Do shoplifters really steal bread in the hope of making some dough?

ONE of the most rewarding questions, up there with “what frightens you most?” is “have you ever shoplifted?”

Whereas the query about fear makes most people pause and speculate, the one about thieving evokes a plethora of more instantaneous responses, including “I don’t think so” (which usually means they actually did), “I would never” (ditto), and — most frequently — “Yes, but...”

Maybe I move in the wrong circles, but the majority of the people I’ve asked admit to shoplifting at some stage in their past. Sometimes the crime was committed once, and under extreme peer pressure. That’s what could be called rite-of-passage shoplifting, where to prove fearlessness to friends, someone who otherwise wold never steal anything and has no use for what they do steal nicks something from a shop. So, as a kid, a friend of mine stole a lipstick in a pharmacy. It was a tester, worn down to a nub in a colour she would never have worn, and because it was a tester it didn’t have a lid, but it fulfilled the “go on, go on, prove yourself” imperative. She still blushes like a stop sign at the memory.