Shocking Stats on Shoplifting

While a form of larceny/theft itself, shoplifting differs from other forms of theft in that the victim is an organization, the definition is constrained to retailers, and the crime is far more pervasive than other forms of theft from organizations (e.g. embezzlement, fraud, shipment diversion/transport crime, grand theft, bank robbery).

Whereas there is a strong gender divide in most other crimes, shoplifting has a relatively even split between genders.  Additional facts:

• 25% of shoplifters are teens, a disproportionate demographic
• 55% of shoplifters say they started in their teenaged years
• 89% of teenagers say they know other teens who shoplift, and 69% hang out with those known shoplifters
• Many shoplifters will steal and purchase goods in the same visit
• Typical theft is in the range between $2 and $200 per incident (admittedly a very broad range)
• Shoplifters report being caught 1/48 of the time, and are turned over to police once caught about 50% of the time
• Habitual shoplifters steal, on average, 1.6 times per week.
• Wal*Mart's loss prevention department reports an average of 1 million shoplifting incidents per year, and estimates the impact of these losses as $77million that are passed along to their customers.
• The FBI reports shoplifting as the fastest-growing larceny, at a CAGR of 20%
• The estimated cost to US taxpayers of shoplifting is more than $16Billion

(source: Compulsive No More Stop, compulsivenomorestop.com, http://compulsivenomorestop.com/Shoplifting_Facts.html)

If left unchecked, shoplifting will continue to be a substantial drain on the economy.  Further, I think unabated shoplifting is an example of the kind of social disorder event that the Broken Windows Theory of criminology (James Q. Wilson, George L. Kelling) was speaking to.  Unchecked shoplifting promotes lawlessness and breakdown of the social contract, and is a gateway crime to more serious societal issues that can cause millions per criminal.  Shoplifting deserves serious attention to stop the degradation it causes in our society.  Yet, it seems that shoplifting doesn't get the serious attention of law enforcement (See this example in Dallas: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2011/12/new-dallas-poli.html/ ).  To be effective at prevention, law enforcement, store owners and the community will need to work together to curb shoplifting and address this blight.

Big Brother is Watching, Without an ROI

Video evidence seems all the rage, particularly in Europe, but the video evidence rarely solves crimes.  In fact, the million cameras in London mostly solve crimes like setting trashcans out on the wrong day or neglecting to pick up dog scat when walking the dog.  Less than 3% of crimes are solved by CCTV videos, and it's been reported that there are so many police cameras in England (more than 5 million by some estimates) that CCTV no longer provides any kind of deterrent, as thieves consider them to not be working.  Based on the 3% conviction rate, they could be considered right, even if technically the video is being captured. (Johnston, 2011)  

Studies of the effect of CCTV use in the UK are inconclusive.  While some show a marked decline in burglary (down 50%) and car crime (down 87%) in the 5 years after CCTV was installed, they could not attribute it to CCTV use, and violent crime was up 300% in the same period.  Other studies have shown that CCTV use has had no demonstrable effect on crime, save a single camera in a parking garage. (Ibid)

Even when captured on film, conviction is rare.  In one month 269 robbers were suspected, yet only 8 were captured.  How many of those could actually be convicted will naturally be a smaller number.  Nationwide, the UK has spent more than $776Million on cameras, and are now captured 300 times a day, but some estimates, with an enormous invasion of privacy.  When police are challenged on the efficacy of CCTV as a crime-solving measure, they seem quick to close ranks and ask for more investment to make it all work. (BBC, 2009).  Yet, 80% of boroughs with police cameras in the London area show a below-average rate in solving crime, with no provable benefit to the cameras in either the overall solving of crimes nor reduction in criminality. (Davenport,  2007).

Consider that, by one estimate, the amount invested in just 11 communities in the UK responding to a corollary to the US Freedom of Information Act request showed over $500MM invested, which could have paid the salaries of 13,436 police instead.  New Orleans defunded their CCTV program after 7 years of operations and $10Million invested resulted in only 6 prosecutions -- 3 for crimes committed on camera, and 3 from bribes and kickbacks from camera vendors to City Hall (!!!) (Hamilton, 2010)

