stop theft - counseling online theft b corrected...the cases that can ordinarily be handled by the...

STOP THEFT part 2

10/6/2011 1 cevagregorycounseling2009

OFFICE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS

PATRICIA R. RYKOS

Embezzlement Penalties and prosecution are the responsibility of the office of District Attorney and Judge.

The Check Fraud Division of the District Attorney’s Office is responsible

for investigating and prosecution of the offense of theft by check. The cases that can ordinarily be handled by the Check Fraud Division without the necessity of a police report

are those in which a person writes his or her own check in exchange for goods, services or cash, and in which the victim can identify that person. This includes bad checks given for child support.

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EMBEZZLEMENT

Embezzlement laws form a catch-all legal term that includes the

secreting away or illegal appropriation of funds through concrete or

circumstantial evidence exposing this misappropriation of funds.

Example: Someone is provided access to someone else’s money or

property with the intent that the person will manage to the best

interests of the individual; however uses funds for other purposes.

Embezzlement can happen in a company when someone will have

access to the funds and removes the money gained. Banks,

financial institutes and other professionals can embezzle funds.

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Embezzlement Penalties

In general the embezzlement penalties associated with embezzlement charges and

fraud will depend on the type of trust that was assumed or understood as well as

the total amount embezzled. Each state also has the right to determine their own

specific penalties for embezzlement, however embezzlement from the elderly, from

individuals with special needs or from public accounts by elected, employed or

appointed officials tend to carry the most significant penalties. These types of cases

are typically prosecuted as felony offenses.

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State Avg. Fines Avg. Jail Avg. Probation

Texas 15000-250000 9-12 YRS. 10 YRS.

What the Wild Things Are: Morality Education, Empathy, Self Awareness and Impulsive/Addictive disorders.

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Since 1988, I have worked with shoplifters and their families, and have treated a variety of impulsive/addictive disorders such as sexual addiction. As an intern, I worked with a forensic psychologist at Richard Chrisman & Associates, North Freeway, Houston, TX and he would get referrals from the court to evaluate or treat individuals with significant shoplifting/stealing histories but no other criminal profile. During this time, I did research about impulsive/addiction disorders.

What is the difference between someone who is a plain thief or just dishonest and someone who has kleptomania/theft disorder?

During this lesson you will learn about kleptomania. As I see this question, the focus is about psychological assessment and treatment. I don’t think in terms of “plain old thieves” or “plain old dishonesty.” If someone is stealing or shoplifting, the person has some kind of problem; and it is my job to comprehensively assess them using the best research measures and clinical interviewing evaluations available. Does the behavior fit the criteria for Kleptomania or Impulse Disorder NOS? How often do they steal? How much is stolen? Is the stealing ego syntonic (the stealing is in harmony with one’s self image) or ego dystonic (the stealing is not in harmony with their self image) and are they conflicted about their behaviors? Do they have a co-morbid mood disorder? Does this person have an Axis II personality disorder diagnosis? After gathering this information, I can formulate a complete picture of what the stealing behavior is about.


What you would be most surprised to know about shoplifters/kleptomaniacs?

They often don’t know why they are doing what they are doing and they can’t just “stop” without support. Treatment takes a long time; there are no quick fixes. Also, people with kleptomania and impulsive theft disorders are typically completely upstanding and honest in all other areas of their lives. They usually hold good jobs, go to church and most of the time are well-respected in their communities. Also, people often think just because someone shoplifts from stores that they are going to steal from anyone, anyplace, at anytime, and that is rarely the case.

When you work with impulse control disorders and addictions, you will find more and more people with a cluster of addictions. In other words, you will find a shoplifter and alcoholic individual. In codependency often an individual will fear feeling alone and will steal things for other people. I had one client in Harris County Probation that stole for her boyfriend. So there is a need to identify the cluster of addictions for each individual.


