Tom Murphy, a father of two WJ graduates and former PTSA president, was shopping for groceries at Giant one day a few years ago during WJ’s lunch period when he saw several WJ students conceal products in their belongings and their clothing and leave the store without paying.

“It reminded me of a scene in the movie “Animal House” where the members of a fraternity go through a [cafeteria] and start a food fight,” said Murphy. “Except this time, it wasn’t a movie. It was pretty serious.”

Murphy reported the shoplifting to Ed Miles, the manager of the Giant in Georgetown Square.

Miles, however, responded to Murphy’s concerns by telling him that he already knew about the shoplifting.

“Last year there were about 100, if not more, cases of WJ students being apprehended for shoplifting here; it was a plague,” said Miles. “We lose about $70,000 every year to shoplifting. . . a few days ago, there was a 14-year-old caught with almost $20 worth of stuff.”

Because so many WJ students are caught shoplifting, two years ago Giant management changed its store policy to require management to automatically call county police whenever anyone is caught shoplifting.

Giant faces many more losses because of shoplifting than any other venue near WJ because of the physical layout of the store. Many of the stolen items are consumed in the store; most frequently stolen items include energy drinks, gum and candy, and approximately half the 100 containers of popcorn chicken that Giant prepares every day.

“At other stores, you pay and then get the food,” said Miles. “Here, you take something off the shelves yourself, which gives you the ability to make the wrong decision.”

Motivations Behind Shoplifting

Many people find it hard to understand why students would choose to shoplift considering the potential consequences if they are caught.

“Everybody that gets caught has money to pay for what they stole. Obviously [kids don’t shoplift because of] need for the most part,” said WJ security team leader Howard Beaubien. “I don’t know what drives the kids, except the thrill of it.”

Some people believe that young students who shoplift do not consider the potential legal and school consequences that can result from being caught shoplifting.

“I think [kids who shoplift] trivialize it; I don’t think they understand what they’re doing to themselves,” said Miles. “It’s not because they don’t have the money, it’s a rush, it’s a thrill. Kids do it a few times, and there’s no consequence, so they [keep doing it].”

Shoplifting often occurs in spurts or among groups of friends shoplifting together; it is rare for one student to be caught shoplifting alone.

“A student who gets caught during lunch isn’t your typical shoplifter,” said Miles. “The peer pressure is so phenomenal even the kids who know better succumb to the pressure. For some [students who are caught shoplifting] they might be contrite, but for a significant amount, they don’t see it as a big deal.”

Legal and School Consequences

When students are caught shoplifting, Giant management automatically calls the police and WJ administration. School punishments vary depending on the student’s past misbehavior and the value of the merchandise stolen. According to the school’s discipline policy, the punishments for theft range from a minimum of paying restitution and a parent conference to a maximum of suspension, expulsion, paying restitution or a police referral.

“A few years ago, we had seven shoplifting incidents on the first day of school,” said Beaubien. “It’s an issue for the school because it occurs during the school day.”

Vice principal Christopher Merrill said that shoplifters seem to spread pretty evenly among all grades and both genders.

“It’s happened multiple times already this year,” said Merrill. “We don’t want our students getting arrested, that’s horrible for them. But if students are going to choose to break the law and steal, then it’s out of our hands.”

In addition to school consequences, there are also legal consequences. Once police officers arrive at Giant, they conduct an investigation by looking through surveillance camera footage and talking to store management and the involved students.

According to Rebecca Innocenti, a spokesperson for Montgomery County Police, Giant almost always issues a no trespassing order to shoplifters. Because the store is on private property, the store manager decides whether to issue the no trespassing notice, which bans the person from Georgetown Square for 365 days, and the police can issue the order immediately For many minors, the legal consequences for shoplifting end there.

However, police also can take the minors to a police station to be processed and fingerprinted. The police then turn over the case to the Juvenile Department of Justice at the Department of Juvenile Services, which can choose to prosecute minors for shoplifting, according to Sean Murphy, a spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Justice.

If Juvenile Services decides to pursue a case, an intake meeting is scheduled, so the minor, his parents and a Juvenile Services case supervisor can meet to determine consequences. Often the matter is resolved there and punishments involve informal supervision, where counseling and supervision by a case manager is administered; paying restitution for the stolen goods; completing community service hours or writing letters of apology.

A minor’s record is kept confidential and only people with a court order can access the files. The minor would not have to report the incident on college applications, and his record will be destroyed when he turns 21.

Juvenile Services however, can decide to send the case to the State’s Attorney Office, where the minor would be prosecuted for the crime.

One Student’s Regrets

A large part of the student body, unlike WJ administration and Giant management, seems to think that shoplifting from Giant is not a serious problem.

“Everybody says shoplifting is a huge deal, but the consequences are not that huge,” said senior Scott Wellsman,* who was caught shoplifting at Giant by store management when he was a sophomore.

Wellsman said that he stole from Giant frequently during his freshman year and stole every day during lunch from Giant during his sophomore year until November, when he was caught.

“I didn’t have any money the day I was caught shoplifting; I went into Giant with the intention of stealing,” said Wellsman. “The chicken sandwich was calling my name. I put the sandwich in my pocket. I was about to make it out, when I felt this hand on my shoulder.”

Wellsman was caught by a loss prevention officer who had been following him. Giant and others stores commonly employ loss prevention officers, who are undercover security who try to catch patrons in the act of stealing. Wellsman and his six companions were detained by Giant management, who called school administrators and the police.

“We waited through fifth period and half of sixth for the cops to come,” said Wellsman. “The cops got there and wrote down what we looked like and our personal information. They took my picture.”

The police officer issued no trespassing orders for Wellsman and the students he was with. In addition to the no trespassing order from the police, Wellsman was given three weeks of after school detention from school administration. Wellsman said that he wishes he had never chosen to shoplift.

“I definitely won’t steal again and I regret stealing and getting caught,” said Wellsman.

Community Reactions

School administration worries about the effects of shoplifting on the school’s image.

“It’s very frustrating to us; it gets out in the community,” said Merrill. “The school looks bad. It brings up the issue of whether open lunch is the right choice.”

Giant has tried various methods to curb shoplifting. In previous years, Giant made students leave their backpacks in front of the store.

“Book bags give students an easier place to put [stolen] merchandise,” said Miles. “We had to have an employee watch the bags and it became troublesome, so at least eight years ago we started letting them in.”

“When you look at [the money] you lose to shoplifting, it almost nullifies the money [we make from students buying food at lunch],” said Miles. “If we had more security staff, we would have more security apprehensions.”

The manager pointed out that Giant donates to many major organization at WJ and is therefore invested in WJ.

“We promote It’s Academic and Bonus Bucks and we have a great relationship with the prom,” said Miles. “Students should understand that we’re all a community.”

He acknowledged that, “the school has always seemed very concerned about shoplifting” and that only “certain kids,” rather than most of the student body, commit the shoplifting.

At the same time, the vast amount of shoplifting that occurs still angers Miles.

“What if you invited me to your house and I left with your valuables? What would you say?” said Miles. “I know the police officers here almost like I know my own family, they’ve been here so often.”