Shoplifting and Preventive Measures

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Table of Contents

Review of Literature
Problem and Theory
Variables and Hypothesis
Sample
Research Design
Data Collection Method
References

One of the most common methods of misappropriation of things today is shoplifting – a type of theft in which a conflict-free theft of goods in retail stores is committed. Due to the development of a system of modern supermarket stores, where the buyer can independently contact the goods, this system has become particularly widespread. Losses from theft in supermarkets are significant, but the revenue from sales in this type of stores is quite high and compensates for losses from theft. Thus, one can say that shoplifting is one of the types of deviant behavior that has engulfed wide segments of the population and, first of all, young people. This movement got its development thanks to the opening of a large number of supermarkets and the creation of virtual communities that allow interaction and contacts between representatives of this deviant group. From other types of thefts, such differ in that they occur without the use of weapons and direct contact with a person. Therefore, it is important to determine the mechanisms of combating shoplifting, as this activity is becoming more and more popular.

Review of Literature

According to the 2020 National Retail Safety Survey, the loss of inventory—related shoplifting-had an impact on the U.S. retail economy of $61.7 billion in 2019. Martínez-Mascorro et al. (2021) divides shoplifting into two categories: 1) professional – specializing in stealing things for the purpose of reselling them, 2) amateur – stealing from time to time for yourself. The second category is amateurs, the most numerous, because these people are engaged in shoplifting occasionally, when the risk of being caught is minimal or the amount of stolen items is insignificant. This scheme has a number of variations: in some cases, the thief tries to take the goods out of the store, in others, if it is a food item, it can be eaten directly in stores. Moreover, such people often do not consider themselves thieves and broadcast such behavior to children and others. For some, primarily for young people, shoplifting is a kind of extreme practice, the desire to show themselves.

In order to identify the causes and factors of the development of the shoplifter movement, Ansari & Singh conducted a sociological study. Thus, a semi-standardized interview was used as a research method (Ansari & Singh, 2022). The sample consisted of 11 people associated (most of them in the past) with the movement of shoplifters and 2 people – employees of chain stores who, due to their work, encounter shoplifters. A typical portrait of a representative of this movement is a young man from a middle–class family, usually without significant financial difficulties. Most often, expensive things are stolen, which are small in size and easy to sell for good money. For example, elite alcoholic beverages, clothing, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics (Becerra et al., 2022). They do not disdain chocolates, chewing gum and other small things. The scope of activity of such thieves is not limited to the country of residence. Experienced people in this business often travel abroad and earn good money on the appropriation of expensive goods. Income allows them to lead, from the point of view of a simple man in the street, a luxurious life.

Shoplifting is often the result of the psychological problems of the people who commit it. Finding out the true motives of shoplifters is part of fair treatment in the criminal justice system (Pollock, 2018). A study by Nadeau et al. (2019) developed a typology of perpetrators of such crimes. In addition to impulsivity, economic distress, and stealing as a hobby, respondents reported depression and addictive-compulsive behavior (Nadeau et al., 2019). Bai et al. (2019) also emphasizes that shoplifting is a consequence of psychological characteristics such as feelings of alienation and need for thrills. Investigation and prevention of cases of shoplifting should take into account the psychological characteristics of the perpetrators.

In general, the motives of theft are divided into three large groups: 1) to do good to oneself; 2) to make others feel good through stolen goods and thereby earn their good attitude; 3) for the company – theft is committed together with the group not for enrichment, but on the basis of the desire to be accepted by the group, to comply with its norms (Kim et al., 2021). The respondents’ first experience of shoplifting is associated with different situations, but most of them are confident in the relative fairness of their theft, whether it is payment for unpaid money or an inflated price for individual goods, primarily intellectual ones. In general, the description of the theft of books, namely books, and not food, is a common topic among young people (Kim et al., 2021). At the same time, it is emphasized that those who inflate the prices of books should be punished.

To prevent or minimize shoplifting, it is important to install video surveillance everywhere. The purpose of video surveillance is not only to prevent theft, but also to identify thieves, which is greatly helped by working with the video archive (Becerra et al., 2022). It should be noted that the video surveillance system becomes much more effective if it is integrated with cash registers. The principle of operation of the integrated system is to synchronize cash transactions and record video from a TV camera that is directed at the cash register. The system operator sees on the screen an image of what is happening in and around the cash register, and all the inscriptions contained in the receipt are superimposed on this image, like captions.

