NCJ Number
85181
Journal
Criminology Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: (August 1982) Pages: 273-289
Date Published
1982
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article examines the decisions to prosecute shoplifters by Canadian retail investigators.
Abstract
A hypothetical case method that permits a statistical simulation of an experimental design is used. The findings support recent research which indicates that both the value of the item and the age of the suspect are the most important predictors of investigators' decisions to prosecute. In addition, our results identify admission of the offense and the suspect's appearance as important predictors of these decisions. In general, characteristics of the offense rather than of the offender are found to be most important factors in the decisionmaking process. Further, the results support the argument that investigators' decisions tend to maximize company profit. However, profit maximization is revealed as an unintended consequence of these decisions. (Publisher abstract)