About Shoplifting
Shoplifting is one of those crimes that most people don't ever think about (at least until a celebrity is caught doing it), yet the money lost by retailers affects everyone who goes shopping. There are a number of important things to know about shoplifting, not the least of which is just how much it costs.
Features
Simply put, shoplifting is the removal of merchandise from a retail establishment without having paid for those goods. People commonly think of shoplifting as involving items such as clothes, jewelry, small electronics or media items such as movies and music. However, almost any item that can potentially be concealed can be shoplifted, and actual cases have included goods like whole hams from grocery stores. The crime does not technically occur until the goods are removed from the store, though for obvious reasons many retailers choose not to wait until the last minute to detain someone for shoplifting, and many jurisdictions have laws to support this.
Types
There are generally two types of shoplifting, broken down by the two types of people who have access to materials in the store: consumers and employees. The first type is the most obvious. These are the people who walk into a store as a shopper and then steal items from the store. Sometimes they will attempt to pay for some items while concealing stolen goods; other times they will simply attempt to remove the merchandise. Employees are guilty of shoplifting, too, often abusing their position within the company to steal everything from retail goods to company supplies. Any item removed from a store without having first been paid for impacts a company's bottom line and can lead to higher prices for consumers.
Identification
The FBI compiles yearly statistics on crimes within the United States, and shoplifting is no exception. The FBI places shoplifting under the category of "larceny-theft." This category includes all crimes which involve the unlawful taking of someone else's possessions, with certain exceptions. For example, bike theft is also in this same category. Shoplifting is therefore a subcategory of the larger category. Larceny-theft excludes any theft by force such as armed robbery and auto theft but includes fraud and the taking of items from inside an automobile such as a stereo or a purse left on the front seat. That last category covers crimes such as embezzlement and check fraud.
Size
Shoplifting is no small matter. It accounts for almost 15 percent of the larceny-theft cases reported to the FBI in 2007. While the individual amount stolen through shoplifting averages around $200 per incident, well below the average for the entire category of larceny-theft of just under $900 per incident, losses from shoplifting amounted to $870 million in 2007. Industry estimates of the average money lost to shoplifting is in the billions of dollars. These estimates are based on shrinkage -- or product loss -- and may more accurately reflect the actual impact of shoplifting simply because many cases never make it into the official statistics.The FBI, for example, only keeps data for those crimes which are reported.
Prevention/Solution
Because shoplifting has such a large impact on the retail industry, there are a number of strategies designed to reduce the incidence of theft. These include such devices as plastic shells for CDs and DVDs and plastic garment tags, as well as newer devices which are little more than a magnetic strip placed on the back of the item. Other prevention techniques rely on a human presence such as store greeters and receipt checkers placed at the doors. Cameras, mirrors and other monitoring devices also help reduce the incidence of theft. Shoplifting prevention is also why the hangers are placed in alternating directions on clothing racks in close proximity to store entrances.
Tags: from store, About Shoplifting, category larceny-theft, crimes which, from retail, incidence theft