Researchers in San Francisco tested the impact from SFPD cameras, detailing 59,706 crimes committed within 1000 feet of a camera from 1-Jan-2005 to 28-Jan-2008, studying those crimes that had a police report, not the total number of crimes caught on camera or actually committed.  The researchers studied 7 crimes: murder, larceny, vehicle theft, burglary, assault, robbery and forcible sex offenses.  The only positive deterrent they were able to associate with the cameras was a reduction in larceny committed within 100 feet of the cameras, with no other crime rates having any discernible effect, except that murder was effected in an unforeseen way.  While murders went down within 250 feet of the camera, those murder rates were completely offset by murders occurring within 250-500 feet of the camera, indicating that the murderers knew of the camera and decided to just move down the block a ways before committing murder.  (Schneier, 2008)

__

BBC. (2009) 1,000 cameras 'solve one crime'. BBC News, 24-Aug-2009. Retrieved 16-Feb-2013 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8219022.stm

Davenport, Justin. (2007). Tens of thousands of CCTV cameras, yet 80% of crime unsolved. London Evening Standard, 19-Sept-2007. Retrieved 16-Feb-2013 from http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tens-of-thousands-of-cctv-cameras-yet-80-of-crime-unsolved-6684359.html

Hamilton, Daniel. (2010) The Price is Wrong: The cost of CCTV surveilance in the United Kingdom. BigBrotherWatch.co.uk, pub. date unknown, copyright 2010. Retrieved 16-Feb-2013 from http://www.statewatch.org/news/2010/nov/uk-cctv-big-brother-watch-report.pdf 

Johnston, Phillip. (2011). We're all spied upon, but to what purpose? The Telegraph, 22-Aug-2011.  Retrieved 16-Feb-2013 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8716058/Were-all-spied-upon-but-to-what-purpose.html

Schneier, Bruce. (2008) The Ineffectiveness of Security Cameras. Schneier on Security, 7-Apr-2008. Retrieved 16-Feb-2013 from http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/04/the_ineffective.html

Feminist Criminology

Adler and Simon were some of the original proponents of feminist criminology, which explains the difference in crimes committed by women as a result of sociological causes rather than biological in nature.  Feminist criminology points to sexual and economic oppression, disenfranchisement of women, marginalization of women in the home and society and reduced socioeconomic opportunities in a patriarchal society.  Much as the conditions and treatments of African Americans have not completely recovered from slavery, the oppression of women as chattel still causes deep societal divisions.  In the perspective of feminist criminology, crimes committed by women can be explained through gender differentiation in society causes those behaviors.

The 19-Mar-2013 article in the WV Metro News, "Woman Sentenced for Shooting Husband in Hospital Bed"  (http://wvmetronews.com/woman-sentenced-for-shooting-husband-in-hospital-bed/) details the story of Rhonda Stewart, aged 54, who is alleged to have shot her husband in the Intensive Care Unit, in Charleston, WV.  Ms. Stewart claims to have no recollection of the shooting, and appears to have been the victim of systemic and long-term spousal abuse.  According to her daughter, "she has been imprisoned all her life".  Feminist criminology would point to the sexual and social dominance of the husband, and power-control, as described by John Hagan, as introduced through the family class structure creating inequity and struggle.  Gender relationships and differences, from the feminist criminology perspective, would be responsible for the domestic abuse that appears to have been the daily existence for Ms. Stewart, and that ultimately led to her lashing out against her oppressor.

While I believe that there is much we can learn from a feminist perspective of crime, and that social, sexual and power issues created by gender are a causative influence for criminality, I do find that some feminist perspective on crime go too far in demonization of men. However, there is much to be learned from considering the role that gender plays in society and crime.  

My wife is my queen, and I try to honor her, as I hope all men cherish, honor and care for their wife.  Still, I admit that our nuclear family has definite and distinct gender roles, ones which we acknowledge and embrace in some ways, and others we laugh about, when we catch ourselves in a rut.  We recognize that there are different perspectives and views of the world - as a man, I want to kill the bear and drag it back to the cave, so think that my daughters are sharing life events with me so I can "solve the problem", and I've had to realize that they're communicating with me as a therapeutic and healthy way of relating to me as their father.  The criminal justice system has been male-dominated for thousands of years, and only recently has provided for roles for women in criminal justice.  I can see that consideration of a world through a man's eyes, including the world of criminal justice, would tend to focus on solutions that resonate with the male perspective.

Seeing the rich and varied way that family relationships, gender differences and social mores play out across gender boundaries, I can see where a feminist perspective on criminality would provide for insights that were sorely lacking when much of the field of criminology was established.  As we continue to learn and expand the role that feminism plays in our society, I think we will continue to improve the role of women in our criminal justice system -- and hopefully address root causes of crime based on gender inequality.