Jerome Williams and Geraldine R. Henderson, Austin American-Statesman, April 18, 2009
{snip}
{snip} As researchers at the Center for Consumer Equality (CCE) who study marketplace discrimination, we were struck with the zeal that many Austin readers displayed in responding to the piece. And we were dismayed by the demonstrated lack of knowledge about crime statistics and race, which was inaccurate and misguided.
For example, with great zeal, posters claimed that “blacks shoplift more than other ethnic groups,” “mall owners in urban America have experienced an enormous amount of black crime,” and “these raw numbers never end up in articles like the one you wrote.” {snip} As scholars in this area, we hope to provide some elucidation for those on all sides of the issue to consider. Not only do CCE scholars conduct research, we also testify as expert witnesses in cases of consumer racial profiling. We’ve been listed as expert witnesses in nearly 100 such cases. The expert reports prepared in these cases are public record and readily available through the courts. We present some of these facts below.
First, neither black nor white shoppers are the ones most responsible for shoplifting. The annual University of Florida Survey on Retail Losses indicates that employee theft (44.5 percent) accounts for a far greater percentage of the “shrinkage” at the nation’s 200 largest retailers than shoplifting (32.7 percent). So rather than asking the Austin Police Department for 80 extra officers to patrol the shopping center to keep an eye on shoppers, a better investment might have been to ask them to keep an eye on employees—the folks who live and work in Austin, and not those coming in for the weekend. {snip}
Among the blog comments there is a persistent misperception that minorities account for most of the shoplifting and other criminal activity that takes place in retail establishments. The reality is that non-minority shoppers account for most of the criminal activity. This is supported by data provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) database, which can be accessed online. The database provides arrestees for various types of crime, including shoplifting, by race/ethnicity, age and gender. For the most recent years cited in our expert reports, the FBI data show that about 70 percent of shoplifting arrestees are white.
Interestingly, records show that more than two-thirds of the shoplifters apprehended in many areas are white females. One study published in 2000 by two Minnesota professors in the Journal of Education for Business offers evidence that the typical shoplifter is a white female between the ages of 25 and 50.
Though there might be areas where minority shoppers are over-represented, criminal justice researchers at Penn State University have noted that such statistics oftentimes have to be taken with a grain of salt because of consumer racial profiling. It is important to understand that FBI statistics on shoplifting arrestees are not necessarily an indication of who’s doing the shoplifting; they more accurately reflect who’s getting caught. Obviously, if one racial group is put under greater scrutiny and surveillance for shoplifting than another racial group, as is the case with consumer racial profiling, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that the statistics will reflect more shoplifting arrestees in the racial group that is watched more.
However, under controlled study conditions, when each racial group is watched equally, the results tend to show just the opposite of what the general population perceives. In one 2003 study of Rhode Island traffic stops conducted by the Northeastern University Institute on Race and Justice, non-white motorists were 2.5 times more likely to be searched than white motorists. However, when the traffic stop resulted in a search, whites were more likely to have the search result in contraband being found—23.5 percent of white drivers who were searched were found with contraband, compared with 17.8 percent of non-white drivers.
Locally, though we have not done a crime statistics analysis of Highland Mall, we have done an analysis of Barton Creek Square Mall. This was the result of a CCE researcher who was called as an expert witness in a consumer racial profiling case involving an incident at a department store. Using local UCR data, we found that the percentage of African American shoplifters at selected stores in the mall closely matched the overall percentage of African American shoppers at the mall. {snip}
Christine Williams alluded to the concept of “white privilege” in her commentary, a concept of which we also find evidence in our research. {snip} For example, surveys we have conducted indicate that 86 percent of African Americans feel that they are treated differently in retail stores based on their race, compared with only 34 percent of whites. The disparity in attitudes in treatment in stores because of race is supported by surveys conducted by many other organizations, such as the 2001 Gallup Poll, the 2005 Taking America’s Pulse poll, the 2003 ABC News/Washington Post poll and others. Peggy McIntosh’s 1988 book “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” offers further evidence of this concept. In addition, there are many studies that provide empirical evidence. Two job search studies that come to mind immediately include one study where race and jail time are manipulated and findings show that African Americans with no jail time receive fewer callbacks than whites with jail time, and a study where names are manipulated and findings show that resumés with black-sounding names are less likely to get callbacks than white-sounding names.
