U.K. Women s Survey Of Shoplifting

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30965, 22 January 1966, Page 2

U.K. Women s Survey Of Shoplifting

It was the chairman of the Wiltshire magistrate’s court who started it. “It’s so tragic,” he said, confronted with yet another case of shoplifting. “A life ruined over a pound of sausages. Since shoplifting is usually committed by women, women ought to solve the problem.”

Mrs Molly Maidment, herself a magistrate, happened to be in court at the time. She also happened to be president of the Salisbury branch of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, reports the London correspondent of the Svdney “SunHerald.”

She recruited the club’s 90 members and, for the next three months, they toured the city interviewing traders, police and probation officers. The result- -a 12-page report on shoplifting, run off on a copying machine —is being studied with considerable interest by criminologists throughout the world. “We’ve been amazed at the interest it has aroused,” said Mrs Maidment, speaking from her office in Salisbury where she is managing director of a dry-cleaning company.

“We’ve had letters from America, Australia. New Zealand, South Africa, and only this week, from Holland.” Considerable emphasis in the report is placed on the child offender.

“In the old days, children

used to raid the orchard—for fun,” said Mrs Maidment “Now they raid the shop . . . go “wogging at Woolies’ as I've so ’ten heard them describe it in court."

The report found that young shoplifters were not reported to the police either because shopkeepers were reluctant to start them in life with a police record, or because they considered juvenile courts to be too lenient and a waste of time.

“We find this worrying in that they get away with it so they’ll begin to think that crime does pay,” said Mrs Maidment.

“That’s why we are now planning a big drive among the people who are best able to deal with the problem—parent/teacher groups.” No child or adult offenders were interviewed during the survey. “But as a result of publicity given to the project soon after it began, several people convicted of shoplifting wrote to us.” said Mrs Maidment. “We've included points they made in our report.” Complex Problem The adult shoplifter, she said, was a much more complex problem. The report lists their various reasons for stealing: the attractive displays that turn compulsive buying into com-

pulsive taking; advertising which establishes a keep-up-with-the-Jones attitude; bad service which results in the genuine shopper who wants to pay being ignored, and eventually deciding to walk off with the item.

“Also,” said Mrs Maidment, “many of them have marital problems, which seems to be a factor in their motives.” Suggested solutions made by the various sections of the community interviewed are listed in the summary of the report—among them the suggestion that shoplifting should be called stealing. “The word shoplifting is a euphemism,” said Mrs Maidment. “It doesn’t have quite the same connotation as ‘stealing’—which IS what they are doing.” Better service in stores, heavier penalties and greater publicity for offenders are also suggested. The last two are by far the most controversial in the report in view of the growing feeling among some reform groups that harsh penalties are not the answer. Mrs Maidment said: “We honestly don’t know if there is a solution for adult offenders. What we do feel, though, is that if we concentrate on the young—who are the future adults —we may help prevent it from spreading.”