NCJ Number
81811
Date Published
1980
Length
145 pages
Annotation
This volume presents a model shoplifting statute, the results of research examining young people's and retailers' attitudes toward shoplifting, State-by-State estimates of shoplifting losses, summaries of shoplifting statutes, and a discussion of the application of the model code to the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
The model code defines shoplifting as any of the following deliberate actions: concealing merchandise, removing merchandise, altering or removing the price marking, transferring merchandise from one container to another, causing the cash register to reflect less than the stated price for the merchandise, or removing a shopping cart from the store premises. Other sections of the code and accompanying comments cover evidence and presumptions, penalties, arrest, civil liability, and the severability of individual sections of the statutes. The research on young people's attitudes used data from surveys of 100,671 students ranging from 9 to 22 years of age and living in 38 States. Over 4,000 retailers were also surveyed. The retailers noted an increase in shoplifting from 1979-80 to 1980-81 and agreed that shoplifting costs are passed on to the consumer. The number of students who stated that they would continue to shoplift also increased. The individual States' statutes are summarized in terms of the elements of the offense, proof, defenses of the suspect, merchant rights and defenses, peace officer rights and defenses, penalties, and the specific statutes relevant to shoplifting. The volume also discusses the distinctive features of the juvenile justice system, with emphasis on such diversionary programs as restitution and family counseling for juvenile shoplifters who are first offenders. Tables are included.