Article

Who actually steals? A study of covertly observed shoplifters

Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Justice Quarterly
Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Shoplifting is one of the most common and costly crimes, yet little data exist to determine reliably characteristics of the typical shoplifter or the modus operandi of the crime. It is a crime that has most often been studied using official, secondary data provided by either retail security personnel or law enforcement officers. Reliability issues plague these official data. Continuing the “dark figure of crime” tradition, this study examines shoplifting by covert observation with a camera system installed in a typical suburban retail drug store. A standardized data template was used to record the demographic and behavioral characteristics of shoppers. Significant numbers of shoppers (8.5%) were observed shoplifting. Logistic regression analysis reveals that, while members of some demographic groups shoplifted more often than others, behavioral indicators carried far more predictive power. The methodology and findings are considered within the larger context of the law enforcement and “profiling” literatures.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Then, by analyzing action sequences through the use of combinations of detected actions (e.g., an action sequence such as walking-standing-watchingwalking-repeatably watching-…), non-semantic-level actions are transformed into semantic-level information to infer the intention underlying abnormal behaviors. Then, the applicability of the developed framework to a specific abnormal behavior, namely the detection of shoplifters in retail stores, is tested because shoplifting is one of the common and costly crimes [14]. ...
... This theory suggests that there are pre-and post-indications of abnormal behaviors such as crime because criminals need to be aware of the scenario and evaluate their risks, which can provide clues to identify abnormalities. For example, Dabney et al. [14] explained that shoplifters often exhibit behavioral signs before concealing goods, such as scanning the store and tampering with products. Therefore, to better identify abnormal behaviors from data, it is important to understand the overall context of the performed actions. ...
... In this study, we demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework with a focus on shoplifting behaviors, which is one of the common and costly crimes [14]. The retail industry suffers huge losses due to shoplifting. ...
Article
Identification of abnormal behaviors affecting public safety (e.g., shoplifting, robbery, and stealing) is essential for preventing human casualties and property damage. Many studies have attempted to automatically identify abnormal behaviors by detecting relevant human actions by developing intelligent video surveillance systems. However, these studies have focused on catching predefined actions associated explicitly with the target abnormal behavior, which can lead to errors in judgment when such actions are undetected or inaccurately detected. To better identify abnormal behaviors, it is essential to understand a series of performed actions to capture behaviors’ pre- and post-indications (e.g., repeatably looking around and spotting CCTVs) and infer the intentions underlying such behaviors. Thus, in the present study, we propose a framework to identify abnormal behaviors through deep-learning-based detection of non-semantic-level human action components segmented with a window size of several seconds (e.g., walking, standing, and watching) and performing sequence analyses of the detected action components to infer behavior intentions. Then, we tested the applicability of the framework to the specific scenario of shoplifting, one of the most common crimes. Analysis of actual incident data confirmed that shoplifting intentions could be effectively gauged based on distinct action sequence features, and the intention inference results are continuously updated with the accumulated series of detected actions during the course of the input video stream. The results of this study can help enhance the ability of intelligent surveillance systems by providing a new means for monitoring abnormal behaviors and deeply understanding the underlying intentions.
... The arrest data are also distorted (i.e., not inclusive of all apprehended shoplifters) due to police officers' use of discretion, which allows them not to charge some offenders (e.g., because of age, criminal history, merchandise cost); instead, offenders are released with a warning, resulting in only a small proportion of all shoplifters who are actually booked (Dabney et al. 2004). Further, the average number of shoplifting cases prosecuted has declined over a 3-year period from 2739 in 2015 to 1935 in 2016 to 742 in 2017 (Moraca and Hollinger 2017). ...
... Official arrest statistics are also a reflection of societal stereotypes and prejudices in regard to the typical criminal. These biases affect the retailers and their agents' decisions of whom to surveille, typically those who fit the physical appearance of a "criminal" stereotype (i.e., male, African-American, lower-class) profile, and whether or not the shoplifter gets processed, charged, and sentenced in the criminal justice system (Dabney et al. 2004;Shapiro and Maras 2017). In this way, the official profile is reinforced, despite the fact that shrink continues to increase. ...
... The impact of stereotypes becomes apparent when retailers and their agents target potential shoplifters from groups that are out-of-sync with their representation in the population. Differential surveillance practices due to consumer racial profiling result in a higher number of African American shoplifters being arrested than are actually represented in the population (Dabney et al. 2004). The result is often harmful to the reputation of the store, reduction in minority shoppers, and lawsuits, without effectively reducing shoplifting incident rates (Shapiro and Maras 2017). ...
... Similarly, it has been suggested that as many as two-thirds of all thefts go unreported (NCVS, 2012). As a result, it is argued by some that no other crime is as severely under-reported as shoplifting (Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004;Hollinger & Davis, 2002). ...
... An added dimension to research on shoplifting motivations emerges with the addition of gender as a variable of interest. There has been a prevailing belief that women display a higher propensity for involvement in shoplifting than men (see Dabney, Hollinger & Dugan, 2004 for a review), so much so that it has at times been referred to as a 'pink collar' crime (Caputo & King, 2011). A number of studies have however challenged this view (Flanagan & Maguire, 1990;HIndelang, 1974;Moschis, 1987) and contemporary scholarship has pointed to male Blanco et al. (2008) reported that among their US sample of 4,422 adult shoplifting offenders, 60 per cent were male. ...
... A number of studies have however challenged this view (Flanagan & Maguire, 1990;HIndelang, 1974;Moschis, 1987) and contemporary scholarship has pointed to male Blanco et al. (2008) reported that among their US sample of 4,422 adult shoplifting offenders, 60 per cent were male. Indeed, the work of other scholars has revealed similar results (Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004;Hirtenlehner, Blackwell, Leitgoeb, & Bacher, 2014). Within the literature on youth shoplifting too, although some studies have found higher levels of participation among girls (Wikstrom, Treiber, & Hardie, 2012), the majority have concluded that prevalence rates among boys are higher (Bamfield, 2012). ...
Book
It is generally accepted that men commit more crimes than women. The widespread acceptance of this view is based primarily on the number of convictions with most jurisdictions reporting considerably fewer incarcerated women/girls than men/boys. This manuscript argues however that decisions made by the various stakeholders that play a role in the incarceration of men are inherently gendered. These decisions are based on patriarchal perceptions and stereotypes related to the familial roles of men and women, and by extension their motivations for offending. Few studies have sought to explore the nature of these perceptions, and the effect these may have on incarceration patterns. Indeed, this form of inquiry remains absent from the research agenda of Caribbean criminologists. Using qualitative data from Barbados, this book analyses the extent to which these factors are taken into consideration not only by the police and members of the judiciary, but by examining the gendered decisions made by shop managers and proprietors in cases involving shoplifting, it seeks to analyse the extent to which these factors are taken into consideration before incidents reach the justice system. Critically, this book seeks also to juxtapose these assumptions against testimony from men incarcerated at Her Majesty’s Prison. The large proportion of males in Caribbean prisons when compared to their female counterparts necessitates an investigation into the factors that may contribute to differential treatment as they move through the justice system. Using data from Barbados, the present study seeks to fill this need.
... Many retailers have employed anti-theft tactics, such as anti-theft clothing tags, security guards, CCTV recording of expensive goods, and loss prevention departments. It is important to note, however, that it remains one of the most underreported or misreported crimes, and hence, self-reports on shop-lifting behavior tend to be the most common way to gather data (see Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). ...
... A review of the literature reveals a very confusing and often contradictory image of who represents typical shoplifters, perhaps partly due to the fact that shoplifting suffers from reporting issues (see Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). There are, however, a few studies that rely on direct observation via use of CCTV cameras. ...
... There are, however, a few studies that rely on direct observation via use of CCTV cameras. Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan (2004) observed shoppers in a drug store in Atlanta which revealed several interesting findings: proportionately, more shoplifters were men, middle-aged (35-54 years) individuals, or individuals visibly from a low socioeconomic class. ...
... CCTV recordings, however, can sometimes be used to measure both personal and situation characteristics and to compare their relative importance. For example, to examine the rate of shoplifting and the types of people committing it, Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan (2004) used footage from covertly installed CCTV cameras in a suburban retail drug store. They found not only that no less than 8.5 percent were seen shoplifting but also that behavioral cues of shoplifting intent (scanning the store to check whether someone is watching, tampering with products, and keeping track of security measures) and leaving the store without making a purchase were much better predictors of shoplifting than age, race, social class, and other personal characteristics of the customers. ...
... In the field of criminology, one of the pioneering studies using CCTV footage was by Dabney et al. (2004) who used recordings taken in a suburban retail drug store in the United States to study shoplifting. Their findings questioned some widely held stereotypes about shoplifting. ...
... These pioneering studies about crime based on CCTV footage are remarkable because of the degree of detail they provide into the behavior during crime events. Some of them provide insights that we simply had no knowledge of before (Dabney et al. 2004;, and some refine already existing theories (Jobard and Lévy 2011;Klusemann 2012;Levine et al. 2011;Moeller 2016;Nassauer 2015;Piza and Sytsma 2016). ...
