Almost 30 years ago, Mary Owen Cameron produced the first extensive
sociological study of shoplifting. The goal of this book was to update
Cameron's effort by critically reviewing the research and theoretical work
that has been accumulating on the topic. Initially, I naively intended to
generate a book that provided "everything you ever wanted to know
about shoplifting." Now, many months later and considerably more
humble, I consider my efforts to constitute a very good starting point
for future researchers and theorists.

My analysis addressed the three major concerns that pervade the
sociology of deviance literature. Therefore, I expended a great deal of
energy to develop (1) descriptions of shoplifting, (2) explanations of
shoplifting, and (3) an analysis of how retailers deal with shoplifting.

Generally speaking, good descriptive research on who shoplifts and
how shoplifting occurs has been accumulating. Many clear patterns have
been identified, and others at least specify tentative benchmarks that
future research can clarify. A number of deficiencies and gaps in our
knowledge, particularly for adult, female, and middle-class shoplifting,
remain as special challenges for future researchers.

Explanations of shoplifting are currently at a rudimentary level of
development. Existing research on shoplifting provides only scattered
and limited tests of traditional explanations of deviance. A critical review
of the research-theoretical literature revealed that many sociological the-
ories of deviance-crime do offer considerable insight into why shoplifting
occurs. A deviance vulnerability-shoplifting attraction theoretical frame-
work was derived from the theoretical review. This attempt at theoretical
integration is offered here as a preliminary statement. I hope it will serve

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