Holiday Shoplifters Beware

Shoplifters come out of the wood work with the holiday crowds.

"There’s greater opportunity," Frazer said. "There’s more people out. The store owners and store clerks tend to be a little more distracted so the criminal element takes advantage of that."

The police suggest employees be acquainted with every customer in their store.

"Just be vigilant. Have your employees, train your employees to be vigilant of the clientele that is coming in."

One local store clerk explains why they follow this approach and how it serves two purposes.

"It just lets them know you’re there to help them," Merch spokesperson Jazmin Hooper said. "And so I think that they take that as a little bit of a warning but it also let’s them know you’re here to help them in that way."

This chart from the Global Retail Theft Barometer shows what items are shoplifted most.

The same study also says shoplifting accounts for over 120 billion dollars in lost revenue for businesses.

And the penalty can be severe….a felony charge and over one year imprisonment for something many people wrongly consider a misdemeanor.

"I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced a situation where the store’s like, ‘No don’t worry about it’," Frazer said. "They want to prosecute. That’s why the price of goods goes up. That’s why the cost of doing business goes up."

This study also shows only three percent of shoplifters do so out of need.

The vast majority is from a compulsive personality disorder.

"It seems like it might be a lower crime but it’s not," Frazer said. "It’s just as severe and serious as any other crime and we take it just as seriously."