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Summary
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A study evaluates an experimental program to reduce shoplifting in Rotterdam, NETH. The program offers juvenile shoplifters referred by police the opportunity to avoid prosecution if they work satisfactorily for the injured party. It is an extension of the popular Halt program for vandalism. Of 153 juvenile shoplifters referred to the project, 143 were diverted. In almost all cases, the offender's work took place in the shops where they had been caught. The storekeepers were cooperative and their experiences with the youths were positive. Diverted juveniles tended to show a stronger reduction in shoplifting than a control group, although the results were tentative due to limitations in the study.
