SHOPLIFTING

Dr. Cupchik:

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.

 

Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided in general terms and is not meant to apply, nor may it apply, to your particular situation or the one you are interested in, and may not be legally current at the time you read it.  The information on this site is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional legal advice or appropriate psychological counseling. The author and Dr. Will Cupchik specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained on this web site. The appropriate professional should be consulted regarding your specific condition, situation or circumstances. WhyHonestPeopleSteal.com does not take responsibility for the information posted on, or any other aspect of, any other sites to which it is linked, or which may be mentioned on this site.