Anita
“I am a happy person…now. I used to spend hours in the mall shopping.. without paying. I always took things for my grand-kids. They were so excited and I felt so loved when I brought them nice things. One day 3 years ago, my daughter stopped me at the door. She was crying. She found out what I was doing and told me I was not welcome to see her kids under those circumstances! “Don’t you understand Mom, all the kids want is your time and your love. You don’t have to do this.” I cried. Now, I go there 3 times a week. We play board games, make cookies and put on puppet shows. I feel so relieved. I never have to shoplift again.”
Julie
“I don’t know why I do it. I am a successful real state agent, have a wonderful family and lovely home. I shoplift at least twice a day. I’ll go to the bakery in the morning and get a cup of coffee and walk out with a muffin. After work, I’ll go to the drug store or to Saks and put something in my bag. I’ve even been out with my husband and taken things. Is this a chronic disease? It feels like I’ll never be able to stop. I just know that I am going to die with this addiction.”
John
“I have been a well-known and respected criminal attorney for over 25 years and have struggled with shoplifting for almost a decade. I know I have so much to lose if I get caught so why can’t I resist the thrill of trying to “beat the odds?” Getting away with shoplifting makes me feel powerful for the moment but the guilt and sleepless nights are really taking a toll on me. It’s a shameful existence.”
Dave
“The last time I was arrested my wife was in labor. I don’t know what happened. On the way to the hospital, I found myself in a hardware store. Why would anyone go to a hardware store at a time like that? I hadn’t shoplifted in 3 years but I went in and stole a box of nails! Needless to say, when the owner stopped me and I said my wife was in labor he didn’t believe me. He called the police. I missed the birth of my son because I was sitting in a jail cell. My wife has never forgiven me.”
Eleanor
“What can I say? Shoplifting makes me feel better. Sometimes I feel so scared, so alone, so unwanted. I’m on a fixed income, my husband is gone, my children don’t need me anymore and the seniors in my community are only fair weather friends. I’ve been doing this for over a year. Sometimes I feel like it’s become my best friend.”
Felicia
“I am completing my third year of medical school. I’m on a partial academic scholarship and work part-time in the book store to pay for the rest, I have a 3.85 GPA, and it seems like I have it all together. I’m an intelligent woman. So why do I shoplift? I’m not a kid anymore. I know that if I get caught, I will lose everything; my scholarship, my parent’s trust, my future.”