Shoplifters' choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention
CUSTER, Wash. - Shoplifters caught at a Whatcom County store have two choices: a ride in a police car or public humiliation. If they chose the latter, they have to wear a T-shirt that announces to everyone they got caught stealing.
The town of Custer is small - just 300 people. The owner of the 123-year-old Custer County Store, Nicole Perry, knows most of the kids and parents who stop in. But when shoplifting became a problem, Nicole did something no one before her had ever tried: she wanted to send young shoplifters a strong message, without sending them to juvenile detention.
"I wanted it to stop. So I thought, 'What affects kids?' Well, public embarrassment," she said.
Cameras are always watching and when Nicole catches a kid stealing, she makes their parents an offer.
Their kid can get picked up by police and go through the courts, or they can work off a $200 fine in the store. There's just one catch: The kid must work 26 hours wearing a bright orange T-shirt that reads, "I stole from the Custer Country Store."
"I thought it'd be OK if they weren't very good at sweeping, IF they had a shirt that said, "I stole from the Custer Country Store," Perry said. "We laughed about it and then I thought, 'Why not?' "
So far, two teens have agreed to wear the shirts while cleaning and stocking the store after school. The idea has the support of many town's residents.
"I think it's a great thing," said lifetime Custer resident, Miriam Gates. "Maybe some of these other stores should do this. It would stop a lot of these kids from shoplifting."
But Nicole has found some parents who don't want everyone in town knowing their kid got caught in a five finger discount. And some customers feel conflicted about the T-shirt's effect on the person wearing it.
"Demeaning them and making them feel cheap...I'm just not sure," said customer Richard Clark.
Nicole has had teens back out of the deal. So she will now require their parents to give a $200 deposit, to be paid back in full as soon as their kid works off the debt.
"We don't want to search and destroy," said Nicole, "We want to catch them and make examples of them."
The town of Custer is small - just 300 people. The owner of the 123-year-old Custer County Store, Nicole Perry, knows most of the kids and parents who stop in. But when shoplifting became a problem, Nicole did something no one before her had ever tried: she wanted to send young shoplifters a strong message, without sending them to juvenile detention.
"I wanted it to stop. So I thought, 'What affects kids?' Well, public embarrassment," she said.
Cameras are always watching and when Nicole catches a kid stealing, she makes their parents an offer.
Their kid can get picked up by police and go through the courts, or they can work off a $200 fine in the store. There's just one catch: The kid must work 26 hours wearing a bright orange T-shirt that reads, "I stole from the Custer Country Store."
"I thought it'd be OK if they weren't very good at sweeping, IF they had a shirt that said, "I stole from the Custer Country Store," Perry said. "We laughed about it and then I thought, 'Why not?' "
So far, two teens have agreed to wear the shirts while cleaning and stocking the store after school. The idea has the support of many town's residents.
"I think it's a great thing," said lifetime Custer resident, Miriam Gates. "Maybe some of these other stores should do this. It would stop a lot of these kids from shoplifting."
But Nicole has found some parents who don't want everyone in town knowing their kid got caught in a five finger discount. And some customers feel conflicted about the T-shirt's effect on the person wearing it.
"Demeaning them and making them feel cheap...I'm just not sure," said customer Richard Clark.
Nicole has had teens back out of the deal. So she will now require their parents to give a $200 deposit, to be paid back in full as soon as their kid works off the debt.
"We don't want to search and destroy," said Nicole, "We want to catch them and make examples of them."