American Theft Prevention

Think Globally, Steal Locally
“Robbers, burglars and car thieves” have specific geographic areas they focus on when committing crimes.

Are your shoplifters focusing locally. (image: mirror.co.uk)

That’s the finding of new research at the UK’s University of Leicester.  It’s the same University that was in the headlines recently for studies on the personality of shoplifters.

PhD candidate Matthew Tonkin (along with his collaborating professors) looked at crime in a community about 70 miles north of London.

…car thieves, burglars and robbers in the Northamptonshire area tend to commit their offenses over relatively small geographical areas. These ‘local haunts’ are distinctive from one offender to the next….

…instead of offenders having different areas that they favor for committing burglaries, car thefts and robberies, it seems that they commit all of their offenses in similar areas.

What’s different about his study, say researchers, is that are looking at findings across different types of crime. Usually studies look at types of crime separately, says Mr. Tonkin.

The finding suggest when the police are faced with unsolved crimes, they may be able to identify which crimes are the work of the same person simply by looking at where the offenses were committed and the distance between the offense sites.

And the common wisdom
Many of us believe (at least I do) there are two type of shoplifters. Shoplifters of Convenience - those who steal from stores because its easy and Professional Shoplifters – those who steal as a business.

It’s pretty easy to believe that shoplifters of convenience focus on specific areas. After all, these people are stealing because they believe the opportunity arises.  Its easy.

Professional shoplifters (I’ll include Organized Retail Crime) on the other hand, operate like a business. They steal for profit. This category probably takes similar decision-making steps as legitimate business people. They want to know where they can they get the product “at the least cost.” (Though they may define costs differently.)

With that in mind, it’s not so far-fetched that some thieves “specialize” in certain types of products or specific geographic areas.

And many retailers complain of repeat offenders.

But we also know of national, even international, crime rings that travel large areas to shoplift.

What does this mean to retailers

1. New Ways of Looking at Crime Patterns
   This study will be of particular interest to police and loss prevention departments who study patterns of crime. It may help identify theives
2. Don’t Become Complacent
   Smaller retailers and store level LP professionals, might take this as an important reminder that shoplifters are sometimes regular  or repeat customers.
3. Thieves Get to Know the Area
   They learn which stores are easier to shoplift at, which stores have implemented effective theft prevention programs and tool, which employees react and which don’t.
4. Community Wide Action
   It’s also a reminder of the importance of community wide cooperation and information sharing on retail crime. Stores cooperating to share information about shoplifters is an approach gaining increasing acceptance. (more on this trend in the future.)

Does this fit Shoplifters?
The research summary refers to “robbers, burglars and car thieves.” I don’t know, off hand, if the research included retail crime. (Maybe Mr. Tonkin will join in the discussion.) Never the less, this study certainly has implications for theft against retailers.

Does your own experience (or research if you’re from a lager Loss Prevention department) support Mr. Tonkin’s results?

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added June 9, 2010

After reading this  article, Mr. Tonkin told American Theft Prevention that he did not specifically look at shoplifting in his study.

It is difficult to say whether the findings would be applicable to shoplifting because I’m not aware of very much work on the subject. But, an educated guess is that the same factors apply to this type of crime as well, which means these offenders probably behave in a similar way. One reason for this is that (quite often) the same offenders who are committing burglaries, robberies and vehicle-related crimes are also shoplifters as well.

So, if they commit their burglaries, robberies and car thefts in the same places, then I think it is unlikely that they would make an exception for shoplifting. Although, they may be forced into slightly different areas because city centres (where most shops are) are often pedestrianised and contain few residential buildings. This is something that would need to be looked at. (emphasis added).

Like any good researcher, he adds “it is something that needs to be tested explicitly because even with the best justification for something it doesn’t always turn out the way one would think.”

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You can do something about shoplifting! American Theft Prevention Products has tools to help retailers combat shoplifting. Visit www.AmericanTheftPrevention.com or call 866-416-0999 or 847-972-6540.