Shoplifting will cost Irish retailers more than in any other European country this Christmas season - so how did we earn such an honour, asks Brian O'Connell
THIS CHRISTMAS, according to research out this week, Ireland will once again head the European league for costs associated with shoplifting. It is estimated that shoplifting will cost the country €29.44 per person between now and the end of December, putting us well above our nearest European counterparts, Norway, at €22.12 per head. The UK comes in fourth at €20.56 per head.
The majority of shoplifters will be male, while designer labels and expensive toiletries will be just some of the favoured items stolen from stores.
The research comes as part of an annual survey, the Global Retail Theft Barometer, conducted by Prof Joshua Bamfield at the Centre for Retail Research in the UK. This is the second year in a row that Ireland takes top spot on the European list of shoplifters. Despite being such a prevalent crime, shoplifting often only reaches the news when a celebrity has been caught in the act.
For instance, in 2002, Winona Ryder was convicted of attempting to steal 19 items from a Beverley Hills boutique. Included in her expensive bag of swag at the time was a €600 Marc Jacobs top, a black Natori handbag valued at €430 and a white Yves Saint Laurent blouse worth €600. She also threw in a pair of Calvin Klein socks, priced €13, for good measure.
The US tennis player, Jennifer Capriati's decline from star to teenage rebel included a widely-reported shoplifting incident in 1993.
Yet, it is a crime that has been committed by many people, from across society. At a recent party, this reporter asked for a show of hands from those who had shoplifted in their past. Of the seven guests present, all bar one admitted to stealing from shops at some point in their lives. Many saw shoplifting as a harmless rite of passage, while others pointed out that shoplifting was often a symptom of depression or other serious illnesses.
So what are the reasons behind our shoplifting spree? Clinical psychologist Dr Gillian Moore Groarke says that much teenage shoplifting is as a result of peer pressure, or in some cases bullying. Of more concern though, she says, is that shoplifting can often be associated with illnesses such as bulimia.
"To a large extent, it is an attention seeking act or a cry for help. In the last 20 years I would have treated many bulimic cases who will often shoplift food-related items during periods of binging," she says. "The first thing I usually tell people is that it is often a symptom of something going on elsewhere in a person's life. It may also be that in our increasingly materialistic society there is a pressure there to have certain items."
Jim Curran, head of research at the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise (Isme), admits Ireland has a serious shoplifting problem, although he disputes some of the figures released from the UK centre.
He estimates the problem costs his members €200 million per year - €30 million of which will be accounted for over the coming weeks. The Centre for Retail Research believes the figure could be closer to €118 million over the Christmas period alone.
Larger crowds in stores over the Christmas period, more stock on shelves and the increase in temporary staff, who may not have experience in identifying shoplifters, all account for the rise.
"Shoplifting patterns have been fairly steady in recent years," says Curran, "but of particular concern to our members at present is that when an economy enters recession, international studies show there tends to be a rise in shoplifting activities."
THE MAIN TYPES OF GOODS prone to shoplifting are alcohol products, electronic goods, toiletries, clothing, and food products.
"One of the most common shoplifted items is men's razor blades, which many stores now keep behind the counter," says Curran, "We also notice anecdotal evidence that there has been an increase in the theft of luxury items such as designer label clothes, expensive perfumes and so on."
Curran says that far from being a harmless teenage experience, shoplifting now adds 3 per cent to the cost of most goods in Ireland.
IN 2007, HE ESTIMATES THAT small businesses in Ireland spent €1 billion on securing their premises and products, from training staff to replacing merchandise. For a shop being targeted on an ongoing basis, Curran says there are also issues of staff moral to factor in.
"Contrary to popular opinion, shoplifting is not a victimless crime," he says, "it has serious implications for business and anybody related to that business such as staff and local communities. For instance, an area prone to shoplifting will find it hard to attract other retailers to the locale. It is an illegal act that has serious ramifications for business and society."
Finally, if all else fails, perhaps the Irish judiciary could steal from the approach taken by a Pennsylvania judge, who thought up a novel way of dealing with shoplifters in his area. Before him was Regina Zimmerman, on her fourth shoplifting charge. The judge ordered her to wear a "convicted shoplifter" badge every time she goes shopping during the coming year. "When you go into stores, I want those store owners to keep a special eye on you," said the judge, by way of explanation. Shoplifters beware.
TAKE ONE SHOP
A security spokesman for Tower Records said it wasn't surprised to learn that Ireland topped the European shoplifting league.
"Our problem," says the spokesman, "is not professional gangs. It's more individual opportunists, mostly kids, who seize a chance to take something. Having said that, we have had a professor from a well-known Dublin college steal something, so it is a wide cross-section of society."
According to the company, one of the most frustrating aspects of shoplifting is that when offenders are apprehended, it can be difficult to secure a conviction or legal consequence. "One guy took €1,000 worth of stuff here and when we went to court, because he hadn't been in trouble for six months, the judge let him off.
This, despite the fact we had caught him shoplifting again the week before the case. It just hadn't come to court yet." Organised gangs of youths often target the store, running in different directions and taking goods at will, making it harder for staff to apprehend them, he said. Accessories and CDs are the most frequently stolen items. The most audacious shoplifter to pass through the store tried to take a television, used for promotion, off the wall. "He just walked straight in, unplugged the leads, took the TV off the wall and walked out. Needless to say we caught him." Tower Records says that invests huge resources into preventing and apprehending shoplifters, from security labels on goods to extra staff and mirrors on the premises. "If somebody is caught, and that person is under 16, we usually give them the option of calling the gardaí or their parents," says the spokesman, "Many of these opportunist shoplifters are not bad kids, they are just chancing their arm."