{snip}
As researchers at the Center for Consumer Equality, we conduct studies on the day-to-day indignities faced by African Americans in the marketplace throughout the country and here in Austin. Through the many experiences we have documented via the “Tell Us Your Story” portal on our Web site, there is mounting evidence that African Americans and Latinos are not being treated with dignity in the marketplace and are not being afforded the respect their sizeable aggregate purchasing power should command. For instance, African Americans represent about 10 percent of Austin’s population and have aggregate purchasing power of over $1 billion, and nearly $2 billion when the more affluent surrounding communities are considered. {snip} As retailers like Highland Mall continue to alienate Austin-area African Americans, these victimized consumers will be more inclined to take their already significant and growing economic clout elsewhere. {snip}
Williams and Henderson are professors of advertising at the University of Texas and affiliates of the Warfield
Center for African and African American Studies. For more information, visit www.consumerequality.org.
[Editor’s Note: Christine Williams’s “Shopping While Black” can be read here.
Original article
(Posted on April 21, 2009)
Comments
As any store owner will tell you when the neighborhood changes to just the “hood” your shoplifting losses will soar. All one has to do is drive down a once white shopping area that has now
The writer hopes we are too stupid to see the very obvious flaw. “70 percent of shoplifting arrestees are white.”
A perfectly nice mulatto girl I know has had a variety of retail positions in the local mall. This mall is the one frequented by blacks in our city, especially the teens for whom it is a hang out. She told me her store has more shrinkage than any other in the chain, over 100 stores.
Even funnier, they kept asking her to confront the shoplifters (many of whom are not very skilled) even though she is all of 100 lbs. “Why doesn’t one of the guys go deal with them”. She said “I’m black. Duh”.
You know, cause if I white guy says “Hey, Jackass, you have six pairs of our underwear you haven’t paid for in that Footlocker bag” they can just say “you racist!” and it’s over.
I told here to ask for a raise and additional training in loss prevention.
Nuff said.
“First, neither black nor white shoppers are the ones most responsible for shoplifting. The annual University of Florida Survey on Retail Losses indicates that employee theft (44.5 percent) accounts for a far greater percentage of the “shrinkage” at the nation’s 200 largest retailers than shoplifting (32.7 percent).”
The problem here is that ‘shrinkage’ by employees is not broken down by race so we don’t know percentages or which racial group is stealing.
“African Americans represent about 10 percent of Austin’s population and have aggregate purchasing power of over $1 billion, and nearly $2 billion when the more affluent surrounding communities are considered.”
Once again, we allegedly have the numbers for black shoppers. Why is it that no one ever has the numbers for the buying power of whites? Does their buying power count? Are these numbers actually calculated or are they guestimates and pulled out of thin air?
“…86 percent of African Americans feel that they are treated differently in retail stores based on their race, compared with only 34 percent of whites.”
Again, the operative word here is ‘feel’. If I’m white and treated rudely by a worker, do I register it as specifically targeting me? If I’m black and I feel I’ve been treated rudely, how do we know what’s truly rude behavior and what’s a perception? How do we compare the two objectively?
While I don’t have the numbers to say whether or not black and hispanics shoplift more than whites, I can tell you that with the influx of black and hispancis into my community, our local grocery story has installed surveillance cameras and posted a guard. A cop friend of mine reports that arrests have gone up. Guess who’s getting caught?
When my community was majority white, cameras and guards weren’t needed to combat shoplifting. Shrinkage must have been so negligible that cameras and guards weren’t needed. They are now.
sbuffaloalone:
I agree with you. Why are we supposed to take it as an article of faith that black Americans have such and such an amount of purchasing power? How are such figures calculated?
My guess is that they use a very loose and generous definition of “purchasing power” to arrive at high of a figure as possible (and certainly don’t subtract how much they steal, or the affect of black violent crime on legitimate commerce), in order to promulgate the fiction that black customers are that important.
I once heard that the total purchasing power of black Americans is $500 billion. That seems impressive if you make the usual five figures a year as an individual, but considering the American economy is a $14 trillion GDP affair, it isn’t that important. Also, how much of this $500 consists of welfare and affirmative action make work?
This is stretching to the absurd. It does match most other mainstream media coverage however.
He’s right about one thing. Employees steal from the company. I was perhaps more prevalent 20 or 30 years ago. In order to accept blacks, all standards had to be go out the window over 50 years ago. In fact, they aren’t even standards. Now everyone hates ‘the man’.
