A Victimless Crime?

Shoplifting has always been viewed as a victimless crime. It is one of the reasons why shoplifters justify what they are doing. They view their theft as a crime against a faceless company where no one specifically gets hurt. The majority of these shoplifters would never steal from a friend, or commit another kind of home invasion or burglary. That would be violating a specific person, and much harder to morally justify.

When you work retail, you understand just how far from the truth it really is. Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Its victims are actually frequent and plentiful, starting with the store owners and employees. These are the ones who have to bear the majority of the effects shoplifting has.

To start with, small business owners often do not have the inventory turns needed to effectively diminish the financial impact of stolen merchandise. Unlike companies with thousands of locations that collectively absorb the financial impact of higher cost of goods and lost sales, small businesses rely on their slim profits from maximizing every dollar spent in their stores.

Employees are the next to feel the pains of shoplifting. Hours can be cut, reducing their personal paychecks. Store maintenance, heating and cooling can also be reduced as finances are moved back into inventory replenishment. The overall morale of a store can be reduced, making for an unpleasant place to work.

Customers are the last to feel the brunt of shoplifting, but they still feel it. They are the ones whose time and patience are wasted looking for items the store should have, but doesn’t. They frequently unload their displeasure onto the employees who already have a reduced morale. Customers start taking their sales elsewhere; shopping at stores they can rely on.

Even though a shoplifting crime does not target a specific person, it is by far not a victimless crime.