Article
Objectives: The widespread use of camera surveillance in public places offers criminologists the opportunity to systematically and unobtrusively observe crime, their main subject matter. The purpose of this essay is to inform the reader of current developments in research on crimes caught on camera. Methods: We address the importance of direct observation of behavior and review criminological studies that used observational methods, with and without cameras, including the ones published in this issue. We also discuss the uses of camera recordings in other social sciences and in biology. Results: We formulate six key insights that emerge from the literature and make recommendations for future research. Conclusions: Camera recordings of real-life crime are likely to become part of the criminological tool kit that will help us better understand the situational and interactional elements of crime. Like any source, it has limitations that are best addressed by triangulation with other sources.
... Forney and Crutsinger (2001) claim that 38% are adolescents and 62% are adults. Dabney et al. (2004) found that middle-aged shoppers (35-54) were the most common shoplifters. Blanco et al. (2008) also report that out of a US national survey of 4,422 adult shoplifters, 60% were men and 40% were women. ...
... Blanco et al. (2008) also report that out of a US national survey of 4,422 adult shoplifters, 60% were men and 40% were women. While the gender gap in shoplifting is relatively small, Hirtenlehner et al. (2014) and Dabney et al. (2004) also observed that men were more likely to steal. Sarasalo et al. (1998) found that in Sweden the gender split was 50/50% and the mean age was 33. ...
... Sarasalo et al. (1998) found that in Sweden the gender split was 50/50% and the mean age was 33. Dabney et al. (2004) observed that lower and working class people stole more often than middle and upper class folks. Blanco et al. (2008) also reported that shoplifters can be from any economic group. ...
Article
Full-text available
This is an exploratory investigation into the relevancy of five micro-criminological theories to American college students' self-reported shoplifting (willful concealment) experience. A 146-item Likert-style questionnaire was voluntarily completed by non-randomly selected male and female undergraduates (N=259) at four American universities. From this sample, 166 reported having shoplifted. The survey items were inspired by Akers and Sellers' social learning theory, Sykes and Matza's techniques of neutralization, Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory, Cornish and Clarke's rational choice theory, and Cohen and Felson's routine activity theory. Through factor analysis, 12 factors were developed, two or three for each theory. The results support these theories, but only certain elements of them seemed relevant to our data. We also found that self-control theory and rational choice theory were more relevant to low frequency shoplifters (one or two times), and social learning theory and routine activities theory were more associated with higher frequency shoplifters (three and more-than-three times).
... The strength of the eye-tracking device is that by recording exactly what the wearer is seeing, it allowed us to "see thief" in our endeavor to "think thief" (Ekblom, 1995). Past research has generated valuable information about shoplifters' perspectives on security through methods such as interviewing about past offenses (e.g., Cardone, 2006;Gill et al., 1999), recording hypothetical decision making (e.g., Carmel-Gilfin, 2011, 2013Carroll and Weaver, 1986), and covert observations of shoplifters using CCTV (Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan, 2004). In the current study, participants narrated their thought processes while viewing their own video recordings, which could be paused to ask for clarification or follow-up questions. ...
... Third, because the eye-tracking device recorded participants' direct lines of sight, we were unable to assess their outward appearances or physical behaviors while they were engaged in shoplifting. This precluded us from being able to draw conclusions about how shoplifters appear to observers or about tell-tale actions that can alert store personnel to shoplifting, such as those made by Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan (2004). Fourth, although appropriate for a qualitative study, our sample was small and largely composed of college students. ...
... Their argument relies on the fact that more African-Americans recidivate according to DoJ statistics. Shockingly, Flores and colleagues, writing in defense of the DoJ, fail to acknowledge the significant evidence for racial bias within the criminal justice system itself, with Black populations suffering from higher rates of stop, search, and arrest, despite research to suggest that their crime rate is relatively similar to other populations [17,7,5,8,18,19]. As a result, crime datasets often imply a much higher rate of criminality for Black populations than is likely to be the case. ...
... However, there is a significant body of research to suggest that Black people are unfairly represented in criminal datasets due to the racial bias of those responsible for enacting the law [8,18,19]. In certain circumstances, it has even been found that the true rate of crime for Black persons is likely equal to that of White persons, despite large differences in the data collected by law enforcement bodies [5,17]. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Most datasets of interest to the analytics industry are impacted by various forms of human bias. The outcomes of Data Analytics [DA] or Machine Learning [ML] on such data are therefore prone to replicating the bias. As a result, a large number of biased decision-making systems based on DA/ML have recently attracted attention. In this paper we introduce Rosa, a free, web-based tool to easily de-bias datasets with respect to a chosen characteristic. Rosa is based on the principles of Fair Adversarial Networks, developed by illumr Ltd., and can therefore remove interactive, non-linear, and non-binary bias. Rosa is stand-alone pre-processing step / API, meaning it can be used easily with any DA/ML pipeline. We test the efficacy of Rosa in removing bias from data-driven decision making systems by performing standard DA tasks on five real-world datasets, selected for their relevance to current DA problems, and also their high potential for bias. We use simple ML models to model a characteristic of analytical interest, and compare the level of bias in the model output both with and without Rosa as a pre-processing step. We find that in all cases there is a substantial decrease in bias of the data-driven decision making systems when the data is pre-processed with Rosa.
... The strength of the eye-tracking device is that by recording exactly what the wearer is seeing, it allowed us to 'see thief' in our endeavor to 'think thief' (Ekblom, 1995). Past research has generated valuable information about shoplifters' perspectives on security through methods such as interviewing about past offenses (for example, Gill et al, 1999;Cardone, 2006), recording hypothetical decision making (for example, Carroll and Weaver, 1986;Carmel-Gilfin, 2011, 2013, and covert observations of shoplifters using CCTV (Dabney et al, 2004). In the current study, participants narrated their thought processes while viewing their own video recordings, which could be paused to ask for clarification or followup questions. ...
... Third, because the eye-tracking device recorded participants' direct lines of sight, we were unable to assess their outward appearances or physical behaviors while they were engaged in shoplifting. This precluded us from being able to draw conclusions about how shoplifters appear to observers or about tell-tale actions that can alert store personnel to shoplifting, such as those made by Dabney et al (2004). Fourth, although appropriate for a qualitative study, our sample was small and largely composed of college students. ...
Article
Full-text available
Retailers invest considerable sums of money in security measures designed to prevent shoplifting. However, little is known about shoplifters’ perceptions of anti-shoplifting security measures or shoplifters’ techniques for outmaneuvering them. Building on Ekblom’s recommendation to ‘think thief’ to disengage from the crime prevention arms race, our data consist of in-depth interviews with active shoplifters who simulated shoplifting at two national retail stores while wearing an eye-tracking device. Shoplifters in the present study describe their perceptions of the deterrence potential of specific security measures and the various counter-moves employed to successfully steal merchandise. Implications for ‘thinking thief’ in the retail environment are discussed.
... When stores apprehend a shoplifter, they frequently do not call the police. When they do, officers often choose to issue a warning or downgrade formal charges (Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan 2004). Researchers have tried to improve the measurement of shoplifting by (1) conducting self-report studies of shoplifting, (2) following randomly selected shoppers into stores to see whether they steal anything, and (3) comparing thefts of marked items with sales of those items. ...
... Stores report shrinkage as a percentage of gross sales (Langton and Hollinger 2005). It is difficult to disaggregate the true amount of shoplifting from the overall shrinkage, though retail executives estimate that shoplifting accounts for approximately 40 percent of the total shrinkage (Dabney et al. 2004;Hollinger and Davis 2002). ...
Article
Objectives Some everyday products, particularly over-the-counter drugs, which are sold in supermarkets and other stores can produce a “high” or serve other roles in illicit drug use. Informed by CRAVED, a model of theft choices derived from crime opportunity theory, this study explores whether products with known roles in drug use are shoplifted at higher rates than other products. Methods Products that serve a variety of roles in illicit drug use were identified through a review of the medical literature and web sources. Data from 204 supermarkets yielded theft rates for 551 of these products, which were compared with theft rates for 7,887 products sold by the same stores without known roles in drug abuse. Results Theft rates of products with roles in drug use were significantly higher than theft rates of other products. Conclusions Knowing which products are shoplifted can provide only limited information about the shoplifter’s “craft.” In this case, more information was needed about the security given to products by the stores, which has broader implications for CRAVED. Despite this, the findings about the higher theft rates of products with known drug roles could assist retailers, manufacturers, and responsible government agencies to secure these products from theft.
... Observational evidence that does not rely on accurate self-reporting suggests adult shoplifting might approach or even surpass that of young people, generating a spread-out age distribution (e.g., Buckle & Farrington 1984, Dabney et al. 2004). Most notably, Dabney and colleagues' (2004) unobtrusive study using real-time video observation of a large, randomly selected sample of shoppers at a retail drug store found that (a), overall, about 9% shoplifted and (b) middle-aged shoppers (35-54) were more commonly shoplifters compared to younger age categories (under 18; 18-24) and to those over age 55, who were least likely to shoplift. ...