For the most recent years cited in our expert reports, the FBI data show that about 70 percent of shoplifting arrestees are white.
Keeping in mind that hispanics are registered as WHITE when the need to increase WHITE CRIME statistics arise. We here, and in fact, the entire nation know who is responsible for most of the crime in the U.S. Remember, the ENTIRE CONGRESS and MOST OF SENATE is due up for re-election (OR NOT) during the 2010 elections, vote AGAINST EVERY ENCUMBENT no matter the party and no matter the scal of the election. Vote Sheriff Arpaio everywhere.
As a retail manager for the past 25 years, I can tell you that the vast majority of shoplifters are black. I have tried watching all races, just to see if I could could catch as many young White women (that’s what all the stats say), but I always end up stopping Tyrone and having him arrested. The majority of Whites I catch are in the company of Tyrone. Interestingly, the White typically feel ashamed, but the blacks have the attitude that they deserve what they attempted to steal.
Not to mention the extremely rude behavior of most blacks in a retail setting. If they are told “no” or “wait your turn” they react in an explosive and noisy manner and accuse you of racism. I was a cashier in a convience store and blacks would often cut in line, explaining that they were in a hurry. One little kid stood at the counter tapping a quarter annoyingly and loud, demanding my attention. I had several other customers that were first so I told him that he had to wait his turn. He went and got his “momma” who screamed at me about being racist. Lucky for me the manager was White and ejected the pair from the store.
If there is a riot or a flood and the shops are left unguarded , it’s not whitey that we see stealing like there is no tomorrow .
I believe that there are many ways to skew statistics , and this article has done one big skew job .
If you have a majority white town ,then shoplifting and crime in general , is minimal .
Hmmmm I never knew all the bars on the storefront windows in the black areas were there to keep out whites.
“Among the blog comments there is a persistent misperception that minorities account for most of the shoplifting and other criminal activity that takes place in retail establishments. The reality is that non-minority shoppers account for most of the criminal activity. This is supported by data provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) database, which can be accessed online. The database provides arrestees for various types of crime, including shoplifting, by race/ethnicity, age and gender. For the most recent years cited in our expert reports, the FBI data show that about 70 percent of shoplifting arrestees are white.”
The reason for this phenomenon is that, just as in hate crime perps, Latinos are divided into black and white. This is the practice in the federal government, and the division is roughly 10% black and 90% white. This adds a lot of perps to the white category, and makes Latino perps simply disappear. The writer and the statistic people know this, so the writer is simply a liar.
Looks like Christine Williams got it handed to her on a plate after her lame article was published and didn’t have any of her own numbers to back up her assertions. Now an advocacy group for black shoplifters presents us with statistics we are supposed to accept at face value.
If serving these black customers with all their purchasing power is such a slam dunk, how come these ‘researchers’ don’t open their own stores for the blacks and make their killing. Or is there more money in providing ‘expert testimony’ to help the endless parade of arrested black shoplifters beat the rap?
While the issue of this piece may be shoplifting, it’s rather illuminating to note the behavior of the populations of the recent Iowa floods versus the population of New Orleans during a very similar natural disaster.
Also, how much of this $500 consists of welfare and affirmative action make work?
Painful enough to watch in Wal-Mart grocery section. Hords of Guatemalan type browns pushing baskets FULL of things I wish I could get sometimes, and then paying with those WIC and food stamp things, and you know I’m talking SEVERAL LOADED baskets at a time, I just wish!!
BBBBBSSSSSS- I worked security for two large retail stores in the late ’80s on days off and blacks walked away with items all day long! Yea, we caught some whites, but the largest majority of whites shopped and paid as they are expected to do. Blacks would come in groups and therefore be all over the place watching employees and security, thus picking up where the eyes were not! We often joked at how the Mall its self stayed open because of the amount of items taken, we only caught a few of them daily! Large black females were caught time and time again trying to walk out with small TV’s wedged between their thighs under their tent sized dresses! We would catch them when they stepped off the curb and the tv would fall into the parking lot! They would always kick it as if they did not know where it came from! Then they would make for their cars dragging employees and sometimes us with them and hopefully the police would arrive before they made it to their car! Sometimes, we were laughing so hard at these morons that we didnt have the strength to really resist their attempts to flee! Oh gee it was fun - and funny! That was my first taste of really dealing with blacks and it was NOT impressive!
