stealing;
a person cannot resist
the impulse to steiil. It
is a psychological and
serious disorder very
rare among teen shop
lifters; therefore, pro
fessional help is
often advised.
.Approximately' 23
million shoplifters
practice their craft in
our nation today; which
amounts to one in 11
people, according to
Shoplifters Alternative.
Fifty-five percent of
adult shoplifters claim
they started stealing
when they w'ere
younger, and it devel
oped into a habit. To
break the habit is easier
said than done, as shid-
ies show that one third
of teens caught shop
lifting say it is very
difficult to quit.
Teens who shoplift
need serious attention
because the money
they' gain from selling
their items can be a
sign of a deeper prob
lem like alcohol or
drug dependency'.
Police will eventu
ally apprehend most
young offenders, so the
next time you think
about stealirrg a pair of
earrings or a CD, ask
yourself if it is worth
the trouble of being es
corted home in hand
cuffs fo your parents.
"The officer did not
tell me what he was go
ing to do. He put me in
handcuffs and took me
to my' house. I was
afraid he was going
to tell my parents that
he w'as taking me
to jail," said a Grimsley'
parent of shoplifting
as a youth. "I felt
bad for disappointing
my dad."
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