Article
Our goals were to assess competing narratives within criminology about contextual variation in the age–crime curve (ACC)—most prominently, whether the ACC shows constancy or difference across societies and historically and whether the prevalence of adolescent lawbreaking is high, with a majority of teens committing crime, contributing to a steep peak followed by rapid, continuous descent among adjacent adult age groups. We analyzed historical and cross-national evidence from numerous sources that revealed significant variance in ACCs. Strongly at odds with invariance projections of an adolescent peak and rapid descent, the predominant age–crime patterns outside the United States were postadolescent peaks and spread-out age distributions. Teen prevalence was typically much lower than the projection that a majority of teens commit crime, whereas the prevalence of adult crime was often sizable and serious. We illustrate using understudied societies how a socio-cultural framework that draws on age-graded expectations, social control practices, age-structured crime opportunities and stressors, and resultant lifestyle differences across significant life stages (adolescence, young adulthood, midlife) can apply to understanding cross-national differences in the age–crime relationship. Methodological challenges and future areas of research are discussed.
... For example, smuggling might involve concealing items on a person or in luggage, behavior which is unlikely to occur when the individual is being observed. The use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras is one way to capture some overt responses that occur while people are engaged in criminal acts (Dabney et al., 2004), but even with camera use, not all relevant responses will be captured (e.g., carrying hidden contraband). Smugglers traveling through borders might engage in the same behavior as people who are not smuggling (i.e., it is difficult to determine who might be carrying contraband just by looking at people). ...
Article
Detection dogs are used at border controls as an antecedent intervention to deter the smuggling of contraband. However, there is little research that has explored how the presence of dogs might affect passenger behavior. We observed passengers' behavior at a port when there was an officer alone, an officer with a dog, and an officer with a dog wearing a florescent yellow jacket with "police" written on it for increased salience. We measured eye contact, vocal-verbal interactions, facial expressions, and nonvocal verbal gestures toward the officer and dog, and changes in passenger direction. Passengers looked, talked, and had the highest frequencies of positive facial expressions when the dog was not wearing a jacket. However, passengers looked toward the dog the quickest and had the highest frequency of negative facial expressions and gestures when the dog was wearing a jacket. We discuss how these findings might inform antecedent interventions to address undesirable behavior such as smuggling.
... The recording allows real-time documentation of the shoplifter's journey as they navigate the store and make decisions in search of items to steal. The real-time video provides both visual footage and audio streaming of the shoplifter's decision-making that is not possible with previously used methods, such as verbal protocol in which participants walk through a store and talk hypothetically about shoplifting (see, e.g., Carmel-Gilfilen 2013; Carroll and Weaver 1986) or covert observations of shoplifters via closed circuit monitoring (Dabney et al. 2004). The video recordings thus serve as valuable memory prompts during the interview process. ...
... Since early research on the dark figure of crime, more recent investigations consistently document that far more crime, violence, and victimization occurs than legal authorities are aware of, and this is true whether the focus is cybercrime (Tcherni et al., 2016), shoplifting (Dabney et al., 2004), hate crime (Pezzella et al., 2019), stalking (Bouffard et al., 2021;Brady & Nobles, 2017), serial murder (Quinet, 2007;Yaksic, 2020), or sexual crime (Abel et al., 1987;Drury et al., 2020;Koss et al., 1987). In some cases, hundreds to thousands of criminal episodes and victimizations occur with the majority of those events never resulting in arrest. ...
Article
Although research on the dark figure of delinquency has produced valuable quantitative estimates of its size, prior research is mechanistic and atheoretical about the conceptual underpinnings of the crimes that go undetected by the juvenile justice system. Drawing on data from 253 adju-dicated youth in residential placements in the Midwestern United States, the current study found that youth self-reported over 25 delinquent offenses for every one police contact. The dark figure of delinquency has a wide distribution with some youth reporting upwards of 290 delinquent offenses per police contact or arrest. Youth who exhibited more psychopathic features, who displayed temperamental profiles characterized by low effortful control and high negative emotionality, males, and those who were older had larger dark figures of delinquency. Findings provide support for general criminological theories that invoke psychopathy or temperament as important individual-level drivers of delinquent conduct, much of which never results in juvenile justice system intervention and thus never achieves legal resolution.
... VDA also creates an 'incomparably richer record' (Jordan & Henderson, 1995, p. 52) of situational details that occur during dynamic criminal events while reducing researcher bias and enhancing accuracy and validity . VDA has been successfully applied to a variety of crime situations, including violent protests (Bramsen, 2018;Nassaure, 2016;Nassauer, 2018b), robberies (Mosselman, Weenink, Lindegaard, 2018;Nassauer, 2018a), police use of force (Willits & Makin, 2018), drug sales (Moeller, 2018;Sytsma & Piza, 2018), and shoplifting (Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). Combining VDA with other analytic tools is encouraged by Nassauer and Legewie (2018), which will create a robust analysis for understanding criminal behavior. ...
... Studies in behavioural ecology often collect data by directly observing the species' behaviour in situ (e.g., Tinker et al., 2012). The nature of criminology's research subject, however, restricts direct observation of the foraging process (van Gelder & Van Daele, 2014), although some notable exceptions exist (e.g., Dabney et al., 2004). Not being able to directly observe criminal behaviour forces crime researchers to infer offenders' decisions from aggregated recorded crime data. ...
... Studies in behavioural ecology often collect data by directly observing the species' behaviour in situ (for example, Tinker et al., 2012). The nature of criminology's research subject, however, restricts direct observation of the foraging process (Van Gelder and Van Daele, 2014), although some notable exceptions exist (for example, Dabney et al., 2004). Not being able to directly observe criminal behaviour forces crime researchers to infer offenders' decisions from aggregated recorded crime data. ...
Article
In order to explain how crimes are carried out, and why at a particular place and time and against a specific target, crime studies increasingly harness theory from behavioural ecology, in particular Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT). However, an overview of their main findings does not exist. Given the growing focus on OFT as a behavioural framework for structuring crime research, in this article we review the extant OFT-inspired empirical crime research. Systematic search in Google Scholar and Web of Science yielded 32 crime studies, which were grouped into four categories according to their research topic. Empirical results largely support predictions made by OFT. However, there remains much potential for future OFT applications to crime research, in particular regarding the theoretical foundation of OFT in criminology, and through the application of contemporary extensions to OFT using specific tools developed for the study of animal foraging decisions.
... After securing permission from a drugstore located in a racially diverse section of Atlanta, Dabney and his colleagues attempted to "generate an unbiased demographic and behavioral profile of the contemporary retail shoplifter." 49 In this effort, they hired and trained observers to randomly select and monitor the behavior of shoppers. They instructed the trained observers to randomly follow shoppers who had some way to conceal merchandise (e.g., baggy clothes, purse, or a bag), or who, within 15 seconds of entering the store, exhibited some widely accepted behavioral cues for those intending to steal (e.g., looking around, looking for anti-shoplifting measures, etc.). ...
... VDA also creates an 'incomparably richer record' (Jordan & Henderson, 1995, p. 52) of situational details that occur during dynamic criminal events while reducing researcher bias and enhancing accuracy and validity . VDA has been successfully applied to a variety of crime situations, including violent protests (Bramsen, 2018;Nassaure, 2016;Nassauer, 2018b), robberies (Mosselman, Weenink, Lindegaard, 2018;Nassauer, 2018a), police use of force (Willits & Makin, 2018), drug sales (Moeller, 2018;Sytsma & Piza, 2018), and shoplifting (Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). Combining VDA with other analytic tools is encouraged by Nassauer and Legewie (2018), which will create a robust analysis for understanding criminal behavior. ...
Article
Full-text available
Package theft is an emerging crime type due to the tremendous growth in online shopping and the delivery of goods directly to a home. Unattended delivery creates an opportunity for thieves to steal packages after delivery and before the resident collects them. It is believed that these types of incidents are increasing dramatically, and media attention has amplified awareness and concern of ‘porch pirates.’ Currently, little is known about unattended package theft and the present study represents the first known scholarly examination of this crime. Using Video Data Analysis to examine 67 YouTube videos of porch pirates engaged in criminal activity, the authors develop a Crime Script Analysis and identify Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) practices that can interrupt porch piracy. Findings indicate porch piracy occurs during daylight hours, at homes closer to a roadway, and most often with packages that can be easily seen from the roadway which are of medium size and usually have brand names on the box. Further, traditional SCP techniques such as fences, cameras, and guardians appear to have little impact on the thieves. Prevention techniques are discussed with the most promising including: increasing the risks, concealing packages, and removing packages. Additional findings, prevention techniques, and limitations are discussed.
