Police Not Buying Shoplifter Excuses

On a dare, when I was 10 I stole a Dennis the Menace comic book from the Woolworth’s in my hometown. My guilt was so overwhelming I couldn’t bring myself to read it.

The other day in a Garden Grove bookstore, I saw a man in a business suit get caught trying to pilfer several magazines. The police were called.

Shoplifters come in all types. And this holiday season the stores are watching, just to make sure we’re all honorable customers. Some can’t seem to avoid the temptation of paying zero when the risk seems slight.

Did you ever wonder, though, what happens after the shoplifter gets caught? I wrongly assumed most just got yelled at and told not to come back. After all, the overcrowded Orange County Jail can hardly fill up its cells with such petty thieves, right?

But Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney, municipal courts supervisor for his office, says even a first-time shoplifting offense is costly: One to three years’ probation, court-ordered community service of about 30 hours, plus a fine that’s usually $200.

Second offense, your ticket to jail is almost automatic.

“At least a weekend in jail, sometimes 30 days,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Nagy Morcos. “It depends on what you stole and what your actions were. It can go as high as 180 days for a third or fourth offense.”

Third or fourth? Wouldn’t the degrading embarrassment of getting caught the first time end one’s shoplifting forever?

“Some people just don’t get embarrassed,” said Central Municipal Judge Donna Crandall, who has sent many shoplifters to jail.

Some people simply think they can beat the odds of the risk, said Morcos: “Their attitude is, OK, you caught me this time.”

Computer software is a hot item for thefts now. Clothing, CDs, sunglasses, radios, just about anything a person can get away with.

I would have thought that the Universal Product Code, now part of almost any package you buy, would discourage shoplifters, because they set off buzzers at the door. But many stores don’t have such security devices. And Morcos says some shoplifters have learned to tear off the devices before they leave the store. Or they wrap the stolen item into something else that will keep the electronic door posts from detecting the code.

Not all shoplifters are poor, Morcos said. The highest number are juveniles, but after that, it’s people from all income levels.

But let’s suppose you honest-to-goodness walked out of a store and forgot to pay for something. Then got stopped by security before you got a chance to correct your mistake. Problem is, you have instant zero credibility, prosecutor Morcos says, because “we’ve heard it all so many times, we just don’t pay attention to such stories anymore.”

One shoplifter said she had to rush from the store without paying for an item because she was about to have an asthma attack and needed medicine from her car. She got convicted anyway.

We know that kleptomaniacs exist, people who need help instead of jail. But here is the dilemma for the courts in Orange County: Not a single therapy program for shoplifters has been approved by the county probation department. That doesn’t leave judges much choice.

So enjoy your shopping. But don’t absent-mindedly leave without paying. You might not find anyone sympathetic.