Definitions
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI 2016a) categorizes shoplifting in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) as larceny-theft under property crime offenses, defined as “unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.” Retail shoplifting refers to “the theft of goods by customers from retail premises during opening hours” (Wittenberg 2009, as cited in Hirtenlehner et al. 2014, p. 14).
Introduction
Retail stores sell a variety of goods (e.g., clothes, food, drugs, music, candy) for public consumption and use. Inventory shrinkage is a serious problem for retailers globally, with external theft/shoplifting in 2017 accounting for 37% of the $49 billion in economic loss for the retail industry in the USA alone (National Association for Shoplifting Prevention [NASP] 2014a; Moraca and Hollinger 2017; also see “Retail Shrink: Nationally and Internationally” chapter in this volume). Although alarming, this...
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Furthur Readings
Christman, J. H., & Sennewald, C. A. (2006). Shoplifting: Managing the problem. Alexandria: ASIS International.
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Shapiro, L.R. (2019). Retail Shrink: Shoplifting. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_56-2
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Retail Shrink: Shoplifting- Published:
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_56-3
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Retail Shrink: Shoplifting
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_56-1