... From this point, all conflicts, from the very mildest to the most severe, could be assessed. This most complete approach has been fruitfully applied in the criminal context of shoplifting offences (see Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). ...
Preprint
Night-time economy (NTE) leisure zones, while providing local economic growth and positive social experiences, are hotspots for urban public violence. Research aimed at better understanding and thus reducing this violence has employed a range of empirical methods: official records, self-reports, experiments, and observational techniques. In this paper, we review the applications of these methodologies for analyzing NTE violence on key research dimensions, including mapping incidents across time and space; interpreting the motivations and meaning of violence; identifying social psychological background variables and health consequences; and the ability to examine mid-violent interactions. Further, we assess each method in terms of reliability, validity, and the potential for establishing causal claims. We demonstrate that there are fewer and less established methodologies available for examining the interactional dynamics of NTE violence. Using real-life NTE bystander intervention as a case example, we argue that video-based behavioral analysis is a promising method to address this gap. Given the infancy and relative lack of exposure of the video observational method, we provide recommendations for scholars interested in adopting this technique.
... From this point, all conflicts, from the very mildest to the most severe, could be assessed. This most complete approach has been fruitfully applied in the criminal context of shoplifting offences (see Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). ...
Article
Night-time economy (NTE) leisure zones, while providing local economic growth and positive social experiences, are hotspots for urban public violence. Research aimed at better understanding and thus reducing this violence has employed a range of empirical methods: official records, self-reports, experiments, and observational techniques. In this paper, we review the applications of these methodologies for analyzing NTE violence on key research dimensions, including mapping incidents across time and space; interpreting the motivations and meaning of violence; identifying social psychological background variables and health consequences; and the ability to examine mid-violent interactions. Further, we assess each method in terms of reliability, validity, and the potential for establishing causal claims. We demonstrate that there are fewer and less established methodologies available for examining the interactional dynamics of NTE violence. Using real-life NTE bystander intervention as a case example, we argue that video-based behavioral analysis is a promising method to address this gap. Given the infancy and relative lack of exposure of the video observational method, we provide recommendations for scholars interested in adopting this technique.
... Prior research that systematically explores camera footage of criminal behavior is sparse and recent. In a study of covertly observed shoplifters (Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan 2004), 8.5 percent of the shoppers were seen shoplifting. Behavioral indicators predicted shoplifting far better than demographic characteristics. ...
Article
Robberies are improvised encounters involving offender threat, sometimes force, and often victim resistance. While the association between threat, force, and resistance in robberies is well-established, sequential patterns are disputed due to biases of retrospective studies. To overcome these biases, we draw on CCTV camera recordings of 49 store robberies. Tentative findings suggest that lethal threat reduces victim resistance and thereby offender violence, except in robberies where offenders depend on victims in accessing the valuables. In those robberies, lethal threat increases the likelihood of victim resistance despite having no effect on offender violence. By providing more reliable and detailed accounts of real-life behavior during robberies, our analysis illustrates the potential of a newly emergent field of studies of crimes caught on camera.
... Thus, compared tentatively with our descriptive findings on the rate of bystander victimization, Hamby et al.'s (2016) survey-based estimate suggests that a substantially lower proportion than one in six are victimized across several types of aggressive encounters. Although it can be argued that our main objective, to test theoretical hypotheses, is less affected by sampleselection bias (Collins 1983:195), future video-based research should prioritize probability sampling of naturally occurring bystander interventions and victimizations (for exemplary designs, see Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan 2004;Levine et al. 2011). ...
Article
Objectives Bystander studies have rarely considered the victimization risk associated with intervention into violent, dangerous emergencies. To address this gap, we aim to identify factors that influence bystanders’ risk of being physically victimized. Method We observed bystander behavior from video surveillance footage of naturally occurring violence in nighttime economy settings, and data were analyzed with a logistic regression model. Results Data show that approximately one of the six interventions results in some type of victimization, typically with a relatively low degree of severity. The bystander’s social group membership, the setting of the emergency, and the bystander’s intervention type are estimated as risk factors for victimization. Conclusions Previous research suggests that a bystander’s social group membership with victims promotes intervention behavior. Our results expand the role of social group membership as being a factor that also influences whether the intervening bystander is victimized.
... Jean 2007). CCTV cameras have recently been used to study how criminal events unfold, including street fights (Levine, Taylor, and Best 2011), violent demonstrations (Nassauer 2015), drug dealing (Moeller 2016), robberies (Lindegaard and Bernasco 2016), genocide (Kluseman 2012), shoplifting (Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan 2004), and drug dealing (Piza and Sytsma 2016). Jacques and colleagues Lasky, Jacques, and Fisher 2015) have developed a particularly interesting methodology involving the use of eye-tracking devices to monitor the behavior of would-be shoplifters. ...
Chapter
The strength of ethnography is that it combines the insights of what people say about crime with what they do when they make the decision to commit crime. Participant observation has played a key role in ethnographic research on crime, but it has become rare in criminology. This chapter argues that despite this development, new types of camera-based observations are emerging that can potentially bring new life into ethnographic research on crime. The chapter distinguishes between three types of observational methods (participant, researcher, and camera), and it discusses insights that have been gained from each method. Camera observations offer exciting possibilities of gaining insights into what offenders do as criminal events unfold. Although these types of observations may replace researcher observations because of higher detail and reliability, participant observations remain most suitable for the study of the socioeconomic circumstances of offenders and their experiences with committing crimes.
... Qualitative research is required to understand the shoplifters' perceptions of various security measures and factors influencing their choices. A few studies have explored this area, notably Weaver and Carroll (1985), and some more recent examples (e.g., Hayes 1999;Dabney et al. 2004;Carmel-Gilfilen 2013). While most of these studies rely on interviews and self-reports, recent research by Lasky et al. (2015) and Jacques et al. (2015) uses a novel approach to provide an additional layer of valid data to complement interviews with shoplifters. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study examines the variation in theft of shoplifted fast-moving consumer goods. Typically, shoplifting is estimated using shrinkage—a composite of several causes of lost retail merchandise. This study, however, benefits from access to a retailer’s database, in which extraordinary steps are taken to identify and record losses due to shoplifting only. This study is unique because of the more valid measure of shoplifting. A 1-year cross-sectional sample of 7468 products, sold in 204 U.S. chain supermarkets, was drawn from the retailer’s specialized database. Using Clarke’s (Hot products: understanding, anticipating, and reducing demand for stolen goods. Policing and Reducing Crime Unit, Paper 112, Home Office, London, 1999) CRAVED model of theft, products’ theft rates were correlated to the attributes consistent with the most vulnerable targets of theft. The results show that theft rates of products were significantly correlated to the measures for CRAVED. Regression analysis indicated that the measures for CRAVED were significant predictors of theft. Specifically, products were stolen more often when they were more Concealable, less Available, more Valuable, Enjoyable, and more Disposable. The most frequently stolen types of products were several types of cosmetics—primarily small but expensive products (e.g., eye, nail, lip products). Additionally, electronics, toys, and games had high theft rates. Implications for retailers, manufacturers, and governments are discussed. Suggestions for further research are also considered.
... Likewise, Buckle and Farrington (1984) in an observational study in a store in Peterborough (UK), which involved tracking and observing a random selection of 503 shoppers for an average of 6.9 min each found that 1.8% stole something and none was apprehended. In a more recent study from US, Dabney et al. (2004) found 8.5% of shoppers were observed shoplifting. These rates of shop theft suggest that many customers may be tempted occasionally to steal items. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Retailers routinely use security tags to reduce theft. Presently, however, there has been no attempt to systematically review the literature on security tags. Guided by the acronym EMMIE, this paper set out to (1) examine the evidence that tags are effective at reducing theft, (2) identify the key mechanisms through which tags are expected to reduce theft and the conditions that moderate tag effectiveness, and (3) summarise information relevant to the implementation and economic costs of tagging. Methods In this mixed-methods review, we performed systematic keyword searches of the published and unpublished literature, hand searched relevant journals, conducted forward and backward citation searches and consulted with four retailers. Studies were included if they reported an explicit goal of reducing the theft or shrinkage of items through the use of security tags in retail environments. Results We identified 50 eligible studies, eight of which reported quantitative data on the effectiveness of tags in retail environments. Across these eight studies, five showed positive results associated with the introduction of tags, but heterogeneity in the type of tag and reported outcome measures precluded a meta-analysis. We identified three mechanisms through which tags might plausibly reduce theft—increase the risks, reduce the rewards, increase the effort—which were found to vary by tag type, and their activation dependent on five broad categories of moderator: retail store and staff, customers (including shoplifters), tag type, product type, and the involvement of the police and criminal justice system. Implementation challenges documented in the literature related mainly to staffing issues and tagging strategy. Finally, although estimates are available on the costs of tagging, our searches identified no high-quality published economic evaluations of tagging. Conclusions Through applying the EMMIE framework this review highlighted the complexity involved in security tagging in retail environments, whereby different kinds of tags are expected to reduce theft through different casual mechanisms which are dependent on a distinctive configuration of conditions. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of tags as a theft reduction measure, albeit there is suggestive evidence that more visible tags are associated with greater reductions in theft than less visible tags.
