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WHY WINONA DID
IT?
Although
Winona never actually plead guilty to shoplifting, a
jury found her guily back in 2001. It never felt odd to
me that she likely shoplifted as I know shoplifting
usually has little to do with money or a lack of it. I
could only imagine what underlying issues Ms. Ryder had
which could relate to her stealing. Well, now we may
have a few more clues. Here is an excerpt from a recent
news piece...
Winona Ryder can't sleep, says
Simon Braud in Empire. "I come
from a long line of insomniacs," says the 37-year old
actress. On most nights she'll rattle around her home in
Los Angeles; sometimes, to break
the boredom, she'll get on the phone to fellow insomniac
Al Pacino. "When you find someone you have that in
common with, especially an actor, it's a great bonding
experience." To find out what was keeping her up, she
once went to a neurologist in New
York. "He said, 'Look at your life. It's so
strange. People stare at you, strangers know who you
are, you pretend to be other people for a living. It's
normal that you get anxious as times, that you're an
insomniac." Being an actress, though, is only one reason
for her sleeplessness. "As soon as I told him I was an
insomniac, he asked me if I was of Russian Jewish
descent." Indeed, she is; Ryder is very conscious of the
fact that some of her relatives died in the Holocaust.
When she does fall asleep, she often has a recurring
dream of being trapped in a concentration camp. "He told
me that something like 90 percent of insomniacs he
treats are of Russian Jewish descent. He basically said,
"You people have been freaked out for so long, it's no
wonder you can't sleep!"
Commentary:
If Ms. Ryder has been having chronic sleeping
problems and recurrent nightmares about losing relatives
in the Holocaust none of this would, of course, excuse
her shoplifting behavior in the past (or in the present
or future). But it does give one some possible insights
into her tortured or conflicted soul. In both research
and in my clinical work with hundreds of shoplifters
since 1992, sleep disturbances and unresolved losses are
quite common and prevalent. Of course, many sleep
disturbances manifest as a result of one's guilt and
worries over one's stealing, too. But the Winona article
is important if only to slow down the train of judgment
many tend to have over people who steal. Again, it
doesn't excuse it but we often think from the outside
that a person has a perfect life when we really
don't know what demons they face.
Shoplifting
often is a cry for help. One can only hope that in Ms.
Ryder's seeking help for insomnia that her therapists
think enough to help her connect the dots to her
shoplifting behavior.
__________________________________________________________________________________
MICHAEL
JACKSON'S DEBT
I
was a fan of Michael Jackson's music and also sensed he
was a man constantly searching for love. It is no secret
that he grew up very young and may have been trying to
recapture his youth through his spending, his connection
to children, and his numerous cosmetic surgeries. It is
also fairly well-known that he was the product
of both physical and emotional abuse at the
hands of his father. Thus, as with many of us, Michael
Jackson's life exhibited both brilliance and the
insanity--a life of contradictions,
too.
No disrespect intended toward the
late King of Pop, but besides rumors of prescription
drug abuse there is more clear evidence that Michael
Jackson was a compulsive shopper and spender. Reports
estimate that he was $400 Million to $500 Million in
debt. Besides his extravagent Neverland Estate
which, essentially, foreclosed, who could forget Michael
on his televised multi-million dollar shopping spree in
Las Vegas back in 2003? Upon news of his death it was
revealed that he was living in a rented house near Los
Angeles. Even his planned London
concerts later this year were only expected to net him
$50 Million. He likely would be forced to declare
bankruptcy eventually.
Of course, we tend
to look at evidence of his spending and the fact of his
debt as either plain eccentric or just poor money
management. What if Michael was actually an undiagnosed
and untreated compulsive shopper/spender? Certainly, he
fit the somewhat typical mold: he came from abuse, he
grew up too young, he had an unstable sense of self, he
had pressures to succeed and keep succeeding, and he
longed for inner peace and happiness. Further, not only
did he have to keep up with the Joneses, he was the
Joneses.
As with Winona Ryder, many might feel
confused about why someone with so much going for him
might abuse children, undergo radical cosmetic
surgeries, abuse prescription pills, or spend himself
nearly into the poor house. Others may feel judgemental
toward him as if he had no reason to act in such ways.
Again, we never know what struggles people go through.
Famous persons, especially, often experience the added
burdens and pressures of life which include limited
privacy, a distorted sense of self, increased
grandiosity and invincibility, and a growing sense of
entitlement and belief that the rules of life don't
apply to them.
It takes a very grounded person to
stay sane in the midst of the world of celebrity. Few
seem to be able to manage this without either bumps or
major falls along the way.
