On the Whitby beat By PETER BRAMMA Community Services Branch Durham Regional Police Force The shopifter is as ikeiy to be female as maie, unlike the generai pattern of crime where the over- wheiming majority of offences are committed by maies. It has been estimated that oniy 5-10 percent of shoplifters are "professionai" who depend upon theft from stores for their iiveiihood or use it to sup- piement other forms of criminal activity. The remainder are, people who steai occasionaliy and usually believe they will not be apprehended. There is no common type of shopifter. The offen- der may come from any income level or socio- economic group, and is unlikely to suffer fromn men- talillness, emotional disturbance, or severe economic deprivation. Furthermore, 80-90 percent of apprehended shoplifters have no previous criminal record. The number of thefts of small items by childiren and teenagers is a reai concern to the storekeeper - especially the corner variety store owner or manager. Young offenders make Up nearly haif of ail shoplifters. Many do it just for kicks. Some teenagers even shoplif t in gangs, competing to see who can steai the most. It has been-shown that the stolen item is rarely a necessity and the young per- son often has enough money to buy it. While the stolen goods may be of littie value, it should be remembered that individuai merchants often suffer several such thefts in one day. The total lois over a year can be considerable. There are a substantial number of shoplifting of- fences recorded across the region. In 1984, 1,725 shoplMfting cases were deait with region wide. Whit- by alone recorded 189 cases. It has been estimnated that shopliifting' costa retail businesses in Canada over one million dollars per day. Ciearly someone must pay for this and that someone is the consumer. A store that loses a considerable amount of mer- chandise through shoplifting cannot simpiy absorb the bass. It can only raise its prices to stay in business. So, it la not surprising that part of the an- swer to the age-oid question, "why do prices keep going up?" is that an increasing number of people steal frequently. Bluntly put, we ail foot the bll for shoplifting. But the extent of the problemn shouid not be seen in economlic terma only. Our laws reflect our society's concern for trust and honesty in community and in- dividual relations. To the extent that shoplifting is widespread in the community, trust and honesty is replaced by distrust and suspicion. The overal result is that the quality of our lives is diminished. Furthermore, shopiifing is theft and theft is a crime. Shoplifters who are chargedi and convicted are punished. In a case of shoplifting where the value of goods stolen is less than $200, a person would face a fine of up to $500 or to imprisonment for six months or both. Where the value of stoien goods exceeds $200 the imprisonment term could be Up to ten years. Bear in mind also that a criminal record "follows"~ you for the rest of your life. What can we do as parents? First of ail, taik to the youngsters. Explain that shoplifting is a crime and that a criminai record is a lifelong shadow. Em- phasize that going aiong with the crowd for fear of being "chicken"~ is the coward's way out. When youngsters go on group shopping expeditions, know how much money your child has, where the group is going, what they expect to buy. If your child comes home with more merchandise than he or she has money to buy, ask about it . And don't take easy an- swers about where it came from. Sales slips are proof of purchase. Outlaw ail clothes swapping unless the parents on both sides know what's being exchanged. And most importantly - Set The Right Example. SIMPLE! The simple solution to cleaning storage problems ToInsre atat urage is ldrifle cev hebsApsileedatin WHITBY FREE PRESS .......668-6111 666-2244 WUi-ITBY FREF, PRESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6. 1985, PAGE 13 Whitby ambulance k service answers 94 The Big Pumpkin! Tis purnpkin head scarecrow was one of the many whimsical creatures sculpted by Kathleen Rowe Memorial school students last week. Above, sharing ghost stories with the straw man are fifth graders Gien Knowles and Jason Vanderreest. Just who is reading to whom is not clear. Free Press Staff Photo AUCTIONEERS The people of Whilby and ares love allending auc- tion sales. Let Ihem know about your next sale by advertising ln the most widely read pages ln Whit- by - the Whitby Free Press Classif iedslCail: ALAN FISHER B.A.,LL.B. Practice devoted soleiy te Personal Injury - Motor Vehicle AL Accidents Phone 686-2373 PO. Box 21 200 Bellamy Rd. Wh itby, Li N 5R7 Scarborough, M1J 2L6 2ND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Monday-Thursday Perms flrom '30 Students 10% OFF, Mens cul & style s8 900 BONACORD WHITBY RE-ELECT PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD MAos. R that ended last Thur- sday, Halloween night, the Whitby Ambulance Service answered 94 calîs. 0f these 34 were routine, 31 standby calîs for other am- bulance services in while 29 were emergency cails. The service also responded to six motor vehicle accidents. The num- ber for ambulance service in Whitby is 723-5232. 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