... The recording allows real-time documentation of the shoplifter's journey as they navigate the store and make decisions in search of items to steal. The real-time video provides both visual footage and audio streaming of the shoplifter's decision making that is not possible with previously used methods, such as verbal protocol in which participants walk through a store and talk hypothetically about shoplifting (see, e.g., Carmel-Gilfilen 2013; Carroll and Weaver 1986) or covert observations of shoplifters via closed circuit monitoring (Dabney, Hollinger, and Dugan 2004). The video recordings thus serve as valuable memory prompts during the interview process. ...
Article
Full-text available
This article examines the utility of a novel tool for conducting offender-based research: the “eye-tracking device” (ETD), which is designed to identify what a person sees in the center of his or her vision. First, we review prior research using the ETD. Second, we detail the advantages and troubles we encountered when using it to study simulated shoplifting in retail outlets among 39 active offenders. Benefits of using the ETD include video recording what participants look at, which may serve as quantitative or qualitative data, and, when coupled with a questionnaire, the video footage may be used as a memory prompt and source of verification. Thus, using the ETD should reduce two sources of measurement bias: participants’ limited recall and intentional fabrication. However, limitations of the ETD are that it may inaccurately record what participants see in their peripheral vision and its physical structure makes some participants feel more inconspicuous than usual, both of which are pertinent to criminals’ attempts to avoid apprehension. The peripheral vision problem limits the quantitative output’s validity, whereas the physical structure concern potentially diminishes the generalizability of results. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theory and research.
... Scholarly attention to shoplifting has led to advances in theory and prevention with a large body of research on causes for involvement (e.g., Cromwell, Parker, & Mobley, 1999;Goldman, 1991;Klemke, 1982;Krasnovsky & Lane, 1998;Moore, 1983) and offender typologies (Abelson, 1989;Cameron, 1964;Caputo, 1998;Klemke & Egger, 1992). For loss prevention, research has considered how shoplifting is performed, looking at techniques involved in target selection (Carroll & Weaver, 1986;Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, 2004). What the literature lacks, however, is research that considers processes and motivations for professional shoplifting in an urban drug culture. ...
Article
Full-text available
This article explores the gendered nature of crime by investigating the motivations and justifications used by male and female substance abusers whose current source of income is shoplifting. Drawing upon interviews from a larger study, this subsample of active male and female offender narratives produces several themes. First, despite difficult personal circumstances and constant need to satisfy drug addictions, agency in action is expressed in how male and female drug users negotiate criminal options in an urban drug market. Second, men give different reasons for shoplifting over other hustles than do the more common subject of shoplifting studies, women. Although men rationalize shoplifting as a logical alternative to more “masculine” crimes (e.g., robbery), women compare it to the highly “feminized” crime of sex work. What male and female shoplifters do seem to share is a similar assessment of financial rewards and harm. Shoplifting is constructed as a form of work by women but less clearly so by the men. Third, both the men and the women express themselves using gender constructs in a fluid and dynamic way. They revise and develop ideas about what is masculine and what is “feminine.” We conclude that gender and agency is played out in this urban environment through crime selection and underlying rationales.
Article
Archival crime data collected by a police agency in Upstate New York from 2008 to 2015; outcome, sentencing, and incarceration data collected by the New York State’s Department of Criminal Justice Statistics; and demographic data collected by the U.S. Census were analyzed to explore how a suspect’s race and sex affect the investigation, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing in larceny cases. Results suggest that Black men were more likely to be the targets of excess suspicion, less likely to be granted leniency by prosecutors, no more likely to be convicted, but, if convicted, more likely to be incarcerated than White men.
Thesis
L’accélération de la justice pénale est un phénomène bien établi dans les pays européens. Si cette accélération est censée rapprocher la justice du reste de la société, elle est régulièrement décriée tant de l’intérieur de l’institution, car elle mettrait les magistrat·e·s sous pression, que de l’extérieur pour les risques qu’elle ferait porter à la qualité de la justice. Cette thèse vise à éprouver ces critiques en analysant une procédure accélérée allemande, le « besonders beschleunigtes Verfahren ». La recherche a consisté en une enquête ethnographique de dix mois dans un tribunal berlinois et une immersion dans les différents organes de l’appareil répressif, de l’enquête policière à l’audience. Cette recherche, particulièrement attentive à l’activité pratique des travailleur·euse·s du droit, a permis de montrer la singularité de cette filière pénale réservée aux populations vagabondes, qui permet l’audiencement de l’affaire le lendemain de la commission de l’infraction. L’activité des travailleur·euse·s est marquée par le respect des procédures et de la légalité, sans que cela ne s’accompagne d’une disparition de leur pouvoir discrétionnaire et de leur capacité à apprécier les situations. Ces travailleur·euse·s ne font pas face à des impératifs de productivité et n’ont pas le sentiment de manquer de temps. Cette thèse permet alors d’explorer les conditions de possibilité d’une accélération sans précipitation. Tout d’abord, le terme accélération recoupe une pluralité de situations que l’attention portée aux temporalités permet de désigner séparément. En particulier, nous distinguons la réduction des délais et l’augmentation des rythmes, qui emportent des effets différents. Dans le tribunal étudié, l’accélération du temps pénal ne s’accompagne pas de contraintes managériales ce qui permet également de séparer les conséquences de ces deux évolutions récentes de la justice. Enfin, en ce qui concerne les effets de l’accélération nous mon trons que ceux-ci ne sont pas homogènes, notamment en ce qui concerne les rapports au temps des individus en fonction des groupes professionnels auxquels ils appartiennent. Cette thèse invite donc à ne pas penser l’accélération comme un mouvement uniforme, ce qui permet d’envisager conjointement rapidité et qualité de la justice, comprise comme son adéquation aux normes qui l’encadrent.
Article
Many intriguing and socially significant policing research questions center on relatively rare events. Scholars may find few viable options to studying those rare events, limiting the development of research to support scientific knowledge and policy responses. The proliferation of body-worn cameras (BWCs) has produced a unique research opportunity through the creation of video archives documenting how officers interact with citizens and police communities. Researchers have access to aspects of police work and behavior previously available only through resource- and time-intensive methodologies, such as field observation. The allure of using video footage is understandably strong, but the limitations of this research methodology need to be understood and ameliorated. This article examines the use of video to support research, focusing on the methodological implications of this emerging research approach. We offer a case study examining police use of force in an east coast department to illustrate the potential and limitations of analyzing video content.
Article
Full-text available
This paper established prevalence of the characteristics in the shoplifting crimes and determined the supermarket operators’ perception of the effects of shoplifting crimes on society. The study was guided by three objectives: to establish offender characteristics of the shoplifting crimes, to establish prevalence of the characteristics in the shoplifting crimes and to determine the supermarket operators’ perception of the effects of shoplifting crimes on society. The study was guided by Rational Choice and the Routine Activity Theories. The study used a census sampling technique with a sample size of a hundred respondents. These included 90 junior employees of Tuskys, Uchumi and Naivas Supermarkets, 3 branch managers, 3 police officers within the area of the study and 4 officials of the Nairobi Supermarkets Association. Interview schedule was used to collect data. Data collected was organized, summarized and interpreted thematically by use of graphs, frequency tables, and percentages. The findings revealed that the prevalence of shoplifting was 1-2 incidences in a week. The results also revealed that the most commonly used method was concealing of items which were majorly done by women. Further, whereas there are other types of shoplifters, a concern raised by 30% of the respondents is that significant number of criminals has made shoplifting a career. This should inform policy makers, especially in this era of unprecedented unemployment. Additionally, as indicated by 55% of the respondents, staff colluded with criminals to steal from the supermarkets. This should appeal to supermarket operators as this may have an implication on supermarket businesses in the CBD. The study recommends several target hardening strategies to counter shoplifting crimes that included using high Radio-frequency identification (RFID) and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) programmed surveillance and records linked to the law enforcement through alarm trigger alerts in case of suspicious activities, with high-quality identifiable traceable images of shoplifters, to local law enforcement agencies.
Article
A number of philosophers argue that law enforcement officers may have good reasons to racially profile suspects under certain conditions. Their conclusions rest on a claim of epistemic rationality: if members of some races are at an increased risk of criminality, then it may be rational for law enforcement officers to subject them to increased scrutiny. In this paper I contest the epistemic rationality of racial profiling by appealing to recent work in criminology and the sociology of race and crime. I argue that recent studies indicate that race is a comparatively poor baseline for judging criminality. Law enforcement officers are therefore not making a cognitive error by ignoring race to focus on other correlates of crime but are keeping up with our best social science.
