Downturn brings sharp rise in shoplifting

Richard Johnson is the first to admit it was a bad idea.

Recently laid off from a job building trailers in Elkhart, Ind., Johnson came up a dollar short at Martin's Supermarket last month when he went to buy a $4.99 bottle of sleep medication. So, "for some stupid reason," he tried to shoplift it and was arrested.

"I was desperate, I guess," said Johnson, 25, who said he had never been arrested before. As the economy has weakened, shoplifting has increased, and retail security experts say the problem has grown worse this holiday season. Shoplifters are taking everything from compact discs and baby formula to gift cards and designer clothing.

Police departments across the country say shoplifting arrests are 10 to 20 percent higher this year than last. The problem may be even greater because shoplifters are often banned from stores, rather than arrested.

Much of the increase has come from first-time offenders like Johnson making rash decisions in a pinch, authorities say. But the ease with which stolen goods can be sold on the Internet has meant a bigger role for organized-crime rings, which also engage in receipt fraud, fake price tagging and gift-card schemes, the police and security experts say.

And as temptation has grown for potential thieves, so, too, has stores' vulnerability.

"More people are desperate economically, retailers are operating with leaner staffs, and police forces are cutting back or being told to deprioritize shoplifting calls," said Paul Jones, the vice president of asset protection for the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

The problem, he said, could be particularly acute this month; shoplifting usually increases in December.

Two of the largest retail associations say that more than 80 percent of their members are reporting sharp increases in shoplifting, according to surveys done in the past two months.

Compounding the problem, stores are more reluctant to stop suspicious customers because they fear scaring away much-needed business. And retailers are increasingly trying to save money by hiring seasonal workers who, security experts say, are themselves more likely to commit fraud or theft and are less practiced at catching shoplifters than full-time employees are.

More than $35 million in merchandise is stolen each day nationwide, and about one in 11 people in America have shoplifted, according to the nonprofit National Association for Shoplifting Prevention.

"We used to see more repeat offenders doing it because of drug addiction," said Samyah Jubran, an assistant district attorney in Knoxville, Tenn., who for 13 years has handled the bulk of shoplifting cases there. "But many of these new offenders may be doing it because of the economic situation. Maybe they're hurting at home, and they're taking a risk they may not take otherwise."

There are more of them, and they seem more desperate," said a store manager at the nation's largest shopping center, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., which has seen a 19 percent increase in shoplifting this year over last.

Shoplifters also seem to be getting bolder, according to industry surveys.

Thieves often put stolen items in bags lined with aluminum foil to avoid detection by storefront alarms. Others work in teams, with a decoy who tries to look suspicious to draw out undercover security agents and attract the attention of security cameras, the police said.

"We're definitely seeing more sprinters," said an undercover security guard at Macy's in Oakland, Calif., referring to shoplifters who try to make a run for the door.

Much of the stolen merchandise is sold online.

Dave Finley, president of Leadsonline.com, which offers software that helps store owners track stolen goods being sold online and at pawnshops, said his company had seen a 50 percent increase in cases over the past year.

Security experts say retail theft is also being aided by Web sites selling fake receipts that thieves can use to obtain cash refunds for stolen merchandise.

Assistant district attorney

in Knoxville, Tenn.