’Tis the season to steal

Associated Press

More than spirits are being lifted this holiday season. During the four weeks leading up to Christmas this year, an estimated $1.8 billion in merchandise was expected to be shoplifted from U.S. retailers, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer, a survey of retailers worldwide. That’s up about 6 percent from $1.7 billion during the same period last year.

“They shoplift for Christmas gifts; they steal for themselves, for their family,” said Joshua Bamfield, executive director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the survey.

Sticky fingers are common during the holidays. The crowded stores and harried clerks make it easier to slip a tablet computer into a purse or stuff a sweater under a coat undetected. But higher joblessness and falling wages have contributed to an even bigger rise this year. People steal everything from necessities (think food) to luxuries they can no longer afford (think electronics or Gucci purse).

“It’s really a question of need versus greed,” said Joseph LaRocca, senior adviser of asset protection for the National Retail Federation trade group. “People will rationalize what they are stealing: ‘Oh, I’m feeling the economy. I lost my job.’ But it’s hard to make the argument you need a $900 handbag.”

Experts say the economy’s influence is largely a cop-out. They say shoplifters are stealing for myriad reasons this holiday season that have nothing to do with economic turmoil. Some do it for a rush or thrill. For others, it’s about filling a void. Still others are trying to relieve anxiety, boredom or depression — all emotions that are particularly common during the holidays.

“Shoplifting is generally a crime of opportunity — and opportunities abound at the holiday,” said Barbara Staib, a spokeswoman for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, a nonprofit that provides shoplifting prevention education programs. “The stressors that come with the holiday will certainly help them rationalize their need for bad behavior.”