Article
Negative stereotypes are widely assumed to underpin the mistreatment that black Americans sometimes experience while engaging in everyday consumption activities like shopping or dining away from home. However, studies that directly observe the relationship between service providers’ endorsement of racial stereotypes and the nature of their interactions with black consumers are rare. In response, this study presents results from a factorial survey experiment designed to assess a theoretically grounded causal process leading service providers to racially profile consumers. In two independent samples of restaurant servers and bartenders we show that consumer racial discrimination in the context of full-service restaurants is a function of servers’ endorsement of racial stereotypes depicting blacks as undesirable customers who are dishonest, uncivil, demanding, and bad tippers. Furthermore, we show that servers’ endorsement of such stereotypes and their resultant tendencies to discriminate against black diners increases as a function of contemporary anti-black animus and employment in workplaces characterized by explicit expressions of anti-black biases.
Article
This exploratory paper examined the correlates of the decision of shoppers who perceived that they were victims of profiling in a retail setting to report the incident. As part of a larger study on consumer racial profiling (CRP), this paper examined the respondents who stated that they experienced CRP (n = 215) and reported the CRP incident (n = 45). Multivariate analysis was used to determine the most significant predictors of the decision to report the incident. The authors discuss the implications of the research results for the public and retailers.
Chapter
There is little doubt that the design of the built environment influences offender decision-making. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a crime reduction approach that aims to prevent crime though the design (pre-build) or manipulation (post-build) of the built environment. CPTED is based upon a set of principles that include movement control, surveillance, defensible space and physical security, and research (see Armitage, Crime Prevention Through Housing Design: Policy and Practice. Crime Prevention and Security Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 for overview) has demonstrated the effectiveness of CPTED in reducing crimes such as burglary within the residential environment. This research explores the extent to which CPTED (and other design related) measures can be used to reduce shoplifting within a retail environment—namely two major supermarket chains in England. The results reveal that the principles of CPTED are relevant within the retail environment and that offenders are deterred by these features, in particular, where these principles result in an immediate (as opposed to delayed) detection or apprehension. Whilst the research is conducted in supermarkets within England, the conclusions are internationally relevant and can be transferred to many different retail environments.
Chapter
Despite spending around £2bn on loss prevention, twenty-two percent of retail premises in the UK experienced shoplifting during 2014–2015, with theft by customers accounting for 72% of all crime suffered by the retail and wholesale sector (Home Office, Crime Against Businesses: Findings from the 2015 Commercial Victimisation Survey. London: Home Office, 2016). There remains, however, little data to reliably determine the characteristics of the perpetrators (Dabney, Hollinger, & Dugan, Justice Quarterly, 21, 693–728, 2004). This chapter therefore draws upon police recorded crime data between 2004–2014 in order to analyse the key characteristics of shop theft offenders in an English Core City. The narrative also examines the motivations of shop theft offenders, and their perceptions of retail security, based upon interviews conducted with some of the most prolific shop theft offenders within this city. The insights provided by these interviews reveal a group of individuals who perceive their crimes as ‘victimless’, and where the actions of the retailers in terms of the placement of products and layout of stores makes shoplifting ‘an unbelievably easy’ offence to commit.
Conference Paper
Self-service technologies within retail enable customers to scan, bag and pay for their items independent from staff involvement. The use of self-service, due to its nature of reducing social interaction between customers and staff, has been implicated in creating opportunities for thefts to occur. However, the perception of social presence, such as induced by surveillance, induces customers to show more prosocial behavior. As security personnel are at the forefront to deal with dishonest customers, we conducted semi-structured interviews with security guards in two major supermarkets in the UK to assess factors surrounding theft, with a view to identify operational or technological opportunities to address theft. Our findings show that the perceived motivational and situational factors contributing to theft are complex. We conclude that surveillance in its current form does not appear to provide a sufficient social presence to prevent potential theft at self-service checkouts (SCOs). Future research could focus on additional surveillance measures to induce social presence, such as technological implementations in the SCO itself.
Chapter
This entry provides an overview of the empirical research to date on shoplifting. It focuses on the shifting trends over time, especially the gradual theoretical and measurement developments over the past few decades. It concludes by considering contemporary studies on shoplifters' decision-making processes and by discussing the direction of continued research.
Chapter
Rarely is the topic of retailing far from the top of the news agenda — not least because of the inflated role the sector now plays in the economies of countries across the world. Measures of consumer confidence, sales and retailer profits are routinely scrutinized by governments and the ‘market’ alike to get a sense of the overall well-being (or not) of an economy — if people are shopping then all is deemed well with the world! This is perhaps not surprising when the scale of the sector is considered. Within the United Kingdom, retailing now accounts for 20% of gross domestic product, generates over £311 billion in annual sales and employs in excess of 3 million people (British Retail Consortium, 2013). It is also a highly competitive market driven by a need to continually evolve to survive as consumer tastes and demands change. This is best exemplified by the rise in e-shopping which has seen consumers increasingly demand the ability to shop online whenever and wherever they so wish leaving some retailers floundering to catch up (Guardian, 2013). For some retailing has fundamentally changed the nature of popular culture in many societies with shopping becoming the pastime of choice for large swathes of the population, undertaken in the new cathedrals of consumerism where they feast upon the latest ‘must have’ products (Bainbridge, 1984; Bamfield, 2012; Dawson et al., 2008a; Kent and Omar, 2003).
Article
The means by which the U.S. justice system attempts to control illegal hacking are practiced under the assumption that hacking is like any other illegal crime. This chapter evaluates this assumption by comparing illegal hacking to shoplifting. Three inhibitors of two illegal behaviors are examined: informal sanction, punishment severity, and punishment certainty. A survey of 136 undergraduate students attending a university and 54 illegal hackers attending the DefCon conference in 2003 was conducted. The results show that both groups perceive a higher level of punishment severity but a lower level of informal sanction for hacking than for shoplifting. Our findings show that hackers perceive a lower level of punishment certainty for hacking than for shoplifting, but students perceive a higher level of punishment certainty for hacking than for shoplifting. The results add to the stream of information security research and provide significant implications for law makers and educators aiming to combat hacking.
Book
In this important new work, two respected criminologists challenge the characterization of the new 'bad girl' arguing that it is only a new attempt to punish girls who are not the stereotypical depiction of good. Through interviews with young women, educators and people in the criminal justice system, Beyond Bad Girls exposes the formal and informal systems of socio-cultural control imposed on girls.
Article
Full-text available
Although criminals are known to put on a façade of normalcy while offending, no study has categorized the various ways they do so in a theoretically informed manner. We address this gap in the literature by drawing on Goffman’s notion of body gloss to explore how shoplifters “act normal” as they enter a store, take possession of and conceal a target, and exit. Our data consist of in-depth descriptions and explanations of active shoplifters who simulated shoplifting at retail stores while wearing an eye-tracking device. We find shoplifters’ normalcy-generating actions reflect two of the three types of body gloss outlined by Goffman, and that the type used depends on the stage of shoplifting. Implications for theory and research are discussed.
Article
Within the last two decades, scholars have studied public opinion on racial profiling in multiple contexts, yet there have been limited studies that have examined whether public opinion on racial profiling is consistent across these unique contexts. Using a random sample of White adults from Pennsylvania, we studied whether perceptions on the discriminatory nature of racial profiling, and the perceived effectiveness of this practice in airports, retail settings, and traffic stops, form two distinct latent measures. We found that perceptions of racial profiling as discriminatory are general across these multiple contexts; the same was found to be true for perceptions of effectiveness as well. These latent measures also had different correlates by age and gender.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of the present study was to compare a number of different psychological predictors of shoplifting using measures of depression, self-esteem, stress, coping, personality and attitudes toward shoplifting. 132 undergraduate students (84 males, 48 females) completed measures of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, personality, coping style, stress, attitudes toward shopping and shoplifting, and shoplifting behaviour. A stepwise discriminant function analysis was used to distinguish which variables best discriminated between those who shoplifted and those who did not. Within this analysis the shoplifter is best typified by the individual who perceives a low risk of getting caught shoplifting, sees psychological factors as important to shoplifting, suffers from personal and physical stress and does not use both the Focus on and Venting of Emotions, and the Behavioural Disengagement, coping styles.
Article
Full-text available
Deterrence theories rest on assumptions of how criminals think about crime opportunities. We studied the thought processes of seventeen expert shoplifters and seveteen novices during consideration of actual crime opportunities. Subjects individually walked through retail stores with instructions to "think aloud." One-half of each subject type was additionally instructed to form an intention to shoplift during their "shopping trip." The verbal protocols were taperecorded, transcribed and coded. Expert shoplifters were more efficient and strategic than nonshoplifters in their shoplifting considerations. Deterrents to shoplifting for novices included fear, guilt and the possibility of being caught. Experts were deterred by strategic difficulties, e.g., size of the item. Experts treated deterrents such as store personnel and security devices as obstacles they could overcome, whereas novices decided against shoplifting in the presence of any deterrent.
