Shoplifting is theft of merchandise for sale in a shop, store, or other retail establishment, by an ostensible patron. It is one of the most common crimes that police and the courts deal with.Most shoplifters are amateurs however, there are people and groups who make their living from shoplifting, and they tend to be more skilled. Some individuals shoplift in an effort to resist selling their labor, and/or to protest corporate power. These individuals target --often exclusively-- chain stores; Wal-Mart is an especially popular target for political shoplifters.

The temptation of not paying for something, just hiding it away and saving your own money is a large factor for some people. The culprit just thinks he's getting a product for free and doesn't know what he's actually doing to himself and the community. Shoplifting effects everyone, yourself and the everyone in the local neighborhood.

In this essay I'm going to explain some of the circumstances of stealing from local stores, or any store. After I've been caught stealing I found out how wrong it is and how it is a disadvantage to everyone. The stores are trying to crack down on shoplifters by making the punishments as strict as possible. Shoplifting affects the community in a big way. The stores get about three cents per every dollar purchased for an item. So if you figure that they don't make a whole lot of money out of profit. Every shoplifter that takes a product also is taking the product, which costs money by the store so that is also a set back and puts them more in dept. Some stores might even closed down because of shoplifters making the store go bankrupt. The stores usually raise their prices and then causes more shoplifting, but the people that don't shoplift just end up having to pay more for the product or else go somewhere else to shop. If the customer goes to a different store because of the rising prices the store will also lose