I would hope that all of you agree with me that setting a good example for your children is one of the top priorities for a parent. That said, would you also agree that taking your child and using him as a shield on your shoplifting experiences is a bad example of parenting?

That is precisely the case for a Georgia woman who brought her preschool-age daughter along when she shoplifted from a Target store.

Target store surveillance video showed a woman putting items in a bag she had in her cart and leaving without paying for the items.

In order to make her shopping experience seem normal, the woman paid for some small ticket items to divert suspicion. This as reported in wsbtv.com.

This was not the first time she was spotted shoplifting. Video also shows her stealing a camera and baby swing from the store in February.

Just one month later she was recorded with the child after stealing a step stool, extension cord and clothing.  Cameras from the parking lot show the mother and child leaving in a white SUV.

Her charges will certainly be more severe than simple shoplifting once she is apprehended. They plan to charge her with shoplifting as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police claim they are close. I hope she gets a good stop theft class as part of her penalty.

You want to see what the dregs of society look like. Take a good glance at this Englishman.

A serial shoplifter, Gregory Horrabin complained that he should not be sent to jail because all he would do is lay on his bed and watch television. This reported in http://www.theargus.co.uk.

While on a drinking binge, Horrabin needed more booze and decided to steal it. He was arrested for stealing wine and also breached an antisocial behavior order.

Now he has been sent back to prison to complete a previous sentence – and given an extra six-week term for his latest crimes.

The 43-year-old Horrabin was jailed for six weeks for shoplifting in March. Just two weeks later he was again arrested – this time for stealing six bottles of wine.

He was pleading for mercy, claiming her was totally broke and awaiting a reassessment of his benefits. To deal with his difficulties he resorted to binge drinking.

Oh by the way, the penniless Horrabin, following his arrest, tested positive for cocaine.

He admits he has a crack cocaine habit costing up to £50 a week and cannot do some work because he’s blind in one eye.

What do you think should be done with the serial criminal? I would hope that instead of TV, Horrabin is made to take multiple stop theft classes.  From his behavior it is apparent he should also take an alcohol class and most likely a series of drug classes while in jail!

There is no doubt that celebrities should not be role models. There also is no doubt that they are role models whether we like it or not! From battling drug and alcohol addiction to theft, celebrities are continuously setting a bad example.

If you are old enough you might know Farah Fawcett. There was a time when she was one of the most recognizable people on the planet – for a number of years! Do recall her being arrested for shoplifting?

As a counselor for both in-class and online theft classes I often discuss celebrities as role models with my students. It was in one of my recent classes a 60-year-old gentleman pointed out that Fawcett had been arrested for shoplifting.

An expert on the subject I disagreed. It took only moments for him to Google it and prove me wrong.

Not only was Farrah Fawcett arrested once for shoplifting, she was arrested twice! Both incidents occurred in 1970. Both offenses were for clothes in fashion boutiques.

In her defense Fawcett claims she was only taking the merchandise because the stores refused to give her credit for clothes she had returned. Either was I am glad to see she quit her theft-like behavior once she hit it big on Aaron Spelling’s “Charlie’s Angels.”

Bicycles are among the many things being stolen with more frequency these days. This is especially true in Los Angeles, California.

In a place known for sophisticated jewelry heists, fine-art thieves and "the Bling Ring," it was only a matter of time before Southern California produced a crew who ripped off high-end bicycles. 

According to the LA Times, police have located a group of thieves who for more than two years snatched nearly 200 expensive bikes with an estimated total value of $250,000.

Craigslist and Facebook

Detectives said the thieves scanned Craigslist and Facebook to identify targets, making away with designer racing bikes worth $2,000 to $15,000 each.

They allegedly preyed on the growing online community of Los Angeles bike enthusiasts who share photos about rides and their latest bike acquisitions on various websites and look for parts on Craigslist.

Three men accused at the center of the bike-stealing ring have been arrested. Two brothers from Los Angeles, Julian Herrera, 23, and Jamie Herrera, 21, and a Colton man identified as 34-year-old Alberto Mejia face dozens of counts of burglary and conspiracy after authorities reported finding purloined bikes and bike parts at various locations including one of the suspect's homes.

This wasn’t the first time these three were arrested for bike theft. They had been arrested in 2010 and spent three weeks in jail. When they were released after a few weeks in jail, the high-end bike thefts resumed over a wider territory with help from the Internet, detectives say.