Article
Full-text available
Shoplifting is a troubling and widespread aspect of consumer behavior, particularly among adolescents, yet it has attracted little attention from consumer researchers. This article reports and interprets findings on the pervasiveness of shoplifting among adolescents, the characteristics that distinguish adolescent shoplifters from their nonshoplifting peers, and adolescents' views regarding the reasons for this behavior. Our findings contradict some popular stereotypes concerning the typical shoplifter and suggest some rethinking about adolescents' reasons for shoplifting. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
Article
The characteristics and motivations of adult shoplifters are documented in a survey of shoppers. Results indicated that shoplifting was related to economic and social stresses, depression, perceived deprivation, and rejection of society's dominant values. Implications for counseling are discussed.
Article
Cluster analysis is applied to substance use and delinquency data collected in a longitudinal study of juvenile detainees to empirically derive five groups of youths from information gathered at their initial interviews (time 1): alcohol/marijuana-hashish users, low-level delinquents, alcohol/ marijuana-hashish and cocaine-using nondelinquents, high delinquency, cocaine users, and heavy cocaine-using nondelinquents. The validity of the typology was supported by a variety of other initial interview and follow-up interview alcohol/other drug use and delinquency data, and by recidivism information - including data on arrests during the three-and-a-half years following the date of the youths' first interviews. Research and policy implications of the findings are drawn.
Article
Criminological research and theory generally proceed with the orientation, if not the assumption, that delinquency is the result of some series of events common to all delinquents. While some attention has been given to the concepts of typologies, multiple pathways, and different developmental sequences leading to different outcomes, rarely have these concepts been pursued empirically. This paper uses a typological approach to make a preliminary examination of the existence of multiple paths leading to delinquency. Data from the first two annual surveys of the Denver Youth Survey provide the basis for the analyses. The results support the notion that there is typological diversity in the backgrounds of youth who become delinquent, a diversity which, perhaps, should not be ignored.
Article
This paper reviews the research literature concerning the extent to which studies of delinquency that use official records produce results compatible with studies of delinquency that use self-reports of adolescents. Particular attention is given to sex, race, and social class as correlates of delinquency. The notion that official and self-report methods produce discrepant results with respect to sex, race, and class is largely illusory. In reaching conclusions of discrepancy several techniques have been used in the literature; the most general is the assumption that self-reports and official data tap the same domain of behavior. When the domain limitations of self-reports are recognized (and other illusory techniques are abandoned), the conclusion of general consistency between self-reports and official correlates for sex, race, and class emerges. This consistency and other evidence from victimization surveys, studies of the reliability and validity of self-reports, and studies of biases in criminal justice processing, suggest that both official data and self-reports provide valid indicators of the demographic characteristics of offenders, within the domain of behavior effectively tapped by each method.
Article
Relatively little research has addressed issues related to factors affecting the decisions of victims of crimes to report offenses to the police. Since these decisions have important consequences for offenders, and since official police and court statistics are often relied upon to make inferences about characteristics of offenders and offenses, it is crucial to examine the effects of selective mechanisms such as victim behavior. To this end records of shoplifters apprehended by drug and grocery stores in 1963, 1965, and 1968 were examined. Overall, the decisions of victims to refer shoplifters to the police were found to be more closely related to the value of the goods stolen, as well as to what was stolen and how it was stolen, than to the characteristics of the offender.
Article
A great deal of criminal activity in America goes unrecorded, largely because it is not reported to the police. This pool of unrecorded crime has several consequences: it limits the deterrent capability of the criminal justice system, it contributes to the misallocation of police resources, it renders victims ineligible for public and private benefits, it affects insurance costs, and it helps shape the police role in society. This report examines these problems in light of new crime-victim data gathered in a national sample of the general population. The data suggest that, compared with those incidents which were reported to the police, the reservoir of unreported crime contains a disproportionate number of less serious incidents involving small financial loss, little serious injury, and less use of weapons. Race, in particular, was unrelated to the reporting of crime in the United States in 1973.
Article
A consideration of economic situation and actual goods stolen was used to divide 101 shoplifters into three categories; shoplifting for profit or gain and two levels of "non-sensical" shoplifting, i.e. shoplifting not apparently motivated by need or desire. The groups were compared on demographic and relevant background information, psychosocial stressors preceding the offense, and general psychological profile. The non-sensical shoplifter is more likely to be older, married, foreignborn, adopted, to have experienced an unusual childhood stress, and to be depressed and socially isolated in comparison to other shoplifters. Shoplifters in general are more likely to be femrale than male. An explanation in terms of an accumulation of stessors over time in certain individuals was offered as one interpretation of the findings.
Article
This article examines the geography of teenage shoplifting within a choice and constraint framework. Potential offenders indicated spatial and temporal preferences in committing this crime. They tended to shoplift for small amounts from large stores in the neither too busy nor too quiet hours of the day. Although the tendency to shoplift was not found to be related to socioeconomic or moral values, socialization emphasizing the enjoyment and pursuit of fun and thrill likely affected one's tendency to shoplift. Like shopping preferences, the key in shoplifting behavior was accessibility to opportunity.
Article
This paper is the first to link up national-level data on crime and criminal justice in England and in America to estimate the numbers flowing through the system at each stage, from offending to imprisonment. It compares crime and criminal justice in England and in America, and documents changes between 1981 and 1986–1987. Property crimes increased markedly during this short period in England, but violent crimes did not increase significantly. In America, both property and violent crimes decreased markedly. The probability of an offender being convicted and sentenced to custody in England decreased markedly for property crimes and increased slightly for violent crimes, whereas in America this probability increased greatly for both types of crime. We suggest that one possible cause of the increase in property crimes in England during this period was the decreased risk of conviction and custody for property offenders. We further suggest that violent crime rates may not have increased markedly in England because of the increased risk of conviction and custody for violent offenders. Similarly, one possible cause of the decrease in crimes in America during this period was the greatly increased risk of conviction and custody.
Article
The volatile political environment that surrounds the issue of “racial profiling” has led local and state police agencies across the nation to start collecting information about traffic and pedestrian stops. The controversy over this issue is overwhelmed by the unsupported assumption that all race-based decision making by police officers is motivated by individual police officers' racial prejudice. This article reviews recently published studies on racial profiling and critiques both their methods and conclusions. Using the conceptual framework for police research presented by Bernard and Engel, it reviews a number of theories that may explain racial disparities in the rates of police stops. The authors argue that to explain police behavior better, theoretical models must guide future data collection efforts.
Article
A random sample of customers entering a small department store in Bedford were systematically observed from when they entered the store until when they left it. The results were compared with those obtained in a similar study in Peterborough. Nine out of 486 customers (1.9%) were observed to shoplift in Peterborough, and six out of 502 (1.2%) in Bedford. Males were more likely to shoplift than females. Most shoplifters purchased goods, possibly to allay suspicion. Generally, shoplifters stole small, low-cost items and looked around carefully to check that nobody was watching them before placing the items in pockets or bags. It is concluded that a great deal can be learned about offending through direct, systematic observation.
Article
This paper reviews knowledge about measuring, explaining and preventing shoplifting, with a special focus on British research. Police and court records show that there are over 100,000 recorded offenders each year, and 4 – 5% of the population are convicted for shoplifting up to age 40. Surveys of retailers suggest that there are over 4 million known shoplifting incidents, 1.3 million apprehended shoplifters, and 800,000 shoplifters reported to the police each year. Self-report surveys show that the median age of onset of shoplifting for males is 10, while the median age of desistance is 14. About one in 7 offenders is convicted sooner or later, but only about one in 150 offences leads to conviction. Systematic observation suggested that about 500 items per week were being stolen in two stores. Repeated counting of items showed that about 10% of all items were stolen as opposed to sold. A prevention experiment is described which showed that store redesign and electronic tagging were effective in reducing shoplifting in the short term.
Article
Among the ways corporations use their enormous wealth is to support private justice systems complete with investigative, adjudicatory, and sentencing powers. The present paper advances a sociological analysis of a private corporate justice system and the private police who run it. Our research setting is a full line store of one of the nation's largest corporations. Our focus is private justice for shoplifters in a civil recovery state. Analysis reveals that retail value of the item taken, neighborhood social class, and physical resistance are among the factors determining private corporate justice for shoplifters in a civil recovery state. The findings suggest the part played by private justice systems in shaping public images of crime and criminals.
Article
In developing the argument that deviance is primarily created, labeling theorists borrow heavily from conflict theory to account for who is most apt to be labeled and why. The present study contrasts a labeling-conflict model with a behavioral one, regard ing the decision to prosecute or to release apprehended shop lifters. The authors apply tabular and regression analysis to a total sample of 371 shoplifters apprehended in 1969 at a large metro politan department store located in California. They find that the data largely contradict the labeling and conflict notion that "deviance is in the eye of the beholder." Rather, the decision to release or prosecute the offender is largely related to what he does instead of who he is or how he is perceived. Thus, the data indicate that shoplifters tend to earn their own fate on the basis of their own shoplifting behavior. Specifically, the shoplifter's age, sex, and race are found to be unrelated to his subsequent release or prosecution. Social class is also found to be insignificantly related to shoplifting disposi tions, except for the high rate of prosecution of the unemployed. On the other hand, the value of the merchandise stolen is found to exert a strong independent influence upon the release or prosecution of apprehended shoplifters and thus offers support for the behavioral model.
