More shoplifting expected this holiday

COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Retail analysts expect the economy to push more people to shoplift and buy stolen goods this holiday season. Shoplifting reports to Columbus police are up 12 percent with 3,629 cases so far this year compared with the same period in 2007.

U.S. retail stores lost $12 billion to shoplifting last year, according to a study from the University of Florida.

“Some consumers are lowering their standards,” said Joseph LaRocca, who studies crime for the National Retail Federation. “We typically see large-scale thefts take place immediately before the holidays.”

The sagging economy can prompt even those with plenty of money to bypass the cashier, LaRocca said.

Thieves seldom run off with a holiday ham, but when they’re trying to justify nicking a pair of jeans, they might be thinking about the impending bill for that ham as well as gifts for the kids.

Shoplifting tends to rise during holidays, LaRocca said, simply because more people face temptation. Superstores flooded with crowds and top-selling products are the big targets.Each store has its own system for fighting back.