Tomorrow is Christmas Day and children across the United States will be opening up gifts of new toys, clothes, games and electronic devices. This time of year can add a lot of pressure to adults who are expected to come up with the additional funds to provide gifts for their family to exchange. Sales started out strong over Black Friday weekend, rising 2.7% over last year, however there has been a lull since then and sales fell 4.3% for the week ending December 15. The reality is that many people are still out of work, or recently re-employed and trying to catch up on all the debt they incurred. Things like Sandy Hook and the pending Fiscal Cliff are also putting a damper on people’s spirits. So, don’t be surprised if there are fewer gifts under the tree this year. It’s a sign of the times, not how much your family loves you.
Unfortunately, this is also a time of year when retailers see an increase in theft and shoplifting. Even normally rational individuals feeling the pressure to provide what every other family seems to have, can be pushed to shoplift. If this thought has crossed your mind, don’t succumb! Most retailers now have some form of video surveillance, electronic tags, and have increased undercover security presence. The act of shoplifting is more difficult to get away with than ever before and the repercussions are just not worth it.
In reading the headlines from this past weekend, officers in Franklin, Tennessee have arrested 55 shoplifters since Thanksgiving weekend, in one mall alone! Some shoplifters have figured out that if they line the inside of a shopping bag with foil, it throws off the electronic detectors as they walk out the door, so they won’t go off. However, security watching through video cameras and on-floor staff are both watching suspicious movements.
Other tactics included one person who put items in a cart and then put her purse over a few small items. She went through the checkout and paid for some of the items, but not the ones under her purse. She was apprehended upon exiting the store. And, a few individuals attempted the scam of bringing a lot of clothes into a dressing room and then layering them under the loose clothes they walked in wearing. Security officers are on to this, and are watching people who walk into dressing rooms carrying a bunch of clothes and exiting with little to none.
If you’ve temporarily lost all morals in your panic to show up to holiday festivities fully armed with gifts, and have been caught, life is about to get difficult. If you are a first time offender, you can expect to make restitution, pay fines, participate in community service work, spend money on hiring an attorney to defend you in court and will have court dates to attend. The judge will most likely also mandate that you take a theft class to educate you on how to improve your thinking and stop this behavior from happening again.
If a theft diversion class is in your future, ask your judge if you can take it online rather than in a traditional classroom. Taking a class online is highly beneficial because it enables you the convenience of learning from any web-based computer in your home. No driving across town to meet someone else’s class schedule, or missing work to make the classes. Online theft education classes are available on your computer 24/7 so you can login and out whenever you have time first thing in the morning, during your lunch hour or late in the evening. Or, you can spend an entire weekend focused on getting through a 4, 8, 10 or 16-hour class and get it behind you! Nothing needs to be downloaded or printed out, so you don’t need to be at a desk or in an office environment. When you have passed the multiple-choice final exam, a Certificate of Completion will be sent to you. This is the documentation you present to the court system to prove you fulfilled the mandate.
Be sure to choose a high quality online theft class that is developed by a licensed and practicing therapist. This will insure that the content is accurate, current and interesting. Work at your own convenience to fulfill the court requirement and you can get this portion of your punishment behind you without missing more work or school time. An online class will help you get through this situation more quickly so you can start 2013 with a clean slate!