“he writer hopes we are too stupid to see the very obvious flaw. “70 percent of shoplifting arrestees are white.”
Posted by Anonymous at 5:56 PM on April 21”
Exactly. The take away fact (which the authors of this deceptive article are hoping you won’t notice) is that 30% of the shop-lifting is done by 12-13% of the population (blacks). Whereas less than 70% of the population (whites - the 70% does not represent only whites as FBI crime statistics do not differentiate white and hispanic) accounts for 70% of the population.
Just as when it comes to murder - over half of all murders committed in the U.S. are due to people from a race (black) that accounts for about 12% of the population. (think about those numbers!).
The conclusion? Same as usual - white crime rate > hispanic crime rate > black crime rate.
The assertion that loss prevention profiles blacks or follows them around is ridiculous.
The only profiling and following going on is for the merchandise. You find out what get’s stolen the most and target those areas then follow the merchandise.
The fact that more often than not the merchandise you are watching ends up being concealed on a black person and making it’s way out of the store without being paid for is the fault of no one but the black involved.
Unless of course the merchandise is being racist…
As retailers like Highland Mall continue to alienate Austin-area African Americans, these victimized consumers will be more inclined to take their already significant and growing economic clout elsewhere.
Hmmm, is this why shopping centers in all-black areas throughout the nation go out of business, while shopping centers in all or mostly-white areas thrive? Sorry, but this claim just doesn’t jibe with reality.
Besides, don’t leftists claim that blacks turn to crime due to “white racism?” Now this writer is trying to claim that blacks don’t turn to crime! Another example of trying to argue both ways.
For Christmas Holiday shopping I got a job working in Higbee Department store in the shirt department in 1963. That’s the Higbee in Cleveland used in the “Christmas Story” where Ralphie gets his Red Ryder BB gun. Beautiful ten story store department store. The most expensive downtown department store and I don’t remember see any black customers.
In those days the customers were people from the ethnic neighborhoods who came downtown on a bus, and since they had so many packages the stores would deliver them to your home free.
I was one of three extra help seasonal clerks. One was a very pleasant black man. We dressed in white shirts, tie, and coats. The last day of work I saw one of the Christmas help stuffing shirts into a couple of Higbee’s shopping bags behind the counter. He then put on his overcoat on zipped out the Prospect exit. The employee thief was the nice black man.
So saying that most theft is by employees doesn’t say much unless you break it down. Companies must hire blacks; they can’t fire them. Are we suppose to believe that black employees are more honest the white one?
Having the experience of owning a retail outlet in a mall, this is my personal findings, 70% of my customers were white, over 80% of the shoplifters who were caught were black, other stores in the mall had the same experience, my employees were instructed to watch for shoplifting, racial profiling was absolutely the best tool I had, it wasn’t only kids, well dressed middle aged black females made up a huge percentage of the culprits.
So why then do majority black malls and supermarkets close if they aren’t shoplifting? Detroit has no supermarkets left. If they were making a profit, they would have stayed there.
Blacks don’t have a sense of private property. None. They can “play along” but they don’t really have a feeling that “you shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you.”
Women are also more inclined to petty shoplifting than men for some reason.
Hmmmm I never knew all the bars on the storefront windows in the black areas were there to keep out whites.
Isn’t that odd!! here in the South we have BARS ON LIQUOR STORES and NO BARS on banks!!! go figure. Liquor stores and bars in black areas of the South are often built like fortresses.
There really isn’t as much racial profiling going on as blacks would like to pretend. There are certain behavior types that draw attention from the police or store security that blacks exhibit more than some other groups.
Black groups don’t like to admit it but it’s more their behavior that’s being profiled than their skin color. If you are white and keep your car’s sound system turned up so loud it can be herd for 10 blocks then you tend to draw attenion to yourself. The same thing happens to blacks but they never associate it with the fact that the music is to loud.
The same thing happens with shoplifting. There are certain behavior patterns that are associated with shoplifting and blacks in many cases just exhibit this behavior pattern.
