The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention studies have shown that there is not a profile for a typical shoplifter. Women and men shoplift as frequently, and the majority of the shoplifting is done by adults. And although, shoplifting has been shown to start early in a person’s teenage years, as teenagers become adults, the tendency to shoplift stays with them. Drugs, poverty, and mental illness have been factors for people who shoplift. In other cases, the reasons are still unclear. People from all walks of life shoplift.
Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that people who shoplift will do so again within the year. That is the case in most developed countries. Shoplifting can be a way of life for many of these people, and if retail stores across the globe do not find measures to mitigate the damage these shoplifters do, the profits these retail stores can count on at the end of their fiscal year diminish tremendously.
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One in four criminals re-offend within a year
More than a quarter of offenders are re-convicted within a year, according to official statistics.
Figures from the Scottish Government show that in 2014-15, 28.2 per cent of the 43,634 people released from prison or given a non-custodial sentence such as a community payback order or fine had a further conviction within a year.
The overall re-conviction rate has fallen 0.3 per cent from 2013/14, continuing an 18-year downward trend.
But of those given a custodial sentence of six months or less, 57 per cent were re-convicted within a year and 39 per cent were back in prison 12 months later.
Offenders released from jail in 2014/15 had a higher re-conviction rate at 43.9 per cent than for any other type of sentence except drug treatment and testing orders.
Statisticians highlighted that offenders who receive short sentences typically commit “low level” crimes such as shoplifting, but often in higher volumes and are more likely to be re-convicted.
Sex offenders had the lowest re-conviction rate at 12.1 per cent, while people committing crimes of dishonesty such as theft or shoplifting had the highest out of the crime classifications at 42.5 per cent.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the figures showed that community sentences, including community payback orders (CPOs) brought in to replace community service, were more effective at cutting re-offending than short jail terms.
Former State Rep. Hurley pleads guilty to three shoplifting incidents
ROGERSVILLE – Local businessman and former State Representative Bruce W. Hurley, 83, entered guilty pleas in Hawkins Co. Criminal Court on Friday, April 28, to three counts of theft of property valued at less than $500.
Court records indicate that Hurley, who pleaded guilty before Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger, Jr., will serve no jail time as a result of his pleas of guilty to what amounts to three shoplifting charges.
Judge Dugger imposed a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, but ruled that all but 120 days of that sentence is to be served on probation. The remaining 120 days is to be served on community corrections (house arrest), court records indicate.
In addition to a $50 fine on each count, Hurley was ordered to pay $4.02 in restitution to Walmart, one of his two theft victims. The other theft victim was the Rogersville Food City supermarket. All three charges were brought against Hurley by the victims, according to a Rogersville Police Department spokesman.
Court records indicate that the thefts took place on Aug. 25, 2016; Sept. 29, 2016; and Nov. 16, 2016.
Okay we know that shoplifters are one of the lowest forms of life. Stealing from people is not noble or right in any situation. I believe that shoplifters are a strong competitor for the oldest profession in the world. After all, I bet a cave man was able to steal a rock from another before prostitution even existed and politicians didn’t even exist yet. Even though some in Congress seem to have been around much too long.
Would you knowingly buy a car with a defective engine? Of course not! So why would you hire a “defective employee”?
Daylight savings time is over and for most of us in the U.S. (yes, there are a few exceptions) we have moved our clocks and groaned at the loss of a precious hour of sleep. We have to adjust and get used to the change and eventually we do. For our personal lives there isn’t a lot of impact, once we are used to it we do benefit from the additional daylight and get to enjoy more outdoor activity. The time change is useful as a reminder for changing batteries in smoke detectors. You may even use it as a point when you will start planning your summer vacations. For business owners daylight savings time can be a reminder that it is time to conduct a store physical security review. Time changes may not impact us much individually but for retailers there is an impact for the building, employees and your customers.
When do closed circuit television malfunctions occur? I’m sure you can guess, it is always at the point when you need it most. I can’t recall the number of instances when I had a cash shortage I needed to look for and when I attempted to pull video through the DVR the video was already dropped or the camera wasn’t functioning. I remember having to look for an image of a suspect in a shoplifting incident and the picture was too grainy to be of any use due to a dirty camera lens or dome. One slightly embarrassing situation that stands out in my mind involved robberies that were taking place behind our store. I had developed a great working relationship with our local police department and they knew the quality of our camera system. Investigators came to me seeking assistance with outdoor camera footage to try to identify the criminals conducting the robberies. I pulled up video of the date and time in question and much to my chagrin the camera had a great shot of the ground directly underneath it. A power surge had impacted the programming of the pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) camera and placed it in a default position. I had not noticed the problem in a timely fashion and could not recall how long it was before I did catch the issue. The good news was I was able to re-program the camera and eventually we did provide footage of an incident a little later that led to an arrest.
When I was a Loss Prevention Manager we would catch a shoplifter or a dishonest employee and recover merchandise. Depending on the type of case we would sometimes hold the evidence for a few days until the court hearing other times it could be much longer. If a shoplifter refused to plead guilty or requested a jury trial cases could be held up for months if not longer. I had several cases that went on for more than a year. Felony shoplifting cases and juvenile cases in our jurisdiction often meant lengthy wait periods depending on caseloads in the court. I also recall at least one shoplifting case in which the lawyer for the defendant requested extensions three separate times hoping that I would not appear for the hearing and the case would be dropped. No dice, I showed up for each hearing and finally the lawyer entered a guilty plea. The problem with the lengthy cases was that we would have to hold the evidence until the cases were settled. In some situations the police department held the recovered merchandise, such as when they stopped the suspect after the suspect fled the store. When merchandise has to be held for long periods it is possible for it to sit in evidence and be forgotten about. For stores that are too small to have security or Loss Prevention Departments management may be storing that evidence and no one is thinking about following up on cases with their police department or court.
