SHOPLIFTING - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Shoplifting, one of the most prevalent crimes in our society, and on t he increase in recent years, has received relatively little attention in research literature. This paper discusses the various classificatio ns of shoplifters, particularly delineating several types of shoplifte rs. The personality characteristics and motivation of these types were studied in an attempt to develop our knowledge of shoplifting in gene ral. The relationship between shoplifting and substance abuse, eating disorders, social class, I-ace and ethnicity, gender, and age were als o researched The effects of apprehension, models of intervention and r ecidivism rates were also investigated. The authors' study of 457 yout hs arrested for shoplifting and referred to diversion services was des cribed. 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 combina tions of intervention programs, were also examined. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.