Do You Love to Steal?
While shopaholics get a high from buying things, shoplifters get a high from stealing them. But is stealing addictive? Estimates suggest there are 25 million shoplifters in the United States (or about one in eleven citizens shoplift). Most of these Americans don’t steal because they can’t afford or can’t live without the item.
Shoplifters who steal repeatedly actually have a behavioral disorder, one which can result in serious negative consequences like jail time. There is a common misconception that more women than men are shoplifters, but the reality is that shoplifting addicts are almost equally divided between the two sexes.Most shoplifters enjoy the rush they get when they steal without being caught. This rush has been described in the same way as the rush of getting high from using a drug.
Department stores, supermarkets, specialty shops, and convenience stores are common victims of shoplifting. It’s believed that a shoplifter is only caught once for every forty-nine times they shoplift. The fact that so many shoplifters go uncaught is the reason that prices are often raised – stores need to offset the cost of all the merchandise that is stolen. So, not only does a shoplifter addict who is caught risk their personal freedom, they also are hurting society as a whole who has to pay more for the shoplifter’s dishonest addiction.