Criminal Profile

There is a real distinction between someone with a criminal profile, for example, someone who is a ‘booster” and sells stolen merchandise for profit or works with a gang of people who steal and who has a long history of such behavior and lives a criminal lifestyle – vs. people with kleptomania and impulsive theft have much more unevenness in their lives; in other words, the rest of their lives are typically upstanding and orderly. When you see this unevenness, you have to ask: okay, what is going on with this person?

These people need long-term, ongoing treatment, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavior modification, dialectical-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic treatment, medication (olanzapine (zprena), fluoretin (prozac), zoloft, effexor), group and individual therapy. The court mandated 4 or 6 hours course is similar to a Band-Aid on a wound needing stitches.


Etiology of Impulse Disorders

We need to think about the etiology of impulse disorders, the neurobiology of the patient, dopamine feedback loops and the psychological, emotional and developmental context of the patient. We know that impulse disorders are made worse if there is an increase of stress in an individual’s life. If you do not suffer from an impulse disorder and you turn the knob up to high stress, you are likely to be more impulsive while the stress is high, although unlike a person with impulse disorders, you will not keep repeating the impulsive cycle once the stress has lessened. People who suffer from impulsive and compulsive stealing have had to deal with overwhelming stressors. These stressors maybe internal or external and can occur at any stage of life. They often have co-morbid mood disorders which can create enormous stress. Many of these patients had early childhood attachment loss or trauma and often stressful dysfunction family systems which resulted in compensatory behaviors of which stealing is often only one of the significant cluster of unhealthy behaviors and thoughts they use to cope.


Kleptomania

Kleptomania is a complex disorder characterized by repeated, failed attempts to stop stealing, who are chemically dependent or who have a coexisting mood, anxiety, or eating disorder. These disorders may include major depression, panic attacks, social phobia, anorexia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Detection of kleptomania, even by significant others, is difficult and the disorder often focuses on preferred objects and environments where theft occurs. One theory proposes that the thrill symptoms of stealing generates the behavior in persons who are clinically depressed.

The cause of kleptomania is unknown, although it may have a genetic component. There also seems to be a strong propensity for kleptomania to coexist with bulimia nervosa, and clinical depression.


Kleptomania

The handbook used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental disorders is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Published by the American Psychiatric Association for coding and research findings for mental disorders. The 2000 edition of this manual (fourth edition, text revision) know as the DSM-IV-TR defines kleptomania: ◦ Repeated theft of objects that are unnecessary for either

personal use or monetary.

◦ Increasing tension immediately before the theft.

◦ Pleasure or relief upon committing the theft.

◦ The theft is not motivated by anger or vengeance.

◦ The behavior is not better accounted for by a conduct disorder, or manic episode disorder


Kleptomania

Demographics

Studies suggest that 0.6% of the general population may have this disorder and that it is patients who have histories of obsessive-compulsive disorder, some studies suggest a 7%. Other studies have reported a particularly high (65%) correlation of kleptomania in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing kleptomania is usually difficult since patients do not seek medical help and psychological assessments may not detect it. The disorder is often diagnosed when there is evidence of depression, bulimia, or for feeling emotionally unstable (labile).


Kleptomania Treatments Once the disorder is suspected and verified by an extensive

psychological interview, therapy for specific triggers, impulse control, as well as any accompanying mental disorder(s) should be stressed. Medications, (olanzapine (zprena), fluoretin (prozac), Zoloft, effexor), have been effective in treatment.

Prognosis Not much solid information is know about this disorder. Since it is

not usually the primary problem, it is frequently not even diagnosed. There are some case reports that are documented treatment with medications, although as with almost all psychological disorders, the outcomes vary.

Prevention There is little evidence concerning prevention. A healthy upbringing,

positive intimate relationship with care giver and acutely stressful situations avoided may lower the incidence of kleptomania and coexisting disorder behaviors.

Citation Reference

Tasman, Allan, Jerald Kay, and Jeffrey A. Lieberman, eds. Psychiatry. 1st ed. Philadelphia

www.minddisorders.com


http://www.minddisorders.com/

Two Types of Shoplifters


Professional Shoplifters

These are addicts who steal to buy drugs or hardened criminals who steal for resale and profit as a life-style. These individuals frequently commit other types of crimes and lack any conscience or guilt. To deal with these shoplifters, the approach here is either a drug treatment program or jail.

