As a counselor for online theft classes, I often ask my students why they think we offer the course. After getting past the snide barbs about pure, unadulterated punishment, we come down to the meat and potatoes of why we these classes and what we expect out the students who take them.
Theft classes are designed for both people who have engaged in shoplifting behavior as well as for those trying to cope with a shoplifter. For shoplifters, the primary aim is to reduce the occurrence of individuals committing theft.
Virtually all of my students, more than 95%, are taking the shoplifting course because of a court order. Whether the courts have mandated you take a theft class or you are just trying to learn more about how to evaluate and access your own behavior as it relates to shoplifting, following are 10 signs you may need to take an online theft class:
1. You have seen someone steal and you did nothing about it. Tolerating an act of crime could be the first step into accepting the thought that it could happen. It doesn’t matter if what was taken is big or small. The point is, you have tolerated the act, and worse, accepted it.
2. You have friends who shoplift. Do your friends or casual acquintences shoplift? If you have never shoplift, but hand out with kids who do, the chances of you getting in trouble because of their behavior increases exponentially. If they get caught, you could be an accessory. You may even feel the pressure to shoplift yourself.
3. You have friends who push you to do it. Peer pressure pushing you toward behaviors you know are not right. A stop theft class will reinforce your belief that shoplifting is wrong and encourage you to distance yourself from peers who steal. Peer pressure is hard to push away. If you can’t handle it alone, you might consider taking a theft class.
4. Your coveting items you cannot afford has progressed into actions, or even thoughts of shoplifting. If you can’t have something, you should learn to accept that you can’t have it. Never consider taking that which is not yours.
5. You have thoughts about stealing. Maybe you’rte just standing in line at the grocery store and start thinking about how easy it would be to steal a pack of gum. These thoughts become more frequent.
6. Simple “Innocent” thoughts advance to the planning stage. It may have started out with the thought of lifting a pack of gum and now you are actually planning it. Watching the cashier’s, looking for the manager’s station, and planning a getaway. If this scenario sounds familiar, you need a stop theft class.
7. You have shoplifted once or twice but think about it often. If you have shoplifted and gotten away with it can embolden you to believe that what you did was somehow justified, and furthermore perhaps you should do it again. This rationale seriously could use a stop theft class.
8. You have progressed to stealing often. Perhaps you have never been caught and feel virtually invincible. Odds are, your luck is going to run out. If you are reading this article, or discussing it as part of a theft class, you were unlucky at least once. If you can’t learn from others’ mistakes, please, learn from your own.
9. You just can’t help yourself. This is also known as kleptomania. In addition to a theft class, if you suffer from this malady you should seek medical help as well. Less than 15% of all shoplifters suffer from chronic, compulsive theft behavior. It is treatable.
10. You start rationalizing that stealing is fine. Once again, there is no way to justify shoplifting behavior. Really, there are zero legitimate reasons usable to rationalize stealing. If you have rationalized it even once, you could use a stop theft class.