
Effects of Shoplifting in the Community
Essays
The Diebstabl form of shoplifting probably accounts for a c
onsiderable part of the official increase in theft. As self-service merchandising has spread throughout the Western industrialized societies, shoplifting has become an increasingly serious problem. It is reported to be very comm
on, for example, in the Federal German
Republic. Kaiser estimates that such offenses average more than 1 milli
on annually and that the value of the goods stolen from stores and self-service shops total 75 milli
on marks. Swiss authorities have become increasingly alarmed about shoplifting increases. The people themselves feel it is increasing, as indicated by the resp
onses in the attitude survey. The problem appears to be less serious in Switzerland, where the estimated loss is slightly less than 3 percent of the merchandise, than in the United States where it runs between 4 and 6 percent, including employee theft. Stephani's study of shoplifting of groceries and general merchandise in Migros ( Switzerland's largest supermarket chain) stores in the cant
ons of Bern, Aargau, and Solothurn found that
one in every 430 Migros customers was a shoplifter. This study c
oncluded that three times as many foreigners (particularly foreign workers) were apprehended for this offense as were native Swiss, although the Swiss were found to steal more expensive items than the foreign-born.