Some people shoplift because they’re desperate. Some people covet things they don’t want to pay for. Some are stealing for gangs.
And some shoplift because they are distressed and the theft offers a kind of “emotional release”.
The cost-of-living crisis is being blamed for a post-pandemic surge in shoplifting and a security crackdown along with it. But the reasons for retail theft are not that simple – and the solutions shouldn’t be, either, according to the University of Newcastle criminologist associate professor Xanthé Mallett.
On Tuesday, the New Zealand Greens MP Golriz Ghahraman resigned after accusations she had shoplifted from luxury clothing stores. For years, Ghahraman – a refugee – was subjected to death threats and threats of sexual and physical violence.
Ghahraman said she was “not trying to excuse my actions” but wanted to explain them, saying her mental health had been so badly affected she had acted in ways that were “completely out of character”.
“My recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma,” she said.
Ghahraman is just the latest high-profile person accused of shoplifting. In 2007 pop star Britney Spears was reportedly accused of shoplifting a wig. Lindsay Lohan nicked a necklace; Winona Ryder stole from Saks.
Former Liberal senator Mary Jo Fisher resigned in 2012 after taking goods from two South Australian supermarkets. She wasn’t convicted of shoplifting and was in a “dissociative state”, a judge found. Fisher told the ABC’s Kitchen Cabinet she had depression and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“On both occasions there was a panic attack,” she said.
Earlier this year, Lachlan Galbraith from the Australian band Ocean Alley, apologised for stealing a $17.95 drink bottle lid while in New Zealand. He described it as a moment of “complete foolishness” rather than anything to do with his mental health.
“This isn’t about cost of living … it’s not about gaining resources. They’re not stealing because they’re struggling [financially],” Mallett says, while making clear she’s not talking about any specific case.
Speaking generally about high-profile, well-resourced people who steal, Mallett says they likely would never use the item, but hide it, give it away, or even return it.
“If people are suffering from an acute mental health condition that compels them to steal – such as kleptomania – they feel very anxious and distressed and stealing is their outlet,” she says.
“They get an emotional release when they steal something and that’s their way of managing their distress.
“They often feel extremely guilty and remorseful afterwards.”
The psychiatry bible, the DSM-V, classifies kleptomania as an impulse control disorder, with similarities to obsessive-compulsive and addictive disorders. It is diagnosed three times more often in women, although the rate of diagnosis is not necessarily indicative of the rate of its occurrence and, Mallett says, the common trope of a middle-age woman as a shoplifter is a stereotype.
Mallett says kleptomania often coexists with depression and anxiety, whereby stealing is a compulsion rather than a choice.
The Australian Retailers Association wants tougher penalties for shoplifting, and more police resources, while supermarkets have put in new surveillance technology and physical security.
Mallett says it’s important to work out why someone is shoplifting. Gangs stealing and on-selling, and people stealing for selfish reasons are one thing, she says. And it’s not the same as someone stealing because of the cost-of-living crisis.
But high-profile, middle-class or wealthy individuals? That’s a different discussion again.
“[The compulsion to steal is] something that causes a lot of distress,” she says. “People who are high profile, when it does come out it increases the shame. It’s about an individual struggling with personal issues and needing an emotional outlet.”
Mallett says people may need different kinds of help. “Someone who’s stealing because they can’t afford to feed their family, that’s a social problem. They need support,” she says. “Some people may need better mental health support.
“We may need some sympathy, as opposed to ridicule. Be kind.”
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
• This article was amended on 22 January 2024 to correct Mary Jo Fisher’s name.
