You would hear about shoplifting of theft classes only if you know anyone who is shoplifting and who has been caught. The court often sends first time offenders for such classes with the belief that shoplifting classes reduce crime and would prevent these young (almost always they are very young) first time offenders.
What Do You Learn In These Classes?
Normally these courses are short; spanned over a few hours or a few days. The purpose of these classes is to demystify certain perceptions that push or motivate these offenders to steal. Among the topics you will discuss, dissect and learn about are:
1. Why One Commits Theft ñ the course facilitates a better understanding about the causes that lead to theft; help you look into the compulsion of shoplifting. It is possible that shoplifting classes reduce crime when you understand yourself better and the motive that drives you to steal.
2. What are the consequences of such behavior ñ it is said that the acid test of any decision we take or behavior we show is whether we can tell what we have done (or do) proudly to our parents, spouse, siblings and close friends. If you feel you need to hide it from them, what you are doing (or contemplating to do) is not right.
3. How can you control this behavior ñ what can you do to gain control upon this behavior? What are the concrete steps that you can apply to overcome this impulsive behavior? To what extent you can expect to be successful using the measures outlined here? What can you do to fight this impulse successfully?
4. Learning to be responsible about your own behavior is important ñ shoplifting classes reduce crime when it will teach you that each person is responsible for his or her behavior. Nobody is to blame if you chose/ decide to steal. It does not matter if you have friends who think stealing is cool; it does not matter if you had a rough childhood; it does not matter whether you feel marginalized by circumstances. What matters is that you decided to steal ñ and that such behavior is not acceptable morally or legally. You are always responsible for what you do; this is a truth that you have to learn in a hurry.
5. What are personal and core values ñ values are what define us as a person. Values are what make us feel proud of ourselves and our family and motivate us to do right. So, what are your values at personal level? What about the basic core values you believe in? Identifying your values would help you see clearly that stealing is not justified and cannot be justified legally or morally.
6. Self-motivation and stress management exercises ñ learn how you manage stress ñ which is often blamed for the urge to shoplift. Also learn how to use self-motivation to fight this terrible addiction. It is possible that self-motivation exercises change your mindset completely.
7. Put down clear goals and milestones to reach those goals - shoplifting classes reduce crime when the offender is taught to rediscover himself and climb out from the quicksand he thought he was in. Clarity of goals, and an achievable timeline would be extremely helpful in beating this affliction. California theft classes remain popular due to the high population of the state and referals to these programs
Bottom Line - Do Such Classes Really Help?
From the course matter these theft classes offer, the logical answer is YES! It is true that shoplifting classes reduce crime, for it brings about awareness about causes, consequences and method to beat this problem.