Article
Five patterns of shoplifting were identified in a clinical study of 300 shoplifters conducted in a court setting. 67.6 per cent reported weekly shoplifting. Overall, 56 per cent were males. Among adults, 56.5 per cent were women. Character defects (personality disorders), not mental illnesses, were the pre dominant form of pathology according to guidelines in DSM-III. Financial benefit was the primary motivation in 67.7 per cent of the cases. Economic disadvantage appeared to be a contri buting factor in 72 per cent of the adult chronic shoplifters. Mental illnesses were distributed about equally between genders. However, nearly twice as many women were experiencing psycho social stressors. The recommended treatment intervention is short-term crisis counseling followed by education which encour ages the offender to admit that shoplifting is a crime and to consider the realistic consequences of additional shoplifting.
Article
A controversial aspect of the prosecutor's authority involves the decision to dismiss all criminal charges even though sufficient evidence exists to prosecute. In this regard, low-seriousness offenses are of particular interest because prior research indicates that extralegal factors are likely to play a role in the handling of these offenses. This study examines the relative effect of legal and extralegal factors on the nolle prosequi decision for a sample of shoplifting cases. Stepwise logistic regression analysis reveals that although race and gender are significant factors, the number of charged offenses and the prior arrest record are most predictive of decision outcomes. This finding suggests that even among low-seriousness offenses, legal factors are the most important determinants of the decision-making process. The analysis also reveals several interaction effects which raise the possibility that the use of social characteristics in criminal justice decisions may be related to perceptions of which offender groups pose the greatest threat to society.
Article
Studied a sample of 32 shoplifters referred for psychiatric assessment. Some demographic, epidemiological and criminological characteristics of the sample are reviewed. It is concluded that the 3 factors leading to a shoplifting act by "unusual shoplifters" are an extrinsic factor, namely the sales technique, and 2 intrinsic factors, a passive-aggressive personality and a stressful interpersonal situation. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
This article examines a program designed to provide a family court with a means of lessening the probability that youths on probation for shoplifting will return to criminal behavior. A single staff member within the family court screened possible participants, all of whom were defined as first‐time shoplifting offenders and had been assigned to formal or informal probation. Each individual was invited to participate in a four‐hour clinic, during which time the realities and possible consequences of shoplifting were explained. If they were able to successfully complete six months of supervised probation, then only the administrative record remained; the conviction itself was expunged. Over a period of nine months, a total of 154 juveniles were invited; however, only 100 actually took part in all facets of the program. A total of 30 clinic attendees and 14 nonparticipants were excluded from the present analysis, owing to missing data, or the fact that at the time of follow‐up, they were legally classified as adults. The prior and subsequent court contacts of 110 subjects are reviewed. While less than 3% of either group had subsequent shoplifting arrests, nearly 26% of the program group and 35% of the nonparticipants were rearrested. Factors associated with long‐term success and failure are examined. Possible reasons for these observations are discussed, with specific grounding in the shoplifting literature and the concepts of juvenile diversion and “net‐widening.”
Article
National estimates of time trends and age trends in self-reported illegal behavior in the United States are compared with corresponding figures for arrests. The self-report data are from Monitoring the Future, an annual national survey of high school seniors. The analysis of time trends covers 1975 through 1985 for a sample of over 3,000 respondents per year, studied at a constant age. The analysis of age trends covers ages 17 through 23 for samples of 300 to 1,200 per year. Both self-report and arrest measures reveal substantial declines in illegal behavior throughout this age span, with the exception of arrests for assault. Both methods also indicate that rates of assault increased from 1975 through 1985, a finding that has not previously been reported. Time trends for other offenses were erratic.
Article
Three theoretical models of the interrelations among associations with delinquent peers, delinquent beliefs, and delinquent behavior are examined. The socialization model views delinquent peers and beliefs as causally prior to delinquent behavior, whereas the selection model hypothesizes that associations with delinquent peers and delinquent beliefs are a result of delinquent behavior. The interactional model combines aspects of both the socialization and the selection models, positing that these variables have bidirectional causal influences on one another over time. Data to test for reciprocal causality are drawn from three waves of the Rochester Youth Development Study. Results suggest that simple unidirectional models are inadequate. Associating with delinquent peers leads to increases in delinquency via the reinforcing environment of the peer network. Engaging in delinquency, in turn, leads to increases in associations with delinquent peers. Finally, delinquent beliefs exert lagged effects on peers and behavior, which tend in turn to “harden” the formation of delinquent beliefs.
Article
Shoplifting, one of the most prevalent crimes in our society, and on the increase in recent years, has received relatively little attention in research literature. This paper discusses the various classifications of shoplifters, particularly delineating several types of shoplifters. The personality characteristics and motivation of these types were studied in an attempt to develop our knowledge of shoplifting in general. The relationship between shoplifting and substance abuse, eating disorders, social class, race and ethnicity, gender, and age were also researched. The effects of apprehension, models of intervention and recidivism rates were also investigated. The authors’ study of 457 youths arrested for shoplifting and referred to diversion services was described. Special attention was given to the Youth Emotional Shoplifting Program (YES), of Shoplifters Anonymous (SA) in which 364 of the 457 subjects participated. Other intervention programs, as well as combinations of intervention programs, were also examined.
Article
The history of criminal statistics bears testimony to a search for a measure of "criminality" present among a population, a search that led increasingly to a concern about the "dark figure" of crime—that is, about occurrences that by some criteria are called crime yet that are not registered in the statistics of whatever agency was the source of the data being used. Contending arguments arose about the dark figure between the "realists" who emphasized the virtues of com pleteness with which data represent the "real crime" that takes place and the "institutionalists" who emphasize that crime can have valid meaning only in terms of organized, legitimate social responses to it. This paper examines these arguments in the context of police and survey statistics as measures of crime in a population. It concludes that in exploring the dark figure of crime, the primary question is not how much of it becomes revealed but rather what will be the selective properties of any particular innovation for its illumination. Any set of crime statistics, including those of survey research, involve some evaluative, institutional processing of people's reports. Concepts, definitions, quantitative models, and theories must be adjusted to the fact that the data are not some objectively observable universe of "criminal acts," but rather those events defined, captured, and processed as such by some institutional mechanism. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67517/2/10.1177_000271626737400102.pdf
Article
Home Office Criminal Statistics show a substantial decrease (of more than one-third) in the number of recorded shoplifters between 1985 and 1989. The largest decrease was for juveniles. In trying to explain why this decrease had occurred, a survey of shop theft was carried out with sixteen retail chains, totalling 7,873 retail outlets, which accounted for a quarter of total retail sales in Great Britain in 1990. The number of shoplifters apprehended by these retailers remained tolerably constant between 1985 and 1989, and their probability of reporting shoplifters to the police also remained constant. The number of apprehended shoplifters tended to increase with the number of store detectives employed by each retail chain, but the retailers reported that their use of store detectives had not changed since 1985. It is concluded from this research that the true number of shoplifters probably remained tolerably constant between 1985 and 1989, and that the number of recorded shoplifters decreased because an increasing fraction of shoplifters reported to the police were dealt with informally, and hence did not appear in the official statistics of shoplifting offenders .
Article
The hypothesis of an interaction between personality and shoplifting behavior was supported. A shoplifting questionnaire and the MMPI were administered to 170 undergraduates. The respondents were grouped according to three behavioral categories—never shoplifted, shoplifted once, shoplifted many times. From each category 20 profiles were analysed. Analyses showed significant profile differences. Shoplifters had more standard scores two standard deviations above the mean. Subscales measuring Hypochondriasis, Psychopathic Deviancy, Masculinity/Femininity Interest Patterns, and Mania differentiated all groups. The subscale, sex, and behavioral grouping interaction was significant. The chronic shoplifter's personality was described as hostile, deceitful, emotionally shallow, impulsive with delinquent tendencies and high energy levels. It was demonstrated that personality was an important variable to be considered in shoplifting behavior. The MMPI was recommended as a screening instrument for shoplifting behaviors.
Article
Ninety-four adult first offender shoplifters completed a battery of psychological tests prior to their involvement in a novel and innovative West Texas Shoplifter Offenders Program (SOP). Analysis of the test results indicated that the modal shoplifter is female, Hispanic, and is likely to evidence a subclinical 8-4 high-point pair on the MMPI. Males tend to act more impulsively than females in their shoplifting styles. Shoplifters are no more likely to endorse irrational beliefs than normative groups. However, shoplifters tend to be rather anxious, depressed, and self-doubting. The results are discussed in terms of conceptual implications for SOP design and implementation.
  • Davis M.G.
  • Hindelang M.J.
  • Puzzanchera C.M.