Shoplifting and Police Referral: A Reexamination

Abstract

Criminologists have long been concerned about whether certain groups are treated differently than others in the criminal justice system. Studies of the decisions of police, prosecutors, and judges, for example, have suggested that extra-legal characteristics play an important role.' Although some of the evidence is mixed, it has been relatively well established that characteristics such as demeanor, age, race, social class, and gender routinely influence the discretionary decisions of members of the criminal justice system.2 Lay people are also in a position to make discretionary decisions. Police, for instance, are highly dependent upon citizens for knowledge of criminal incidents. Upwards of three quarters of all policecitizen encounters are initiated by citizens who telephone the police.3 The fact that citizens make discretionary decisions prior to calling police is evidenced by the results of victimization surveys. These surveys indicate that about half the time, lay persons elect not to alert police to crimes to which they have fallen victim.4 An important question, therefore, is whether lay persons base their decisions on factors similar to or different from