Another funny story- I had a partner named Toby, and Toby got sent to a supermarket where a large black woman was stealing packages of meat by putting it under her dress. The store employees had seen her so they called the police. Toby arrived as the woman was trying to leave by walking through the check-out as if she hadn’t purchased anything. The employees and manager were trying to stop her but she was dragging them like a plow horse! Toby, being 6’ 235 lbs and mid ’30s advised her of why he was there and she squared off and started throwing punches at him! Since she wanted to fight like a man, he decided to take and throw some blows himself! When we arrived, she was throwing punches like a wild woman and Toby was stepping back a step every few punches, as his blows were not doing anything to her! When it was over, we realized that she was totally armored with packages of meat! Toby said he would punch her side and hit a pack of Rib-eyes, a punch to the other side was a pack of T-bones…and so on! We laughed so hard we were sick! He still tells the story of how she was armored with Steaks! And that was 30 years ago! She had traps like a bull and I bet she weighed 270 lbs and I would bet she benched that also! Oh the good old days were so fun!
Shoplifting aside, wherever there are Blacks in large numbers, especially young Blacks, their behavior is loud, obnoxious, rude and aggressive. I wouldn’t shop where they are or be around them even if they didn’t shoplift and commit crime at higher rates, which they do.
A few years back I was shopping at a BEALLS store in Vero Beach, FL. During a conversation, the store manager stated the biggest security problem they had was black females commiting most of the shoplifting thefts. The store closed a short time after that.
”..by racially profiling black shoppers retailers will put themselves in the red..”
I worked in retail at a large shopping mall(s) for many years and not only is this statement untrue, it is the direct reversal of the truth. Believe me, you don’t WANT black people’s business, even when they are NOT stealing. They are loud, obnoxious, troublesome and time-consuming customers at best and they deter other more lucrative shoppers from your stores. Black customers are simply more trouble then they are worth.
john at 9:05 PM on April 21 wrote:
“While the issue of this piece may be shoplifting, it’s rather illuminating to note the behavior of the populations of the recent Iowa floods versus the population of New Orleans during a very similar natural disaster”.
Yes, and isn’t it amazing how little media coverage was devoted to the Iowa folks and their clean-up efforts?
There are churches in our area of Pennsylvania who are STILL sending groups of volunteers down to New Orleans to rebuild homes destroyed in Katrina. Uhh…what about the folks who live there doing something for themselves?
As for blacks in retail establishments: years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of being in a Vanity Fair outlet when several busloads of black women from the Bronx arrived and nearly knocked me over as they attacked the racks of clothing. Rude, obnoxious, pushing, yelling, HUGE, women - it was like the “running of the bulls”!
Amazing how if you drive to ANY community with a predominately black URBAN population, the bars on every business establishment give evidence of crime and stealing. Why is that? Then drive to the white side of town and there are none. Case closed!
To me the ultimate source of knowledge on black shop lifting has to be the store keepers who make their decision as to whether to stay or go based on the ability to profit and survive in the face of black theft. Only when Detroit became predominatly black did the last national grocery store chain in Detroit vote on black shop lifting last year. They left. The rest is all bunk.
Blacks don’t shoplift more often; they just have bigger pockets
Any race is capable of stealing and has stolen before. I like what Daniel said that certain types of behavior draw attention and not necessarily skin color. This is true even though it is still a form of prejudice b/c its basically judging someone by what you see not what you know.
For instance, someone walks into a store with baggy pants or w/ straight leg jeans. The person looks around suspiciously and says they don’t need help when approached by sales personnel. The person keeps to the back of the store and appears to be doing something below the eye level of the clothing racks. It doesn’t really matter if the person was wearing baggy jeans and was a “black thug” or a white person wearing straight leg jeans w/ a polo on. The both exhibited shady behavior. SO it could seem to be justified to keep an eye on them.
Its not fair when ppl are judged just by how they look though. Like if I go to a store straight from the gym with baggy pants on and a t-shirt. Say Nordstroms, I should still receive the same quality of service because I have money and want to buy something.
Reply to David:
The flaw in your argument is that you do not appreciate human nature. What you call “prejudice” is actually a Bayesian inference. People are judged and evaluated by their appearance and the impression they make all the time. You need to be aware of how you are perceived in the world if you want to be successful. Why do you think celebrities and politicians have image consultants. Say you are looking for a finacial consultant. Do you go into an office expecting to meet a guy in a nice pinstripe suit or dressed in rags? You are looking for a personal trainer. Do you expect to meet a trim, buff guy or an obese person? Think about it. There is a reason why we have and go with our gut, basic instinct. It was passed down to us from our caveman ancestors. They needed it to survive.
