Amazing fact: 1 in 11 Americans shoplift!

Karlfranklin · Dec 23, 2011

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tis-season-steal-172713254.html

More than spirits are being lifted this holiday season.
During the four weeks leading up to Christmas this year, an estimated $1.8 billion in merchandise
will be shoplifted from U.S. retailers, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer, a survey of
retailers worldwide. That's up about 6 percent from $1.7 billion during the same period last year.
"They shoplift for Christmas gifts, they steal for themselves, for their family," says Joshua
Bamfield, executive director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the survey.
Sticky fingers are common during the holidays. The crowded stores and harried clerks make it
easier to slip a tablet computer into a purse or stuff a sweater under a coat undetected. But higher
joblessness and falling wages have contributed to an even bigger rise this year. People steal
everything from necessities (think food) to luxuries they can no longer afford (think electronics or
Gucci purse).
"It's really a question of need versus greed," says Joseph LaRocca, senior adviser of asset
protection for the National Retail Federation trade group. "People will rationalize what they are
stealing: 'Oh, I'm feeling the economy. I lost my job.' But it's hard to make the argument you need
a $900 handbag."
Experts say the economy's influence is largely a cop-out. They say shoplifters are stealing for
myriad reasons this holiday season that have nothing to do with economic turmoil. Some do it for
a rush or thrill. For others, it's about filling a void. Still others are trying to relieve anxiety,
boredom or depression — all emotions that are particularly common during the holidays.
"Shoplifting is generally a crime of opportunity— and opportunities abound at the holiday," says
Barbara Staib, a spokeswoman for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, a
nonprofit that provides shoplifting prevention education programs. "The stressors that come with
the holiday will certainly help them rationalize their need for bad behavior."
Shoplifting is surprisingly common. An estimated one in 11 Americans shoplift, according to the
National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. It bases its information on academic research
and information from those who are ordered or choose to enter its counseling programs for
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shoplifters.
About 75 percent of shoplifters are adults — equally men and women — while kids make up about
25 percent of them. More than 70 percent of shoplifters say they did not plan ahead to steal and
they acted spontaneously.
A report from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that there
were 1.06 million shoplifting offenses in 2010 known to law enforcement nationwide, up from
875,191 such offenses in 2006.
It adds up to billions of dollars in losses for retailers.
Theft of all kinds — including shop lifting, organized retail crime, employee theft and vendor
fraud — cost retailers more than $119 billion worldwide in the 12 months ending in June, up
nearly 7 percent from the same a year earlier. That's the biggest increase recorded by the Global
Retail Theft Barometer since it began the survey in 2007.
In the four weeks leading up to Christmas, retailers in the U.S. are expected to lose $5 billion in
theft and other crimes. About 36 percent of those losses come from shoplifting. Employee theft
represents about 44 percent. Vendor theft and administrative error make up the remainder.
Several major chains declined to discuss their efforts to thwart the growing theft in stores by
shoppers and employees. But the National Retail Federation says big merchants are spending
about $11.5 billion a year to fend off losses.
They're trying to improve their technology, such as surveillance methods and tagging of
merchandise with security devices. They also are working with competitors and law enforcement
agencies more than ever by sharing more information, such as what criminals are taking and how
they are targeting individual merchants.
Retailers' efforts are important, prevention experts say, because theft not only costs them, but
society as a whole. Theft drives up retailers' costs and those are often passed on to consumers in
the form of higher prices on everything from blueberries to blouses.
"I think one of the things we have to remember is shoplifting is a crime," says Staib, with the
prevention group. "Shoplifting is not just an economic issue, it's a social issue."
Shop owner Travis Maynard, who has been on both sides of the shoplifting fence, agrees.
As a teenager running with a bad crowd, he used to steal regularly — Visine to cover up his drug
use, condiments to finish off his sandwich and even a flowering tree as a gift for his mother. Then
he got caught stealing a Misfits CD at age 16 and changed his ways.
Maynard, 31, now watches for shoplifters at Lime Tiger Studio, a shop in Murfreesboro, Tenn.,
where he sells antiques, vintage clothing and other items. He says he knows the tricks and is on
high alert when someone is lingering too long in a certain spot.
"For someone to come in and pretend to be a patron of my business and steal, to me it's the most
disgusting thing someone could do," Maynard says. "It's one of the highest levels of dishonesty."
Click to expand...

RedRedemption · Dec 23, 2011

1 in 11?
Wow.

No Worries · Dec 23, 2011

1 in 12 out of work.
Wow.

Mr. Clutch · Dec 23, 2011

1 in 3 obese.
Wow.

Mr. Brightside · Dec 23, 2011

You probably stole this story from Reddit.

htownrox1 · Dec 23, 2011

I've only stole once. It was when I was 5. Stole a small Jets football when I was in New York. True story.

Karlfranklin · Dec 23, 2011

I thought you would say Congress and wall street steal much much more.

htownrox1 said: ↑

I've only stole once. It was when I was 5. Stole a small Jets football when I was in New York. True story.
Click to expand...

TheresTheDagger · Dec 23, 2011

I am definitely not surprised. Its not a victimless crime either. Colleagues of mine have lost their jobs underneath them when stores closed due to crazy theft issues.

I HATE shoplifters with a passion. So incredibly selfish.

HAYJON02 · Dec 23, 2011

If wish 1 in 11 Clutchfans weren't intolerably annoying. Its just like annoying facebook girl.

Svpernaut · Dec 23, 2011

30+ million people. We should be so proud.

Xsatyr · Dec 23, 2011

Yeah no, they don't have the numbers to back it up.

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