Non-professional Shoplifters

These are the people who make up the majority of shoplifters and who steal for a variety of reasons, mostly related to common life situations and their personal ability or inability to cope. They include people who are depressed, frustrated, anxious, influenced by peers, thrill seekers or kleptomaniacs.

Ways to commit theft

in Texas Buying/accepting stolen property:

Taking possession of an item when you know the person

selling or giving it to you is not the rightful owner. If you

know a friend shoplifted an item from a store, then passed

the item on to you, you have committed theft by taking it,

whether you paid for it or it was a gift. So if you go to a

garage sale to purchase an item and the person has stolen

it, you would be charged with theft. If you purchase an

item from a truck setting along the side of a road, if it is

proven that the person who sold it to you stole it, you will

be charged with theft.

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THEFT

THEFT IS A BROAD CRIMINAL CHARGE IN Texas that

includes a range of offenses from shoplifting to bouncing checks

to buying stolen property. The punishments generally depend on

the value of the stolen item, and can be as little as a fine or a

serious a prison time in extreme cases.

The Texas Penal Code defines theft as taking someone else’s

property without consent, either by deception or by physically

stealing it. You don’t have to keep the property for it to be

considered theft, but only long enough to deprive the owner of its

value. And, if you take something, then return it for a reward,

that is also theft under Texas law.

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What Police need to show….

To charge you with theft, the police

Need to show that you acted with criminal intent, meaning

you knew the property belonged to someone else and

knew you didn’t have their permission to take it, and

evidence, such as security camera video in a shoplifting

case, or by statements from a witness, an accomplice, or

you.

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Penalties for

theft in Texas

The punishment for criminal charge of theft in Texas is

relative to the value of the item stolen. Obviously, the

more value the item has, the higher the penalty for taking

it. And if it is more than one item, all the values are added

together for the purposes of punishment.

For example, you may be charged with shoplifting five

DVDs. Individually, they may be worth about $20 each.

But added together, the total of the theft is $100, and that

raises the seriousness of the punishment.

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Non-professional Shoplifting

Non-professional shoplifting is rarely about greed or poverty. It is about individuals struggling with personal conflicts and needs. These individuals know right from wrong, they know there are consequences and they often have the money to pay, but they continue to steal anyway. These people often steal items they do not need and sometimes do not use. They usually have the money to pay for the item, rarely plan their theft in advance and never try to sell the item for profit.

While many non-professional shoplifters steal from stores on a regular basis, they usually have no prior criminal record (except perhaps for shoplifting) and are typically the kind of people who do not commit other types of crimes. Their behavior is less related to criminal intent and more the result of situational, emotional or psychological problems in need of attention.


Psychological profiles Psychological profiles and admissions by shoplifters revealed that

1 out of 3 shoplifters are “at risk” of repeating the offense even after getting caught. Research shows that nationwide there are thousands of shoplifters who continually repeat the offense and want to stop but can’t. Their shoplifting has become a habit or even an addiction, and they are too ashamed or afraid to tell anyone, or ask for help. Other shoplifters simply deny they have a problem of any kind.

For almost all non-professional shoplifters, stealing from stores is basically a reflection of a person’s ability (or inability) to cope with a multitude of situations in his or her life. It is a response to their personal life situations. While these unhappy life situations may not easily be changed or may recur from time to time, shoplifters must learn how to cope with these situations in a way that is not harmful to themselves or others. This may not be easy to achieve, because approximately 27 percent of shoplifters caught for the first time have already developed a shoplifting habit or even an addiction. Many admit that it will be hard for them to stop shoplifting even after getting caught.


