Disturbing Behavior: Shoplifting

Last week two teenagers (female: 13 years old, male: 18 years old) made National Headlines for their crime spree which spread over multiple states in the South. There crime spree caused me to begin thinking about stealing, car-jacking and shoplifting. Shoplifting is a huge problem in the United States today and negatively affects everyone. "In the United States, shoplifters steal about $25 million in merchandise from stores each day! That breaks down to an extra $300 each year that you and your family have to pay in higher prices to cover the losses caused by shoplifting." Over $10 billion worth of goods are stolen from retailers each year. Approximately 23 million people shoplift in our nation today, and ten million have been caught in the last five years. Statistically, 25 percent of shoplifters are teenagers, and 75 percent are adults.

Teenagers shoplift for different reasons: depression, anger, insecurity, the need for attention, the thrill, need, or to relieve stress. Even more is the desire to be accepted by their peers; in fact, 86 percent say their friends are involved in it. According to Cimbora, "A high percentage of children with conduct disorders act out their delinquent behaviors with their peers. The pressure to rebel in order to be accepted by one's peers can be incredibly strong."

What steps can be taken to reduce teenage shoplifting:

1) Teens need to accept responsibility for their actions and make better personal decisions. They need to be shown that they have the ability to make right choices.

2) Most of all, teenagers need good interaction with their parents. David Kayes says that the "parent's best prevention is to keep the lines of communication open and to be involved in the teen's life." Chuck Seenewald adds, "parents must continually model standards of conduct while discussing notions of right versus wrong with their children."

3) Guilt is a healthy and effective tool when helping students to stop stealing. Most adolescents have a moral obligation, and when parents apply pressure to the psychological guilt of breaking a moral law, it can affect students positively. "A little humiliation goes a long way," says Britney, who was caught shoplifting as she left a store with her unsuspecting mother.

4) Another great agent in helping teens overcome the urge tot steal is discipline and punishment. One counselor advises: "Discipline needs to be consistent and followed through to completion. When you begin to discipline and fail to follow through, you teach your children that rules and standards do not have fixed consequences."

5) The Bible gives strong answers to shoplifting. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor. 10:13). If teens seek God, he will provide a way out of temptation. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who have been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin" (Heb. 4:15).