shoplifting

Middle-class shoppers who have been hit by the recession are stealing hundreds of millions of pounds of expensive food in an effort to maintain their high standard of living, according to a new survey.

"Shoplifters are getting more aggressive," says Joseph LaRocca, senior adviser on asset protection of the National Retail Federation (NRF).

"They're fighting, they're abusive, they're running.... It's a very disturbing trend."

With shoplifting on the rise retailers are beefing up plainclothes patrols and video surveillance, and competitors are working together to prevent crime.

Shoplifting is a huge and rising epidemic: it's the reason why one in three women prisoners is sent to jail.

With shoplifting on the rise — including organized teams sweeping through stores and lifting scores of items in minutes — retailers are beefing up plainclothes patrols and video surveillance, and competitors are working together to prevent crime.

If you get caught shoplifting in the Illinois counties west of Chicago, you may face charges for burglary.

Charging shoplifting as burglary, which is a felony, may be a way for prosecutors to record more felony convictions.

In New Jersey, shoplifting can be any action taken with the intent of not paying for -- or paying less than the full price of -- an item.

Convicted shoplifters in New Jersey will not only pay for the crime, they'll even pay for their conviction.