Shoplifting addiction

A person’s addiction to shoplifting can develop quickly when the excitement generated from “getting away with it” produces a chemical reaction (i.e. adrenaline, etc.) resulting in what shoplifters describe as an incredible “rush” or “high” feeling which many shoplifters will tell you is the “true reward,” rather than the merchandise itself. In addition to feeling good, shoplifters quickly observe this “high” temporarily eliminates their feelings of anger, frustration, depression or other unhappiness in their life. Realizing how easy it is to get that “high” feeling, they are pulled toward doing it again, “just one more time”, and their addiction begins to develop. Even though most non-professional shoplifters feel guilty, ashamed or remorseful about what they did, and are fearful of getting caught, the pull is too strong for many to resist.


Exercise

What thoughts brought you to the

decision to commit your act of theft?

Write an one page essay and discuss with

the counselor this week.

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Citation: National Association for Shoplifting Prevention.

Berlin, Peter, Director of Retail Security, publisher of newsletters for retailers and the criminal justice system.

Shoplifting for millions of our citizens, is simply another maladaptive way of coping with stressful life circumstances similar to drinking, drugs, gambling, overeating, over spending, or workaholic. It is not an issue of good vs. bad people, rich vs. poor, young vs. old or education vs. illiteracy. Many times in a person’s life, the temptation to “get something for nothing’ and the desire to reward oneself can easily be present. By raising public awareness about the problem and delivering needed programs and services to people who shoplift or have love ones involved, communities who engage in prevention efforts will reduce the number of people who become involved and improve the quality of life for all.


People who continue being involved in

criminal conduct Have not learned coping skills and

Have not learned from their experiences.

Skill of Self Control will give YOU

SELF CONTROL OVER THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS.

Skills to related to others.

Skills to deal with relationship conflicts

Develop your self-mastery to maintain responsible behaviors in t

he community.

Control of your Impulsive Behavior and a grip on your instant gratification will help you conquer the need to steal.



If you want to take ownership of your behavior by making right choices, acknowledge that the Course you are taking is Just a Band-Aid To your problem.

Call our office for assessment and

Individual counseling. This course

has been presented to develop your

awareness to the disorder. LEARN

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR

CHOICES.

BOUNDARIES..

Boundaries are like

job descriptions.

They define where

you begin and end.

If you steal, you do not know where your boundaries are. Everyone’s property is within your boundary.

BOUNDARIES HAVE A PURPOSE.

THEY HELP DEFINE WHO WE ARE.

Boundaries tell you what does not belong to you.

Boundaries tell you what belongs to you and what belongs to others.


Primary Catalyst…

Your thoughts give you a primary catalyst that allows you to pursue the pleasure of a free item and yet feel no pain and not guilt, regret or remorse.

You are very self-centered person. CHANGE.. DEVELOP EIQ:


What is Emotional Intelligent Quota (EIQ)

Know how to sense, understand and use

emotions to improve decision making,

performance and overall quality of life.

What is the Payoff for knowing and using EIQ?

The ability to have an awareness of your emotions; aware of the emotions of

another person and having the ability to control your emotions and managing

interpersonal interaction.

1. Can you defuse your aggressive emotions?

2. Can you defuse a co-worker?

3. Are you a team worker?

4. Can you control your emotions for greater production? Finding such an individual means more profit for the

Employer.

Empathy….

Until empathy sets in, a persons thoughts,

goals, aspirations and their entire lives are

centered on ―self.‖

Our individual moral development comes

with maturity and developing empathy.

Empathy is a learned characteristic.

It is developed by watching your early age

care giver.

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VALUES

VALUES……

WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN

WHAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT

RULES FOR LIVING…..

HONESTY


Two Set of Values

>Criminal Planning

>Perceived Benefits

Of your act of theft.

>Above the Law—”I want get caught”

>Victim Stance –I deserve it because I have never had the opportunities that others have.

>Tunnel Vision—Lack of honesty.

IT IS NOT OUR FEET THAT MOVE US ALONG—

IT IS OUR MINDS.

Ancient Chinese proverb.

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Definition of Mindset:

Mentality: a habitual or characteristic

mental attitude that determines how you

will interpret and respond to situations.

In decision, theory and general systems

theory, a mindset is a set of assumptions,

methods or notations held by one or

more people to create new behavior or

to accept prior behavior.

