Glossing Over Shoplifting: How Thieves Act Normal

Abstract

Although criminals are known to put on a façade of normalcy while offending, no study has categorized the various ways they do so in a theoretically informed manner. We address this gap in the literature by drawing on Goffman’s notion of body gloss to explore how shoplifters “act normal” as they enter a store, take possession of and conceal a target, and exit. Our data consist of in-depth descriptions and explanations of active shoplifters who simulated shoplifting at retail stores while wearing an eye-tracking device. We find shoplifters’ normalcy-generating actions reflect two of the three types of body gloss outlined by Goffman, and that the type used depends on the stage of shoplifting. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Notes

¹ For thorough overviews of shoplifting research, see Farrington (1999), Gill (2007), and Klemke (1992).

² For a discussion of further strengths, see Jacques and Wright (2012) and Wright and Decker (1994).

³ The eye-tracking device is a novel methodological tool in criminology, but it has been used in economics and marketing research to study how consumers choose products and brands in different types of displays and print advertisements (see, e.g., Chandon et al. 2008; Reutskaja et al. 2011). The eye-tracking device consists of two very small cameras mounted to a pair of black glasses with no lenses. The cameras are wired by a small cord to a laptop computer connected to a backpack-like device that straps through the participants’ arms/shoulders and onto their back. The eye-tracking device is slim, weighs about five pounds, and is inconspicuous to persons more than a few feet away, as from that distance it looks like nothing more than someone with glasses who is also wearing a backpack. The eye-tracking device collects real-time data through a dual camera system. One camera is projected outward and records the wearer’s line of sight, while another camera is projected toward the wearer’s right eye and records its movement. In other words, the camera projected outward records the entire visual process as the wearer scans the store’s layout, aisles, shelves, ceilings, other shoppers and store staff, whereas the camera projected inward records the distance between the movements of the other eye’s gaze. The camera system thus simultaneously records the movement of one eye and the direct gaze of the other eye. Proprietary software is used to combine the two recordings into a single image that displays a reticle (i.e., “crosshair” or fixation cross) on what a person is specifically looking at within their line of sight during any given millisecond. The recorded images with the crosshair superimposed can be watched as a contemporaneous video.

⁴ During the study, no participant was stopped and accused of shoplifting by an employee or bystander. However, a few employees mentioned to us in side conversations that they suspected—but did not witness—shoplifting by our participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicole Lasky

NICOLE LASKY is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include dramaturgy, shoplifting, victimology, and situational crime prevention.

Scott Jacques

SCOTT JACQUES is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University. His work focuses on understanding crime and control through the offenders’ perspective.

Bonnie S. Fisher

BONNIE S. FISHER is a Professor in the School of Justice and Fellow of the Graduate School at the University of Cincinnati. Her published articles and chapters span the fields of victimology and crime prevention.