The initiative is designed to complement and build on the usual warning given to first-time shoplifters. It concentrates on first-time offenders and is entirely voluntary; offenders receive a formal caution regardless of whether they attend the RTI. The RTI consists of several modules designed to show persons arrested for shop theft the consequences of their actions for themselves and others and to improve their ability to resist offending in the future. The program includes interviews to establish the motive for offending and determining the most appropriate modules. The modules include interviews with store managers, sessions with representatives from the youth service about leisure activities, group sessions to learn how to recognize and resist peer pressure to offend, and individually tailored action. At the program's end the offender receives a formal caution, which includes going over what the offender has learned from the program. The program was studied between May 1994 and December 1995. Results revealed that nearly 50 percent of the 885 shoplifting incidents reported to the police resulted in an offender being placed in RTI. Recidivism was 13 percent, compared to 64 percent for non-RTI offenders. In addition, the average amount of time spent by officers dealing with RTI offenders was half that for officers in a comparison division who dealt with shoplifters in the conventional way; nevertheless, RTI officers spend much more time on the caution. Recommended improvements, figures, tables, footnotes, and 2 references