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Topic One: Barriers to your stinking

thinking. “Stinking thinking” is circular thinking. You ask a

question and give yourself an answer with a question in

order to serve your interest.

“Who says it is wrong to steal? Don’t my friends talk about the things they take? Didn’t Dr. Phil have a couple on his show that earns $100,000. annually? They never have gotten caught. They take their children when they do their acts of theft.

Problem solve your situation and

wants….

1. What would happen if you did not have this item?

2. What difference would it make in your life one-year from now?

Problem Solve:

1. Identify the problem.

2. Brainstorm the alternatives and resources you have in solving the problem.

3. Choose the solution that will bring you the most positive outcome.


Now deal with your Impulsive

Behavior….. Visualize a Stop

Sign.

Stop violating

others and yourself.

S = stop

T = examine your

thoughts—what is illogical?

O = observe the situation. Each situation has only a short season.

P = plan a positive outcome for yourself.


What is a thought?

Ideas---opinions--- Your ―world view‖ put into words--- groups of words. “Bring all thoughts captive unto awareness, casting down VAIN

imaginations.” Change your Mind-Set. Be aware of the fiery darts shot and how

your illogical thoughts work ……..Refuse the thoughts that lead you to the act of stealing.


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The power of thinking..

Research shows that it is people’s thinking

or SELF-TALK (what you are continually

telling yourself) that ultimately controls

YOUR feelings and actions.

If you have a Theft Charge, then face up

to your faulty thinking or self –talk.

YOUR HUMAN IDENTITIES

CREATE YOUR REALITY. Thoughts = feelings

Feelings = action

Actions = habits

Habits = beliefs

Beliefs = similar beliefs

Thoughts + feelings + actions + beliefs

+ habits = DESTINY.

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What breaks the cycle?

Stop or Control Thinking

Aware of Emotions

Feelings First? Go Back and

Control Thoughts

Met Your Needs in A SAFE WAY and crime free way!

Inventory of Self

1. Do you have poor learning skills?

2. Do you lack work skills?

3. Do you have a variety of health problems including over-reliance on pain pills, anxiety pills, alcohol and other drugs.

4. Have you been told that you have

an impulsive disorder, bipolar, ADHD?

Answer all of the above questions in detail.


What skills do I need to work on?

____Trusting others.

____ Making friends/Keeping friends.

____ Keeping track of appointments

____ budgeting/savings

____ eating healthy

____ taking care of my health

____ talking about my feelings

____ organizing my time


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MY PERSONAL TRANSITIONAL

PLAN

Goal 1:__________________________________

Goal 2:_________________________________

Goal 3:_________________________________

◦ Task #1:____________________________

◦ Task #2:____________________________

◦ Task #3:____________________________

Task

Completed.

Date

Completed

Use skills you used to do your act of theft and stay

crime free. cevagregorycounseling2009

Six Steps to Change

Step 1: AWARENESS

Self-awareness is the first step in changing who you are. You must accept your faults. You can’t

change who you are without becoming self-aware.

Step 2: DESIRE

If you don’t want to change, you won’t. you cannot be forced. You have freedom to choose. It is

up to you. It is your choice. No desire, no change!

Step 3: ATTITUDE

If you are aware of your faults and want to change, you will automatically improve your attitude.

A change in attitude has to come from inside you. It is your choice.

Step 4 SKILL

Self-awareness, desire, and a positive attitude are not enough. You must also develop the skills

and knowledge of how to change. Wanting to change is not enough.

Step 5: BEHAVIOR

Complete steps 1 through 4 and you are ready physically to do what is necessary to change. Do

it for ninety days and it will become a habit. Do it for a year and it will become part of you

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Step 6: SUBCONSCIOUS HABIT

Once you get a habit into your subconscious, it becomes automatic. You don’t have

to think about it anymore. You have changed.

Relax and enjoy the View!

Take Life on Life's Terms.


STRESS IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!

stop theft - counseling online theft b corrected...the cases that can ordinarily be handled by the...

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