The integrated system, as already clear from what has been said, makes it easy to identify cases of fraud in which the goods passing through the cashier do not correspond to what was entered in the receipt (when closing labels, using labels of cheaper goods and entering the product code manually). The use of an integrated system will allow further ranking of recorded crimes, creating a more advanced protection system (Kirichenko et al., 2020). With the help of conventional video surveillance, it is extremely difficult to do this. The integrated system also provides much wider opportunities than “clean” video surveillance when working with the archive.

Problem and Theory

Problem statement: Stores without video surveillance are more often subjected to shoplifting.

Theory: Video surveillance in stores should reduce to a minimum the number of shoplifting acts.

Variables and Hypothesis

The independent variable is video surveillance.

The dependent variable is shop lifting.

The hypothesis is: “In stores with video surveillance, the probability of theft is less than in stores without video surveillance”.

Sample

In order to support the theory that video surveillance in stores is a successful measure to combat shoplifting, it is necessary to include stores in the sample that did not have such a system of control. 10 stores should be identified, which will be the sample for the practical part of the study. The selection criteria should be reported cases of shoplifting in the last year and the absence of a video surveillance system. Installing a video surveillance system and informing buyers about it should reduce the number of cases of shoplifting.

Research Design

The aim of the study is to develop an effective method for preventing shoplifting, based on the psychological characteristics of the perpetrators of such crimes. According to researchers, non-impulsive shoplifters fear getting caught (Schwartz & Hoellen, 2021). Installing video monitoring systems and alerting shoppers about this decision should have a significant effect on the number of shoplifting cases. The approach of the current study is quantitative, it will rely on the number of shoplifting cases before and after the installation of video systems, which will test the relationship between the variables.

The effectiveness of the proposed strategy will be measured based on data on shoplifting cases. Evidence-based research requires at least a month of observation of the participating stores. Despite the fact that the selection criteria for the sample are the reported number of cases of shoplifting and the absence of video surveillance systems, the sample is randomized. The non-biasedness of the sample will also make it possible to trace the correlation between the video surveillance system and the area, allowing subsequently to adapt the strategy for residents of different regions. The hypothesis will be proven if there is a significant decrease in the number of cases of shoplifting after the installation of video surveillance. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategic plan will be based on the ratio of the economic benefits of the solution in comparison with the absence of its implementation.

Data Collection Method

The data collection method will be the analysis of reports from the sample stores, as well as the study of materials that will be provided by the video surveillance system. Primary data will include the number of reported cases in sample stores without integrated video surveillance. Secondary data needed for performance analysis will be obtained and analyzed on the basis of material that can be captured by the installed cameras. It is expected that an integrated video surveillance system will allow clear identification of cases of shoplifting. The number of thefts can also be matched by the number of checks to reveal discrepancies between the product captured on the camera and the final payment. Data collection will be a long and laborious process, but the information obtained will help record the number of shoplifting cases with high accuracy.

References

Ansari, M. A., & Singh, D. K. (2022). ESAR, An Expert Shoplifting Activity Recognition System. Cybernetics and Information Technologies, 22(1), 190-200. Web.

Bai, Y., Wu, W. P., & Cheung, M.F.Y. (2019). How personality traits, employee incompetence and consumer similarity influence shoplifting behavior?Journal of Consumer Marketing, 36(3), 379-392. Web.

Becerra, E. P., Brynildsen, G., & Korgaonkar, P. (2022). The effects of acculturation on Hispanic Americans’ perceptions of shoplifting. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 68(1), 1-20. Web.

Kim, S., Hwang, S., & Hong, S. H. (2021). Identifying shoplifting behaviors and inferring behavior intention based on human action detection and sequence analysis. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 50(1), 1-18. Web.

Kirichenko, L., Radivilova, T., Sydorenko, B., & Yakovlev, S. (2022). Detection of Shoplifting on Video Using a Hybrid Network. Computation, 10(11), 199-211. Web.

Martínez-Mascorro, G. A., Abreu-Pederzini, J. R., Ortiz-Bayliss, J. C., Garcia-Collantes, A., & Terashima-Marín, H. (2021). Criminal intention detection at early stages of shoplifting cases by using 3D convolutional neural networks. Computation, 9(2), 24-38. Web.

Nadeau, M. M., Rochlen, A. B., & Tyminski, R. (2019). The psychology of shoplifting: Development of a new typology for repeated shoplifting. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(13), 2338-2355. Web.

Pollock, J. M. (2018). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning US.

Schwartz, D., & Hoellen, B. (2021). “Forbidden Fruit Tastes Especially Sweet.” Cognitive-Behavior Therapy with a Kleptomaniac Woman – A Case Report. In Case Studies in Mental Health Treatment (pp. 27-31). Routledge.

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