Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T06:35:07.815Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Apprehension for Shoplifting Amplify or Terminate Shoplifting Activity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2024

Lloyd W. Klemke
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This study investigates the effects of being apprehended for shoplifting. The deviance amplification hypothesis derived from labeling theory and the converse deviance termination hypothesis derived from deterrence theory were formulated to structure the analysis. Self-report data on shoplifting were collected from high school students in four communities. Youth who had been apprehended for shoplifting reported more subsequent shoplifting than unapprehended youth. Youth who were exposed to police contact during apprehension reported more subsequent shoplifting than those who were handled by store personnel alone. In addition, apprehended youth reported a stronger deviant self-concept and less fear of store antishoplifting devices. These patterns were not strong but they were consistently in the direction predicted by labeling theory. Although other explanations may also be useful, it appears that labeling theory explains these findings, at least in part.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 12 , Issue 3: Special Issue on Criminal Justice , Spring 1978 , pp. 391 - 403
Copyright
Copyright © 1978 The Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

I would like to extend my appreciation to the Oregon State University Research Council for financial support for this project and to Ed Starnes for some helpful advice.

References

ANDENAES, Johannes (1966) “The General Preventive Effects of Punishment,” 114 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 949.Google Scholar
BECKER, Howard S. (1963) The Outsiders. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
BLANKENBURG, Erhard (1976) “The Selectivity of Legal Sanctions: An Empirical Investigation of Shoplifting,” 11 Law & Society Review 109.Google Scholar
CAMERON, Mary O. (1964) The Booster and the Snitch: Department Store Shoplifting. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.Google Scholar
CHAMBLISS, William J. (1966) “The Deterrent Influence of Punishment,” 12 Crime and Delinquency 70.Google Scholar
CHAMBLISS, William J. (1967) “Types of Deviance and the Effectiveness of Legal Sanctions,” [ 1967] Wisconsin Law Review 703.Google Scholar
CLINARD, Marshall B. (1974) Sociology of Deviant Behavior (4th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
COHEN, Lawrence and Rodney, STARK (1974) “Discriminatory Labeling and the Five-Finger Discount: An Empirical Analysis of Differential Shoplifting Dispositions,” 11 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FOSTER, Jack D., Simon, DINITZ and Walter C., RECKLESS (1972) “Perceptions of Stigma Following Public Intervention for Delinquent Behavior,” 20 Social Problems 202.Google Scholar
GIBBONS, Don C. (1973) Society, Crime, and Criminal Careers Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
GIBBS, Jack P. (1975) Crime, Punishment, and Deterrence. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co.Google Scholar
GOLD, Martin and Jay R., WILLIAMS (1969) “National Study of the Aftermath of Apprehension, 3 Prospectus 3.Google Scholar
HARDT, Robert H. and Sandra, PETERSON-HARDT (1977) “On Determining the Quality of the Delinquency Self-Report Method,” 14 Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency 247.Google Scholar
HAWKINS, Richard and Gary H., TIEDEMAN (1975) The Creation of Deviance: Interpersonal and Organizational Determinants. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co.Google Scholar
HINDELANG, Michael J. (1974) “Decisions of Shoplifting Victims to Invoke the Criminal Justice Process,” 21 Social Problems 580.Google Scholar
HOOD, Roger and Richard, SPARKS (1970) Key Issues in Criminology. New York: World University Library.Google Scholar
KRAUT, Robert E. (1976) “Deterrent and Definitional Influences on Shoplifting,” 23 Social Problems 358.Google Scholar
LEMERT, Edwin M. (1967) “The Juvenile Court-Quest and Realities,“ in President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime.” Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
MAHONEY, Anne R. (1974) “The Effects of Labeling upon Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Review of the Evidence,” 8 Law & Society Review 583.Google Scholar
MARTINSON, Robert (1974) “What Works? Questions and Answers about Prison Reform,” 35 Public Interest 25.Google Scholar
NETTLER, Gwynn (1974) Explaining Crime New York: McGraw-Hill Co.Google Scholar
PAYNE, William D. (1973) “Negative Labels: Passageways and Prisons,” 19 Crime and Delinquency 33.Google Scholar
ROBINSON, James and Gerald, SMITH (1971) “The Effectiveness of Correctional Programs,” 17 Crime and Delinquency 67.Google Scholar
SCHEFF, Thomas J. (1966) Being Mentally Ill Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
SCHUR, Edwin M. (1971) Labeling Deviant Behavior: Its Sociological Implications. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
TANNENBAUM, Frank (1938) Crime and Community Boston: Ginn & Co.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
THORSELL, Bernard A. and Lloyd W., KLEMKE (1972) “The Labeling Process: Reinforcement or Deterrent?” 6 Law & Society Review 393.Google Scholar
THORSELL, Bernard A. and Robert, CHAMBERS (1974) “The Adjudication Process and Self-Conception.” Presented at the American Psychological Association meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TITTLE, Charles R. (1969) “Crime Rates and Legal Sanctions,” 16 Social Problems 409.Google Scholar
TITTLE, Charles R. and Charles H., LOGAN (1973) “Sanctions and Deviance: Evidence and Remaining Question,” 7 Law & Society Review 371.Google Scholar
TITTLE, Charles R. and Alan R., ROWE (1973) “Certainty of Arrest and Crime Rates: A Further Test of the Deterrence Hypothesis, 52 Social Forces 455.Google Scholar
VAN DEN HAAG, Ernest (1975) Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
WILKINS, Leslie T. (1965) Social Deviance: Social Policy, Action, and Research. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Google Scholar
ZIMRING, Frank E. and Gordon J., HAWKINS (1973) Deterrence: The Legal Threat in Crime Control. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar