SHOPLIFTING

Dr. Cupchik:

• is the author of the book,  Why Honest People Shoplift Or Commit Other Acts Of Theft, Revised Edition, 2002, 336 pages),
• is Head of the Intensive Intervention Program for Atypical Shoplifters and other Atypical Theft Offenders, and  
• was formerly, the Psychologist-in-Charge, Forensic Outpatient Psychological Services, at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto. 

Over 22 years ago, in 1979, psychologist Dr. Will Cupchik and psychiatrist Dr. Don Atcheson, both then on the forensic service of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto,  began gathering data on essentially or usually honest persons who had been apprehended for apparently bizarre or nonsensical or bizarre acts of shoplifting. 

In 1983 their first article on this subject, entitled Shoplifting: An Occasional Crime of the Moral Majority, was published in a major professional journal, the Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Two years later, in 1985, they contributed a chapter by the same title as the above article, to a book entitled Clinical Criminology: Assessment and Treatment of Criminal Behavior.  By this time  their clinical investigations into, and understanding of  the atypical theft behavior by usually honest, law-abiding members of society had expanded to include almost all kinds of theft behavior, including break&enter, fraud, etc... . 

What often catches the attention of the media and public, of course, are some of the most blatant and seemingly nonsensical cases of atypical theft behavior where, because the individuals are so wealthy and/or prominant (at least in their home towns) that it may be said that  so much has been risked for so little (in terms of monetary or material gain) by individuals with so much to lose in terms of their livelihoods, reputations, standing in their communities, and even, sometimes, their freedom. 

It has become clear to Drs. Cupchik and Atcheson over the past two decades-plus, that understanding atypical theft behavior is vital to the appropriate and effective clinical assessment and treatment, and the best judicial processing of such cases. 

Far too often, these Atypical Theft Offenders have been wrongly categorized as suffering from 'kleptomania', and have therefore received neither the clinical help they need nor the appropriate judicial treatment they, and society, deserve. 

As well, when true Atypical Theft Offenders are jailed,  and in particular in states where the 'three strikes' laws exist, a terrible waste of society's financial resources and the offenders' potential positive contributions may occur. While true justice should be blind, it should preferably not be overly rigid, ill-informed or ignorant. As long as so many theft offenders are erroneously labeled as suffering from kleptomania and dealt with by clinicians and the courts in inappropriate and ineffective ways, justice -- and society's needs-- will not be well served.  

It is the aim of this website to help educate, inform and assist those professionals in the clinical, legal, judicial and correctional fields as well as the laypersons most effected, and who need to deal with the seemingly puzzling problem of atypical theft behavior, to do so in  more effective, efficient and intelligent ways.

In 1981 Dr. Will Cupchik established the first individual and group therapy treatment program for Atypical Theft Offenders at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. In the past two decades he has continued to carry on his clinical investigations into this most interesting group of offenders, and has written and been quoted extensively on this subject in professional journals as well as in lay publications and news media outlets. 

In 1986 Dr. Cupchik went into full-time private practice in Toronto, Canada, where he assesses and treats Atypical Theft Offenders, and personally runs the Atypical Theft Offender Intervention Program, including the Three-day Intensive Intervention Program for Atypical Theft Offenders that has been of particular interest to American and other clients who live at some distance to Toronto. Many theft offenders have traveled to Toronto to work with Dr. Cupchik. 

Some out-of-town clients and professionals have also requested and received consultations via the telephone and in person.

 

ORDERING THE LATEST EDITION OF THE BOOK Dr. Cupchik’s book WHY HONEST PEOPLE SHOPLIFT OR COMMIT OTHER ACTS OF THEFT: Revised 2002 Edition  (336 pages) [ISBN 1-896342-08-6] is now available in both the paperback and e-book editions.    The fastest Internet source for the paperback version of the book may well be booklocker.com, a U.S. company located in Maine. From the time the online paperback purchase is made at booklocker.com, the book is usually ready to be shipped within three business days. Books are then shipped via priority mail, which most often  takes an additional two or three business days.  You may, of course, also order the book from your favorite local 'bricks or clicks' bookstore, including BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, ... etc... .   Just give the bookstore the ISBN number, which is 1-896342-08-6, and tell the store that Ingram is the distributor. Ingram is the largest book distributor in the United States.  [Please note #1: Because the book has only been out a short while some bookstores (both clicks and bricks) may not yet have updated their databases, and may tell you that the book is no longer available. That is the case only for the original, sold-out version. Again,   give the bookstore the ISBN number for the now-available revised edition, which is 1-896342-08-6, and tell the store that Ingram is the distributor.] ******************** To purchase the e-book version for immediate downloading onto your computer, click here.

Click here to read more about the Intensive Intervention Program.

'FREE BRIEF CONSULTATION' OFFER... FOR PERSONS CONSIDERING PARTICIPATING IN THE ATYPICAL THEFT OFFENDER - INTENSIVE INTERVENTION PROGRAM

• Simply e-mail Dr. Cupchik to let him know that you are interested in the free brief consult. This consult will last about 15-20 minutes.

• Before you send your e-mail, however, please review the various pages of this web site, all of which contain very important information about atypical theft offenders, the Intensive Intervention Program, Dr. Cupchik's writings, his resume, etc ...    

• By reading the material on this website beforehand, you will have acquired a great deal of information  before you even speak with Dr. Cupchik, and therefore the 'free brief consult' can  be focused upon the particular case you wish to discuss.

• When e-mailing Dr. Cupchik to request the free brief consult, do provide basic information, including whether you are the prospective client or your relationship to that individual, the age of the person and the kind of problem he or she is dealing with, whether there are current charges pending, etc... . 

• Include in your e-mail two or three possible dates and times that you would be available for the telephone consult. Dr. Cupchik's availability varies according to days of the week. Finding a mutually acceptable time is rarely a problem, however.

• The telephone consult  usually involves the person seeking the consult calling Dr. Cupchik directly at 416-928-2262 at the mutually agreed-upon time, as pre-arranged via e-mail. Callers are expected to call direct [not collect], and pay for any phone charges.

• In the 'subject line' of your email, mention that you are writing to request a free brief consult. As a general policy, in view of the amount of spam email that currently plagues many of us, Dr. Cupchik  does not open any email that has no apparently relevant wording in the subject line.