BIG RETAILERS REPORT 5% JUMP IN SHOPLIFTING
Bigger Than Expected Number For Holiday Season
Defying predictions that this would be a slow holiday season for shoplifting, major retailers today reported a 5% increase in shoplifting for the period beginning the day after Thanksgiving.
Shoplifting got off to a slow start this winter, with big retailers such as K Mart and the Federated Group reporting smaller than expected numbers of missing merchandise in the early days of the holiday shoplifting season.
But shoplifters came back with a vengeance this weekend, shoving items ranging from jewelry to designer jeans into their oversized handbags and backpacks before darting out of the stores.
Experts attribute the late surge in holiday shoplifting to two factors: lack of money on the part of the shoplifting consumer, and increased holiday drinking among store security personnel, making them less alert and easier to steal from.
In Chicago, Nan Blankenship, President of the National Association of American Shoplifters, said that the heartening new statistics show that ripping off retailers is alive and well in the U.S.
The shoplifting group, representing over 700,000 shoplifters across the country, has been through some tough times, Ms. Blankenship said, but she added that shoplifters everywhere got a real shot in the arm from this falls shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder.
Winona brought some much-needed glamour back to shoplifting, Ms. Blankenship said.
At the White House today, response to the shoplifting statistics was muted, with press secretary Ari Fleischer saying merely, The President is pleased that at least one sector of the economy is doing well.
****THE BOROWITZ REPORT! ****
Bigger Than Expected Number For Holiday Season
Defying predictions that this would be a slow holiday season for shoplifting, major retailers today reported a 5% increase in shoplifting for the period beginning the day after Thanksgiving.
Shoplifting got off to a slow start this winter, with big retailers such as K Mart and the Federated Group reporting smaller than expected numbers of missing merchandise in the early days of the holiday shoplifting season.
But shoplifters came back with a vengeance this weekend, shoving items ranging from jewelry to designer jeans into their oversized handbags and backpacks before darting out of the stores.
Experts attribute the late surge in holiday shoplifting to two factors: lack of money on the part of the shoplifting consumer, and increased holiday drinking among store security personnel, making them less alert and easier to steal from.
In Chicago, Nan Blankenship, President of the National Association of American Shoplifters, said that the heartening new statistics show that ripping off retailers is alive and well in the U.S.
The shoplifting group, representing over 700,000 shoplifters across the country, has been through some tough times, Ms. Blankenship said, but she added that shoplifters everywhere got a real shot in the arm from this falls shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder.
Winona brought some much-needed glamour back to shoplifting, Ms. Blankenship said.
At the White House today, response to the shoplifting statistics was muted, with press secretary Ari Fleischer saying merely, The President is pleased that at least one sector of the economy is doing well.
****THE BOROWITZ REPORT! ****
I am not suprised. It happens a lot more often than you think. By people you would not expect. I had worked for a major company for many years and you would be amazed by what I have seen.
