Fine Art in Shoplifting.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVI, Issue II, 12 January 1901, Page 69

Fine Art in Shoplifting.

All varieties of crime have their periods of prevalence and their periods of quiet, and persons who make the hunting of criminals their profession are in the habit of talking of cycles of erime. Indeed, they take this peculiarity of crime into account in their efforts to suppress and baffle it.

There is one species of crime, however, which is an exception to this rule. Shoplifting is always with us. There is hardly any variation in the amount of shoplifting done daily, except that on the whole it increases in about proportionately with the growth of the. population and trade. The reason why- this variety of crime is exceptionally constant is'that most shoplifters are not professionals. The organised bands who follow their shady ways as a means of livelihood, and the professionals generally, have their periods of comparative inactivity. when, driven from customary fields of operation, they are forced to "lie low.” But the number of these is so small in comparison with the hordes of women who occasionally filch small articles which they need or fancy, ami are otherwise honest and respectable enough, that the general average of thefts remains about the same. The detectives employed by all the great retail shops say that of all the women who steal from the counters (and shoplifting is peculiar among

crimes also because it is followed almost exclusively by women), a large portion rarely yield to the temptation to steal, and, when they do, they take only articles which they want for their own |»ersonal use. Feminine vanity appears to Im* the motive to blame in most instances, as is evidenced by the nature of the articles stolen. 'They arc generally ribbons, gloves, cheap jewellery, ami the like, articles of no considerable money value, which a poor woman might have to forego unless she pilfered. Girls of fifteen or sixteen l>egin by stealing bottles of scent. They are often caught at it. If not caught, it is easier for them to bring themselves to steal a ribbon or a bit of lace. The passion grows rapidly, and thereafter they do not hesitate to steal every small thing they fancy. Detectives call these women amateurs, in distinction from the professionals whose thefts are a source of livelihood. The amateurs include women of every age and class. The majority of- them are poor, but there are hosts of well-to-do women among them who would rather die than be caught and exposed. but nevertheless are willing to risk all for a pair of silk stockings or a piece of fine lace. In the ranks, too. are often found rich men’s wives, who stake reputations against trifles which they could afford to buy a hundred times over. This species of feminine jjerversity is sometimes called kleptomania. The amateurs, of whatever sort they are. soon develop great cleverness, and detectives are put on their mettle to catch them. These women seldom go to a shop prepared with any sort of apparatus to facilitate their work. Searching examinations of hundreds of honest-looking women who have been arrested for shoplifting have afforded ample grounds for the belief that many of the more respectable of them actually persuade themselves that they are not doing wrong in pilfering from the shops, and that they are scrupulously honest everywhere else. Many of them when caught say: “That little thing didn’t cost you anything worth speaking of. Ft would probably have been lost or spoiled anyway, so what was the harm?” Perhaps the boldest and most per-

sistent shoplifters are Italian women. They steal bits of cheap jewellery anti bright riblxms with an unconevrnrtl disregard of discovery that makes the detectives stare at them in astonishment. and sometimes even doubt the evidence of their senses. Detectives are full of interesting stories of the elever methtsls of shoplifters, both amateur and professional. The detectives are deeply versed in all these methods, yet so innocent do the fair thieves look, and so cleverly do thex work their tricks, that they constantly outwit even the skilful men who are at their very elbows watching them. A detective must be exceedingly careful whom he arrests. No matter how suspiciously a woman acts, he must be very sure of his ground. When he makes a mistake the firm which employs him may la* mulcted in heavy damages for false arrest. Thus it happens that when a detective sights a woman who arouses his suspicion he must carefully follow her from counter to counter ami floor to floor; but. even when sure of his prey, hr must not arrest her on the spot. If he does, the woman invariably says: “Why, of course, I have not paid for those things. I'm not finished . yet, can't you see? “You're very impertinent, sir. You may take bark your old things, and you may be sure. sir. I will never patronise this place again.” So the experienced detective allows his suspect to leave the shop. He follows close behind, and often allows her to go to a street or more before he touches her on the awn. lifts his hat politely, and says, with a smile: “Madam. don't you think it would be better to go back and pay for those articles you took from the shop? If you will take my advice you w ill go quietly, for I am a police officer, ami will arrest you if necessary. But there is no need of having a public scene unless you choose. (Jo back with me quietly, and people will think I am an acquaintance of yours.” The woman generally accepts the situation with a woman's quickness of comprehension, and returns with a bow and a smile. But there is generally a great scene of lamentation in the quiet upstairs room, to which the detective takes her for an interview with the manager.