Social media can be a good, but also dangerous– just like many other areas of life. Be careful in revealing any personal information. You never know who is looking. Hopefully these three will be mandated to take an Los Angeles theft class and seek counseling for their anti-social thieving behavior.

Will stricter regulations stop the epidemic metal theft problem currently happening around the globe? I certainly think going after those paying for the stolen metal is a good idea!

Georgia could become the guinea pig for this theory.

A new law aimed at cracking down on metal theft in Georgia puts more responsibility on scrap metal recyclers. This according to wrbl.com.

Beginning this summer scrap metal recycling businesses will have to upload electronically the entire details of a transaction to a statewide database. The Sheriff's Office will issue permits to legitimate businesses. The best part is that cash payments to metal sellers is no longer permitted and there is a three day waiting period for a voucher payment.

As the new law tightens restrictions on scrap metal recyclers to make sure there's no market for stolen goods, some recyclers are worried the new stipulations could hurt legitimate business.

These legit recyclers will have to shell out $20,000 to $50,000 on a new computer system to help law enforcement catch metal thieves.

Recyclers in Georgia are worried that making it too difficult for customers will send their business to a neighboring state like Alabama. That is why these regulations should be looked at nationally.

Georgia theft classes and stronger regulations on the companies accepting the metal are both good ideas in working toward reducing theft of scrap metal.

*** Update: According to Schnitzer Steel Industries, There are no reporting requirements at this time, as the system is not yet funded. ***

The Internal Revenue Service is getting ripped off.  Does that surprise you?  Do you know people who cheat on their taxes?  This is not about those who cheat on their taxes, but about those who steal identities to steal from the US Government!

The IRS estimates that it could hand out $26 billion in fraudulent tax refunds over the next five years due to increases in identity theft. 

One inspector for tax administration has identified 1.5 million potentially fraudulent tax returns in 2010, on top of what the IRS had already found.   Those additional returns could have cost the Treasury more than $5.2 billion. This according to thehill.com.

Obviously, the IRS does not know how many identity thieves are filing fraudulent tax returns or the amount of revenue being. 

Of the 2.2 million returns the IRS earmarked as fraudulent in 2011, roughly 940,000 involved identity theft, at a cost of $6.5 billion. The agency itself says that it prevented more than $14 billion in fraudulent refunds from being delivered that year.

With state and federal budget cuts everywhere this egregious amount of money needs to be located.  Ironically, the funds the IRS uses to catch these fraudulent claims is being stretched even farther, receiving roughly $11.8 billion this fiscal year, down from $12.1 billion in 2011. 

We are living in a vicious cycle of fraud and theft.  I would like to see the government mandate stop theft classes for all kids beginning in middle school.  We need to respect other people’s property. We need to resurrect the American Dream which is to use our opportunity to make money legally.

If you follow shoplifting and theft stories, like I do, you know that there is just about nothing safe from being stolen. This has become especially true given the recent increase in the price of all metals.

I have blogged about metal thefts from houses, cemeteries, and even morgues. Here is a new item being stolen in New York and it is especially dangerous – manhole covers.

According to the New York Times, residents in Queens became suspicious of a man in the yellow vest using an automotive jack to lift a cast-iron manhole cover out of the street by himself.

He struggled to remove the heavy disc from the pavement, and then struggled to get it into a truck.

This used to be a very rare crime that has become increasingly common on the streets of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx in the past several weeks. Con Ed says that more than 30 of its manhole covers — some weighing as much as 300 pounds and all bearing the utility’s distinctive markings — have disappeared since March. In a normal year, no more than two or three of the company’s covers go missing.

What kind of scrap dealer would pay for an item they knew was stolen? That is the crux of the whole problem – the scrap yards are totally corrupt. Big surprise, right?

Besides the cost and hassle of replacing the missing covers, Con Ed officials were concerned about the hazards that gaping holes in city streets could pose to pedestrians and drivers. This is seriously criminal activity!

Based on current commodity prices for iron, a stolen manhole cover might fetch more than $30.

Still, there appears to be a black market for the covers, which is troubling to a company that has more than 200,000 manholes in its network that distributes electricity, gas and steam throughout the city and the northern suburbs.

Hopefully, these criminals will be stopped soon. So far nobody has been seriously injured from the thefts, but that is bound to change if it keeps up. All that for $30! Perhaps New York theft class might keep people from stealing.

