The Hidden Price of Shoplifting: Teenagers have increasingly turned to shoplifting as a pastime while overlooking the long-term repercussions associated with their actions

*Names changed to protect identities

Senior Harper Stevenson* walks to an empty aisle inside of Ulta. Looking around to ensure no employees are watching, she shoves a hot pink Fenty Beauty lip gloss into her Louis Vuitton purse and walks out of the store.

She doesn’t need the lip gloss — Stevenson will stuff it in her makeup drawer alongside the 10 others just like it. And she has the money to pay for it, but ever since she started shoplifting a year ago, the thrill of seeing how much makeup, jewelry or skincare products she can steal without getting caught overrides any desire to pay for the items.

“Sometimes I’ll take things and I’ll get home and think to myself, ‘Why did I even take this? I don’t need it,’” Stevenson said. “But it’s just so easy to take things from stores, and I really don’t see that big of a problem with it.”

Stevenson is one of at least 67 other East students who shoplift, according to an Instagram poll of 218 students and community members. This aligns with a broader nationwide pattern of teen shoplifting, as approximately a quarter of shoplifters are under the age of 18, according to mental health center Newport Academy.

“Growing up, you can’t always have everything that you want,” Stevenson said. “And so shoplifting for me is almost like an easy way of getting what [I] want without paying for it.”

Shoplifting has seen a notable increase in recent years — despite the potential legal and financial consequences, according to the National Retail Federation. In Prairie Village, there were 283 reported theft cases in 2022 — 100 more than there were 10 years ago, according to school resource officer Jeremy Shull. In Mission Hills, theft cases doubled from 40 cases in 2021 to 80 cases in 2022. 

Stores across the country lost an estimated $112.1 billion to retail theft in 2022. This number has doubled since 2019. Retailers in Kansas lost $616 million in revenue to theft in 2022, according to the NRF. Only 5-10% of shoplifters are caught, according to the United States Department of Justice. 

As shoplifting becomes increasingly popular, lawyers, psychologists and police officers caution that teens should think carefully before stealing, as the still-developing teenage brain may not fully comprehend the potential legal ramifications.

Depending on the cost of the merchandise stolen, retail theft can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. According to K.S.A. § 21-5801, if the stolen items are valued at less than $1000, it’s classified as a level A Misdemeanor — the highest misdemeanor charge. This could result in up to a year in prison and fines of up to $2500 if convicted. But if the stolen items are worth more than $1000, it becomes a felony charge which can result in 17 months in prison and fines up to $100,000.

Despite the risks of shoplifting, 47% of students who shoplift aren’t concerned about getting caught, according to an Instagram poll of 67 students.

“I don’t think the workers are getting paid or care enough to stop me,” Stevenson said. 

For sophomore Thomas Miller*, shoplifting is a funny and entertaining thing to do with his friends. Miller and his friends steal from Five Below, and he feels it’s not a bad thing to do because the items are so cheap.

“I make money, I can afford everything that I take, but we just do it because why not?” Miller said. “It’s risky, which makes it fun. And stealing from [Five Below] isn’t that bad because all the stuff is so cheap that if you did get caught, you could just pay [them] back.”

Similarly, senior Sophie Harris* doesn’t feel bad about stealing. Harris and Stevenson both believe that stealing from large chains like Target isn’t a big deal, as the chains are already making substantial profits.

“You’d think that I would feel guilty, but I don’t,” Harris said. “I feel smart. I feel slick. Which is definitely not good because I’m gonna get caught one day and it’s gonna be really bad.”

Stevenson and Harris have their own strategies for shoplifting. Stevenson brings her nice purses into stores — Louis Vuitton or Marc Jacobs — so the employees don’t suspect her of shoplifting. She used to take makeup items out of the packaging when she was stealing them, because she was nervous about the sensors going off when she left the store, but now she doesn’t anymore. Harris steals clothes and jewelry, and she usually stashes items in her sleeves or pockets. If she’s stealing jewelry, she’ll put it on. 

Local criminal defense attorney Hatem Chahine stresses that shoplifting charges are serious. Because theft is considered a crime of dishonesty, getting caught shoplifting can make it more difficult to get a job. 

“Theft crimes look really bad on your record,” Chahine said. “Employers don’t want to hire people with theft charges, so if you want to make yourself unemployable, get a theft charge.”

The lack of awareness of the risks behind shoplifting in teenagers can be attributed to the fact that the prefrontal cortex — the part of your brain that controls decision-making and impulse control — isn’t fully developed until the age of 25, according to child and adolescent psychologist Kathy McConahay. 

The limbic system, which controls the experience and expression of emotions, tends to be more active during adolescence. This can contribute to heightened emotional responses and a desire for emotional gratification, which may lead to some teenagers engaging in risky behaviors like shoplifting. 

“I think teenagers just feel invincible,” McConahay said. “Like they have [this] sense that nothing bad is going to happen. They’re not thinking, ‘What if I get caught?’ They don’t have that delayed gratification where they’re like, ‘I’m going to save money and work to get this.’”

This false-security for teenagers is having an effect on large retail chains. Target announced it was closing nine stores in New York, California, Oregon and Washington due to theft and organized crime in September of 2023, according to CNN, and they lost $400 million due to shoplifting in 2022, according to Insider. 

To combat this, Target is increasing its anti-theft measures according to Target employee and math teacher Neeta Mandsager. Since Mandsager began working for Target in 2022, she noticed that people would often steal items from the self checkout — acting like they scanned the items and leaving without paying. Most Target employees can’t stop people from shoplifting due to security reasons, according to Mandsager. 

“If someone is not scanning their items [at self checkout], all that I can do is ask them if they need any security tags removed so they see I’m around and watching,” Mandsager said. “So then I report them to [security], and they handle it.”

Target security declined to comment on when they prosecute shoplifters. 

As of Oct. 1, Target created a new policy stipulating that the self-checkout is now restricted to customers with 10 items or less. Additionally, women’s clothing is frequently stolen at Target, according to Mandsager. As a response, a majority of the clothing items — whether they are $5 or $40 — have security tags on them. 

Understanding the true cost of shoplifting is crucial. Shoplifting has hidden costs that go far beyond the initial stolen item’s value, according to Chahine. 

“If somebody steals a $20 item, that on average will cost them about $850,” Chahine said. “So that’s a big thing that they want to consider when you steal something small. You have restitution, fines, attorneys fees, community service and you have to do a theft defender class. It’s all very expensive.”

Prairie Village municipal judge and East parent Michelle DeCicco emphasizes that teenagers who are shoplifting for thrill or amusement have more productive ways to spend their time. 

“Get into therapy, get a job or go into sports,” DeCicco said. “I understand how a child might think ‘Oh, [shoplifting] might be exciting.’ But that’s just such a false impression that they have.”