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with others, we remind you that doing so without proper attribution
to our non-profit organization is a violation of our copyright.
These statistics are the result of years of research with
thousands of shoplifting offenders and are the property of
NASP. So go ahead, we invite you to share but proper attribution,
including website links, must be given – for approved
attribution statements and links click
here.
Facts:
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More than $13
billion worth of goods are stolen from retailers each
year. That's more than $35 million per day.
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There are approximately
27 million shoplifters (or 1 in 11 people) in our nation
today. More than 10 million people have been caught shoplifting
in the last five years.
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Shoplifting
affects more than the offender. It overburdens the police
and the courts, adds to a store's security expenses, costs
consumers more for goods, costs communities lost dollars
in sales taxes and hurts children and families.
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Shoplifters
steal from all types of stores including department stores,
specialty shops, supermarkets, drug stores, discounters,
music stores, convenience stores and thrift shops.
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There is no
profile of a typical shoplifter. Men and women shoplift
about equally as often.
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Approximately
25 percent of shoplifters are kids, 75 percent are adults.
55 percent of adult shoplifters say they started shoplifting
in their teens.
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Many shoplifters
buy and steal merchandise in the same visit. Shoplifters
commonly steal from $2 to $200 per incident depending
upon the type of store and item(s) chosen.
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Shoplifting
is often not a premeditated crime. 73 percent of adult
and 72 percent of juvenile shoplifters don't plan to steal
in advance.
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89 percent of
kids say they know other kids who shoplift. 66 percent
say they hang out with those kids.
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Shoplifters
say they are caught an average of only once in every 48
times they steal. They are turned over to the police 50
percent of the time.
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Approximately
3 percent of shoplifters are "professionals"
who steal solely for resale or profit as a business. These
include drug addicts who steal to feed their habit, hardened
professionals who steal as a life-style and international
shoplifting gangs who steal for profit as a business.
"Professional" shoplifters are responsible for
10 percent of the total dollar losses.
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The vast majority
of shoplifters are "non-professionals" who steal,
not out of criminal intent, financial need or greed but
as a response to social and personal pressures in their
life.
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The excitement
generated from "getting away with it" produces
a chemical reaction resulting in what shoplifters describe
as an incredible "rush" or "high"
feeling. Many shoplifters will tell you that this high
is their "true reward," rather than the merchandise
itself.
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Drug addicts,
who have become addicted to shoplifting, describe shoplifting
as equally addicting as drugs.
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57 percent of
adults and 33 percent of juveniles say it is hard for
them to stop shoplifting even after getting caught.
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Most non-professional
shoplifters don't commit other types of crimes. They'll
never steal an ashtray from your house and will return
to you a $20 bill you may have dropped. Their criminal
activity is restricted to shoplifting and therefore, any
rehabilitation program should be "offense-specific"
for this crime.
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Habitual shoplifters
steal an average of 1.6 times per week.
For further information on future surveys and survey question
sponsorship, please contact Barbara Staib.
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