Many people do not steal out of necessity. It can start out innocently, but the behavior can become very addictive. That was the case for a water maintenance supervisor from Beloit, Illinois.

Timothy L. Kosier was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing at least $880,000 from city coffers, though the entire loss may never be known. This as reported in the Chicago Tribune.

At his sentencing, the 45-year-old claimed that he got caught in a "vicious cycle," and once he started stealing from the city it just "snowballed."

Kosier stole at least $882,926 from the city, and Conley ordered him to repay $854,825. But the loss is a conservative estimate because invoices could only be searched back to 2002.

That is an egregious amount. Not only did his theft hurt the city financially, but also did significant damage to the city's reputation and to the morale of city workers who had to experience.

Some of the equipment and supplies bought with city money were used in Kosier's heating and cooling side business. He was basically purchasing all of his supplies using city money. A stop theft class is not enough for him.

Kosier worked for Beloit's Water Resources Department from September 1997 until June 8, 2011. Justice was swift. Just one day after the city's human resources department received an anonymous letter from a city worker reporting that Kosier was buying home improvement products for his own use with city funds, including a recently purchased lawn tractor that city staff could not find he was suspended.

After his suspension, he left the state for Florida, California and then Hawaii, where he was arrested.

I hope he gets everything that he has coming to him. Robbing the public and being in a position of trust is shameful. The amount stolen is staggering. I wonder how he is going to repay the city. I hope he gets an Illinois theft class and counseling while he is in jail. He will be paying for this for the rest of his life.

One of my favorite television personalities is celebrity chef Guy Fieri. His fiery attitude and gregarious personality make cooking look fun and always makes me hungry!

As a counselor for both in-class and online theft classes I follow the various theft and shoplifting stories from around the world. Yesterday, there was a story from the Mercury News regarding my favorite TV personality.

A teenager in Northern California stole Fieri’s Lamborghini. On top of that he was involved in a drive-by shooting. Making matters even worse for this adolescent thief was he kept an arsenal that included assault rifles, cellphone-jamming equipment and police gear.

Things only got worse for the 17-year-old Max Michael Wade, who now faces a slew of charges including attempted murder, vehicle theft and commercial burglary.

In the storage facility police found the two assault rifles and shotgun shells, a San Francisco Police Department uniform and badge and false identification cards for California, Florida and New York.

There, investigators also found a motorcycle and gun linked to an April 13 drive-by shooting at two teenagers in a pickup truck and Fieri's yellow 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Wade was caught when investigators tracked him to the storage facility, where they saw him drive out in the Lamborghini.

When Wade returned, they arrested him with a loaded Glock handgun in his waistband and $1,500 and a false driver's license in his wallet.

Due to the severity of the crimes, Wade is being charged as an adult.

The reason behind the shooting - the former Redwood High School classmates had a dispute over a girl they both liked.

What a cluster. Could a stop theft have avoided this? Probably not. This kid has serious problems. I can only hope he becomes a positive statistic in our rehabilitation system.

Craigslist is a great place to shop. It is a place to find just about anything. One of the problems with the site is that it also is used to sell stolen goods. If you ever have something stolen, something you can easily identify, try checking Craigslist. It worked for one gentleman who had his bicycle stolen.

Danny Lesh of Washington, DC is an avid cyclist -- and now he's also somewhat of a vigilante, after he found his stolen bike online and managed to get it back. This according to ksn.com.

After his Cannondale hybrid was stolen after loaning it to a friend who'd secured it with a cable lock, which are easy to cut if you're a theft with a pair of bolt cutters handy, Lesh located the bike on Craiglist.

It was not hard to identify his bike as it has a prominent sticker.

The thief wanted $100 for his $600 bike. Lesh called the police who politely told him they had more important fish to fry. So Lesh decided to take matters into his own hands!

The Plan

First, Lesh arranged to buy his bike back. When he met the man who had the bike, Lesh took it for a "test ride." It was a “test ride” back to his house.

You might find it humorous that the thief, who had Lesh’s cell number stored, harassed him with phone calls threatening to call the police! The nerve of some people!

While I certainly do not recommend stealing your stolen property back yourself, I do recommend doing the research and locating your stolen property. Hopefully the thief will be mandated to take a stop theft class and will be able to keep away from his theft behavior.