__________________________________________________________________________________
MORE
PROOF THAT CRIME DOESN'T PAY
Bernard
Madoff was sentenced recently to 150 years in prison for
his role as lead architect in a fraudulent Ponzi scheme
which bilked thousands of investors of an estimated
$50-100 Billion. Whether Madoff's primary motivation was
simply greed or, as some reports have suggested, a deep
need to be viewed as the best and smartest guy in the
room, this story is a tragedy from every angle. Whatever
you think of Mr. Madoff, it is clear that he had gifts
with finances and with getting people to trust him that
could have been better served had he not been such a
sick and/or sociopathic individual. It was reported that
he stated he knew, eventually, his gig would be up, that
his scheme couldn't last forever. What, then, was he
thinking? His thinking, apparently, was not much
different from the thinking of most people who break the
law or who have affairs or accept bribes--they usually
think they can get away with it and even when their
entanglements begin to unravel, it is rare they come
forward before, ultimately being confronted and cornered
like a check-mated king in a chess game.
And,
yet, despite all these headlines, day after day, there
are thousands--if not millions--of people who will
embark on paths of crime, infidelity, and other breaches
of ethics either out of selfish need fulfillment, a
naive belief they will never be caught, some feeling of
entitlement, or of some feeling of apathy or
indifference around potential consequences. One might
argue that these kind of actions are what actually make
us human, fallible, complex and simple-minded
all-in-one.
We must continue to wake up and
realize that we are all inter-connected. When we steal
from others we are stealing from ourselves and, of
course, we end up hurting those closest to us,
too.
__________________________________________________________________________________
REPORT: Rise In Shoplifting, Related Retail Theft
Breaking Six-Year Downward Trend
Retail theft, including shoplifting, employee theft,
administrative error and vendor fraud, is up, according
to a recent annual survey conducted by the University of
Florida with a funding grant from ADT Security Services.
The National Retail Security Survey (NRSS)
preliminary results show a real increase in the rate of
retail theft for the first time in six years. In 2007,
the lowest rate of retail theft in the 18-year history
of the survey was reported at a rate of 1.44 percent of
overall retail sales. Last year that rate rose to 1.52
percent of sales translating into losses of $36.5
billion.
These preliminary shoplifting and retail theft rates
are calculated as a percentage of total sales and for
the previous six years of the survey they have been
trending downward, according to University of Florida
criminologist Richard Hollinger, Ph.D., who directed the
National Retail Security Survey.
"This year both the dollar loss and rate of loss
increased and the evidence shows that the economy and
resulting cutbacks in staffing by retailers are creating
an opportunistic environment for both individual
shoplifters and organized retail criminals," he said.
"These are preliminary numbers from 2008 and do not
reflect shoplifting and retail theft rates from the
first part of 2009, when the recession was considered by
many to be at its deepest."
Employee theft is still the largest portion of the
retail theft pie, although as a percentage it decreased
slightly while shoplifting increased in 2008. The survey
only reflects in-store organized retail crime and does
not measure crimes such as cargo theft or merchandise
stolen in transport, but it does show a steady increase
in the number of reported organized retail crime
incidents per retailer and an increase in the dollar
amount per incident.
"Retailers are facing one of the most challenging
shoplifting and theft environments in history," said
Jeff Bean, vice president ADT retail sales and
operations. "As the largest provider of electronic
retail security in the world, we are working with our
customers to provide them with the technologies and
tools that can help them do more with less by maximizing
their resources to help keep losses down."
There are a number of new technologies available to
retailers that provide them with increased store
intelligence and help them to maximize resources and
limit losses. New software is capable of analyzing video
to detect unusual behaviors and track would-be
shoplifters through a store. Retailers can use the
software as a very effective tool in the fight against
retail theft and at the same time it can be used to
study shopping behaviors and patterns to ultimately help
improve overall store operations.
New anti-shoplifting tags allow retailers to protect
more items securely while leaving them in the open for
the convenience of shoppers. Items are protected without
making the customer wait or requiring extra staff to
retrieve merchandise from under a counter or the back
storage room. Point-of-sale analytic software, people
counting and remote monitoring are other technologies
that allow retailers to not only reduce shoplifting and
theft, but also to operate more efficiently.
"The survey is in line with what we have been hearing
from retailers about increased shoplifting and organized
retail crime in very tough economic times," said Joe La
Rocca, loss prevention advisor for the National Retail
Federation. "It shows the need for focusing continued
efforts on enacting laws to limit these types of crimes
and educating the public about purchasing bargain items
from questionable sources."
