Patrick: Shoplifting & Common Sense

PatrickH (RE: ChewingGumGate: Mom speaks out ): I’m not necessarily against the (shoplifting) policy. I did retail management for years and I know what kind of losses are caused by shoplifting. My only real point was that Super 1, and Ron’s Thrift back in the day, have always been notorious for prosecuting even something as small as a candy bar. Several of the chains I worked for had a cutoff of under a dollar, because in the end the cost to prosecute outweighed the benefit, because while you could get costs, including staff time, included in a judgement or plea deal, often it was next to impossible to collect.

Question: When should or shouldn’t a business prosecute shoplifters?