A CALIFORNIA SURVEY ABOUT SHOPLIFTING COMPILED DATA FROM SUPERMARKETS, DRUG STORES, AND DISCOUNT STORES PARTICIPATING IN A RETAIL SECURITY SYSTEM AS WELL AS INTERVIEW INFORMATION FROM 22,108 PERSONS WHO WERE APPREHENDED FOR SHOPLIFTING. SIGNIFICANT CUMULATIVE LOSSES ARE SUSTAINED BY THESE STORES, ALTHOUGH AVERAGE VALUE OF ITEMS TAKEN IS LOW. THE MAIN REASON THAT PEOPLE SHOPLIFT IS THAT ANYONE CAN DO IT, AND THERE IS OPPORTUNITY TO STEAL. APPROXIMATELY 42 PERCENT OF ADULT SHOPLIFTERS, AND A LESSER NUMBER OF JUVENILES, ARE TURNED OVER TO THE POLICE. A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THOSE APPREHENDED ARE UNDER 30 YEARS OF AGE. THE SURVEY DATA ARE ANALYZED TO SHOW A COMPLETE DISTRIBUTION OF SHOPLIFTING ACTIVITY BY SEX, AGE, SHOPLIFTERS TURNED OVER TO POLICE, TIME OF OCCURRENCE, METHOD OF OPERATION, AND AVERAGE VALUE OF MERCHANDISE RECOVERED. COOPERATION BETWEEN RETAIL SECURITY OFFICERS AND LOCAL POLICE IS RECOMMENDED. (RFC)