Four out of every 10 adult shoplifters appearing in court in South Australia in 1981 were either unemployed or on a pension. Although maximum penalties for shoplifting are severe, with 5 years in jail for the first offense and 10 years for a repeated offense, over 90 percent of persons appearing before courts or childrens' aid panels admitted the offense. For all offenders, penalties imposed were far below those prescribed by law. Research has suggested that a major reason judges do not impose the most severe penalties is that this may completely undermine the offenders' self-respect and make them more, rather than less, likely to reoffend. The bulletin concludes by canvassing some opinions on ways the criminal justice system might deal with shoplifting more efficiently, though without diminishing the capacity to deter individual offenders. Tables and 11 references are included. (Author summary modified)