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Is it need, or is it greed...or is itsomething entirely different that tempts

approximately 23 million people to steal from retail stores each year. Except for the

drug addicts and hardened professionals who steal for resale and profit as a

business, most shoplifters are decent people who are otherwise law abiding

citizens. The vast majority of adult offenders have no idea about how or why they

become a thief, or why they continue to shoplift, even after getting caught.

Retailers, police, prosecutors and judges see thousands of apprehended

shoplifters who don't fit the profile of a typical criminal. For example, they don't

use shoplifting paraphernalia, they don't use drugs, they carry properidentification, they have no prior criminal record (except perhaps for

shoplifting), they don't associate with known criminals, they don't steal for

resale, they usually have the money to pay for the item(s) they stole, they

frequently have a job and a family, they steal things they don't really need and

often don't use, they know what they did was wrong and frequently feel ashamedand remorseful. Their overall lifestyle is not that of a typical thief or criminal.

Retailers, law enforcement and the courts process these people through thecriminal justice system, as they should, but with little understanding of why they

committed the offense and what kind of treatment is appropriate to help reducerecidivism. Presented below is a brief explanation of why these people steal and

what needs to be done to help reduce the problem.

In simple and concise terms:..... TO GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING..... But, you

must ask yourself, why do they want something for nothing?

While we all like to get things for free and the stores are constantly promoting

and placing merchandise on "SALE" to generate excitement about getting a

bargain, you and I never cross over the line and steal the item, whereas otherpeople do. Why?

The answer is:..... To most shoplifters, getting something for nothing is like giving

themselves a "gift", which in turn gives them a "lift". Many people feel they need

a "lift" just to get through the week.....or even the day. A recent study by

MasterCard International found that shopping was second only to dining out as

the primary way that people reward themselves. Take it one step further and

you can see how "shoplifting" the merchandise could increase the reward.

It is important to understand that "getting something for nothing" always

represents something more to the shoplifter than the value of the merchandise.

For different people, it can represent any of the following things:

For some, it's a "substitute for loss" because they were unfairly deprived insome way (a divorce situation, a serious illness, the death of a loved one, a

bad work related situation, loss of income from a job or investments, or

an increase in expense for a car repair, broken boiler or other item which

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often causes people to feel needy). Stealing a bottle of Tylenol, for

example, can temporarily help to relieve the anxiety about their financial

situation and gives them a feeling that they are more in control.

To others, it's "justified payback" for all they give to others and how little theyget back in return.

For some, it's a "relief mechanism" for anxiety, frustration, boredom ordepression.

Several studies have found diagnosed depression to exist in approxi- mately 1/3

of the shoplifters studied. Depression was the most frequently found

psychological problem. This helps to explain why so many shoplifters steal from

stores on their birthday and around holiday times.

Any way you look at it, shoplifters perceive shoplifting as a form of

selfnourishment or as a way to relieve fear or pain in their life. In truth,

shoplifting is self-destructive not self-nourishing, but shoplifters often can't seethe paradox.

For almost all non-professional shoplifters, stealing from stores is basically areflection of a person'sability (or inability) to cope with a multitude of situations

in his or her life. It's their response to their own personal life situations. Whilethese unhappy life situations may not easily be changed (or may repeat

themselves from time to time) shoplifters must learn how to cope with these

situations in a way which will not be so harmful to themselves or others. This

may not be easy to achieve because approximately 57% 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 gettingcaught.

A person's addiction to shoplifting can develop quickly when the excitement

generated from "getting away with it" produces a chemical reaction (i.e.

adrenalin, 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 that 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.

Of course, some people don't see shoplifting as a functional or psychologicalproblem. They say, "What do you mean that a person can't stop shoplifting? Ofcourse they can, they're just greedy". The idea that shoplifting is an addiction

(except fora few "kleptomaniacs") is ridiculous, they say. People who shoplift

should go to jail and not be coddled or told they have an addiction. This is like

telling them it's ok to steal because they really can't help it.

They paradox is that most shoplifters who have developed a habit or addiction

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believe they should be punished according to the law when caught. What

habitual offenders often resent, however, is when they are simply thrown into

jail with many hardened career criminals and are never given any help or

support to prevent them from repeating the offense.

Shoplifting among juveniles is remarkably similar to adult shoplifting in many

ways. However, the primary issues which are related to shoplifting among youthrevolve around family pressure, school pressure and peer pressure.

If you were to ask juveniles caught shoplifting, "Why did you do it"? The most

frequent reply would be "I don't know". Like adults, the reasons teens shoplifted

will vary, but most commonly it is because they wanted nice things, or felt

pressuredby friends, or wanted to see if they could get away with it, or were

angry, depressed, confused or bored. Sometimes they are just mad at the world

and want to strike back.

While teens, like adults, usually know the difference between right and wrong,

when their life becomes too stressful they become more vulnerable totemptation, peer pressure and other things that can lead them to shoplift. This is

especially true when they feel unworthy, angry, depressed, unattractive or not

accepted.

In summary, shoplifting for millions of our citizens, is simply another

maladaptive way of coping with stressful life circumstances...ways similar to

overeating, drinking, drugs or becoming withdrawn. It is not an issue of good vs.

bad people, rich vs. poor people, young vs. old people, or education vs. illiteracy.At any time, or even many times in a persons life, the temptation to "get

something for nothing" and reward oneself can easily be present. Although most

people believe they could "never" do such a thing, if they do cross over the line,swift and effective action must be taken by both the retailer and the criminal

justice system to help these people get back on track. While it is not appropriate

for retailers or the criminal justice system to be sympathetic or forgiving after a

shoplifting incident, what is appropriate is for retailers, prosecutors and judges

to jointly support punitive sanctions along with community based educationalrehabilitation programs.

Peter Berlin is the current Executive Director of Shoplifiers Anonymous, Inc.

(SA). He is also an international consultant on retail theft, a publisher of

newsletters to retailers and the criminal justice system and a former Director ofRetail Security. He is located at SA headquarters in Jericho, NY.