Entry #2. Four Basic Types of Shoplifters

Shoplifting offenders come from all ages, races, and walks of life. Why do people feel the need to steal? Aren't they afraid of getting caught up and going to jail? It's hard to believe that someone would dare to take something and not pay for it. However, if you work in retail like myself, you'll experience people stealing here and there. About a week ago, I actually experienced a young teenage girl stealing some of my store's clothes. I couldn't believe that a young girl like her had the balls to come into my store and take some of our clothing items and walk out. I immediately ran after her when the alarms went off, asked her to come back, and had security take care of her. Believe it or not, there are about 27 million shop lifters (or 1 in 11 people) in our nation today. That's some scary stuff. So, here are some types of shoplifters you can educate yourself about.


The Compulsive Shoplifter represents over 50% of all the other kinds of shoplifters combined. When the compulsive type of shoplifters steal, they do it for the "thrill", which satisfies their urges. This urge is usually driven by an emotional need, such as early childhood losses, or other addictions this person may already have. Low self-esteem can drive someone to steal so that they can feel good about themselves afterwards. Instead, they end up feeling some sort of shame and guilt that adds onto their emotional pain already. Which fuels these people to continue to shoplift one time after another. These people will end up hitting a downward spiral until they seek for real help.


The teen "Impulsive Thrill Seeker" shoplifter consists of approximately 15% of shoplifters. They tend to operate in groups or pairs. Many teenagers that seek for the thrill end up feeling too much shame or finally getting caught, which will make them stop immediately. However, there are some that get trapped into the cycle of a Compulsive Shoplifting. More than 50% of all adult shoplifters said they started in their teens.


The "Impoverished" Shoplifter, which roughly consists of 15% of all shoplifters steal only to survive. These people usually don't want to, but feel like they need to. More often, you'll see a woman who desperately needs the basic necessities to keep herself and her family alive. They tend not to take their responsibility for their actions, and start to blame "the system". Unfortunately, this kind of blaming behavior causes these people to steal and prevents them from having any kind of change.


The Professional Shoplifter will consist of about 13-15% of all shoplifters. Their purpose is to keep up with their expensive lifestyle or a serious drug addiction. These people most likely work alone and steal more expensive items at one time. Upon capture they will show absolutely no remorse which is very sad for them.


Like I have said, working in retail you'll experience these kinds of shoplifters. You'll be surprised, shoplifters, often times, have the most devious plans that trick people into thinking they aren't doing anything wrong. Theft has gone down a good amount though because stores have made it much more difficult for these people to get away with it. With all the camera's, security tags, and security doors...people should never steal! They should work for these things.