Paying the price of getting something for free Shopliftersalternative.org says that shoplifters get caught only about once for every 49 attempts. To Rosa and the estimated 23 million other people in this country who shoplift, these are odds with which they are willing to take a chance. But the store employees to whom Rosa is referring may not be as inept as she thinks. To avoid making false accusations, Salazar says employees are required to look for specific behaviors of a person before stopping the suspect. The problem with this cautious approach is that after escaping clean once, many thieves return because they ve achieved a false sense of confidence in their shoplifting abilities.
People come back because they think they got away free the first time.
Melissa saw firsthand just how serious Nordstrom was about its shoplifting policy. After she and Lisa were escorted to a room in the back of the store by the police officers, they were handcuffed to a chair and videotaped while the officers asked them questions. It was the first time I had felt really guilty about stealing. Melissa and Lisa had to pay Nordstrom double the amount of the price of clothes they stole that day. Currently they await an appointment with a social worker and a visit to Teen Court to determine their punishment.