. . . BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE

Did you know that about 1 in 11 people shoplift? In fact, 55% of shoplifters start stealing items in their teenage years. It starts with a fleeting thrill and can turn into a habit. But the consequences are no joking matter.

Depending on the value of what’s stolen, shoplifters could face a charge of petit or grand larceny. Even the lowest charge of petit larceny comes with a prison sentence of up to a year. Is that worth stealing something? We don’t think so.

Our Stoplift program aims to prevent first-time shoplifters from committing the offense again through educational classes at our Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan locations. The full-day class starts by examining the offenders’ motives for shoplifting and then covers the legal ramifications of shoplifting. Our trained educators and counselors run group exercises and conduct one-on-one interviews with our clients to identify additional needs and risks.

“I feel that this program is very good because it allows people to see how they made a mistake, but they can still come back from it,” said Anton, a former Stoplift client. “I learned that many people shoplift, that it is not really a discriminatory crime, and that what I do affects a good number of people. I felt very comfortable explaining what happened since [the counselor] was very nice and non-judgmental. Learning the facts about shoplifting helped put my incident in perspective in a grander scheme, and talking and sharing was very cathartic.”

To learn more about our Stoplift program, click here.

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Cassandra Huneke was the Development & Marketing Specialist at EAC Network. She graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.A. in English and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Media Studies at The New School University in New York City.