Note of Interest: Mr. Shulman's 44th
Birthday was June 27th.
Lawsuit
Update:
We may be exchanging depositions in July with a final
status conference in late August. We continue to
appreciate your support.
Compulsive Theft
& Spending in the news! June/July
2009:
Mr. Shulman created an online continuing education
course on compulsive shopping and spending based on his
book and Power Point presentation through the American
Psychotherapy Association. This course is available for
purchase by APA members and non-members alike. http://www.americanpsychotherapy.com
Mr. Shulman will be featured in a segment on
shoplifting addiction in the MSNBC series "Theft in
America" to air in mid-2009.
June 24th--Mr.
Shulman was interviewed by phone for Clear Channel Radio
on a story about the increase in shoplifting due to a
downturn economy.
Mr. Shulman is creating an
online course on employee theft and ethics in the
workplace for 360 Training. See http://www.360training.com/company-overview.cfm
Beyond
June...
July - September--Mr.
Shulman's articles will be featured on Corporate
Combat's monthly loss prevention e-Newsletters. See
www.corporatecombat.com
Fall 2009: Mr. Shulman
will have published an article on compulsive shopping
and spending in Paradigm Magazine which is affiliated
with Proctor Hospital and The Illinois Institute for
Addiction and Recovery.
October 14-16--Mr.
Shulman will be presenting on compulisve theft and
spending at The American Psychotherapy Associations
Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV.
October 23 and 25--Mr. Shulman will be presenting on
compulsive theft and spending at 2 day-long seminars
presented by The Jewish Family Services in the
metro-Detroit area.
November 5-8--Mr. Shulman will be presenting a 3 hour
workshop on compulsive theft and spending at the Annual
Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS) in Palm
Desert, CA.
Mr. Shulman is consulting on the
development of a major motion picture tentatively called
"The Rush" in which the lead character is addicted to
shoplifting and stealing.
Mr. Shulman submitted a chapter on employee theft for
a U.K. book entitled "Risky Business" to be released in
late 2009.
November--Mr. Shulman will be featured
in a Toronto-based magazine article on compulsive
shopping and spending.
December 1--WETV (Women's
Entertainment TV) will be airing a segment on women who
compulsively shop and spend in which Mr. Shulman was
interviewed working with a woman in Bosie,
Idaho.
December--CBC Television in Canada will be
airing a segment on shoplifting addiction in which Mr.
Shulman appears along with the Detroit area C.A.S.A.
support group.
Mr. Shulman continues to assist
the Kingman, Arizona court system with his court-ordered
homestudy program for retail fraud offenders. The
program is based on material from his book "Something
for Nothing: Shoplifting Addiction and Recovery"
(2003).
Contact The Shulman
Center
Terrence Shulman
P.O. Box
250008
Franklin, Michigan 48025
E-mail:
terrenceshulman@theshulmancenter.com
Call (248) 358-8508 for free
consulation!
Related sites by Terrence
Shulman:
The Shulman
Center
Cleptomaniacs and Shoplifters
Anonymous
www.Terrenceshulman.com
www.Shopaholicsanonymous.org
www.Employeetheftsolutions.com
www.Kleptomaniacsanonymous.com
Books:
Something For
Nothing
Biting The Hand That
Feeds
Bought Out and $pent
Products for
Purchase--SALE!
Mr. Shulman's 75 Minute DVD
Power Point Presentation on Employee Theft at Livonia,
Michigan Financial Manager's Conference 10/19/06.
$75.00
Mr. Shulman's 75 Minute DVD
Power Point Presentation on Employee Theft at
Louisville, Kentucky Business in Industry Conference
9/19/07. $75.00
Mr. Shulman's two books
"Something for Nothing: Shoplifting Addiction &
Recovery" and "Biting The Hand That Feeds: The Employee
Theft Epidemic... New Perspectives, New Solutions" are
availabe for $25.00 each (includes shipping/handling) or
both for $45.00 (includes shipping/handling).
Mr. Shulman's 90 minute DVD
Power Point presentation for young people: "Theft and
Dishonesty Awareness Program." $75.00
Mr. Shulman's 33 minute
psycho-educational DVD: "The Disease of Something for
Nothing: Shoplifting and Employee Theft."
$50.00
First International
Conference on Theft Addictions & Disorders 4 DVD set
(13 Hours). Recorded 10/05. $125.00.
Second International
Conference on Compulsive Theft & Spending 2 DVD set
(6 Hours). Recorded 9/08. $100.00.
Click here to
purchase
E-mail Mr. Shulman:
terrenceshulman@theshulmancenter.com
or
Call (248) 358-8508
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