Study Highlights Court’s Success in Reducing Shoplifter Recidivism Using Offense-Specific Education from NASP
SALT LAKE CITY (PRWEB) September 23, 2014 -- Turning Point Justice (TPJ), provider of cloud technology that helps victims and communities fight petty crimes and improve offender accountability, today announced that its shoplifting education and student management partner, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), released the results of a recidivism study conducted by the Probation Division of the City of Sylvania, Ohio.
The study conducted by the Sylvania Municipal Court’s Probation Division analyzed seven years of data and found that 97 percent of petty shoplifting offenders ordered to complete an education program as a condition of probation did not re-offend for petty theft after completing the NASP Shoplifters Alternative Course (SA Course) for Adults. Additionally, 100 percent of offenders identified as low-risk to repeat the offense by NASP’s Psychological Evaluation and Risk Assessment did not re-offend after completing the SA Course.
“We are pleased that the results of this study validate the benefits of providing the NASP SA Course to the offenders caught shoplifting in our community,” said Kimberly Hunter, deputy clerk supervisor, Sylvania Municipal Court Probation Division. “Together, we have reduced not only the number of future shoplifting offenses, but overall crime as well.”
Sylvania Municipal Court Probation Division Recidivism Study Highlights:
• 97 percent of offenders completing NASP’s SA Course for Adults did not re-offend for petty theft; resulting in a recidivism rate of just 3% over a seven-year period
• All offenders identified as low-risk by NASP Psychological Evaluation and Risk Assessment did not re-offend after completing a NASP education program
“Educational sanctions, like the CAP program that NASP offers in partnership with Turning Point Justice, can be just as effective when offered pre-charge as they are in the court system, as long as the program used is offense-specific and ensures that offenders re-evaluate their actions, address their misguided beliefs, and adjust their attitude to ultimately improve their life,” said Caroline Kochman, executive director of the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. “TPJ is the only provider of its kind authorized to offer the same NASP shoplifter education programs used by courts nationwide. This means that retailers and communities using the CAP collaborative solution can proactively protect the communities they serve against future crime.”
CAP for Shoplifting is a collaborative crime accountability program created by TPJ and NASP. It is based on the principle that cooperation between retailers, law enforcement and justice systems saves time and money while improving offender accountability and reducing recidivism. To foster accountability without requiring the involvement of law enforcement and the court system, CAP participants agree to pay restitution to the retailer, complete the NASP shoplifting prevention education course, and pay a program fee. CAP conserves valuable criminal justice resources for fighting more serious offenses, including organized retail crime, while ensuring shoplifters face immediate, consistent and proportionate consequences for their offenses.
“This recidivism study clearly showcases the value of the education programs that make NASP the gold standard in shoplifting prevention education, which is why we’ve partnered with NASP to offer CAP,” said Lohra Miller, Turning Point Justice chief executive officer. “When offenders are held accountable the first time they steal, communities can help ensure that petty crimes like shoplifting do not spiral into bigger problems. Effectively teaching shoplifters that stealing is not tolerated helps everyone, including retailers, communities, and the offenders.”
About Turning Point Justice
Turning Point Justice (TPJ) is a rapidly growing cloud technology company that assists victims of crime, communities and law enforcement agencies in working together to improve accountability for offenders and outcomes for victims. Designed by criminal justice professionals, TPJ Cloud Justice solutions ensure integrity and compliance from apprehension to offender accountability and community support. Turning Point Justice serves the retail industry in partnership with the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention through CAP for Shoplifting, which saves time and budget for law enforcement, ensures consistent restitution and legal compliance for retailers, and provides first-time shoplifters with education that enables offenders to avoid a criminal record and remain positive members of their communities. Visit us at http://www.turningpointjustice.com to learn more.
About NASP
The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) is a private non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that specializes in working with consumers, teens and children who have shoplifted. NASP conducts research and offers education, prevention and rehabilitation programs, in addition to self-help and support services for people caught shoplifting. NASP's unparalleled shoplifter research and ongoing collaboration with community stakeholders - from crime prevention, to law enforcement, to retailers, to criminal and juvenile justice - has been the basis for its organizational activities and the foundation for its programs and services. NASP’s core programs, the Shoplifters Alternative Course (SA Course) for adults and the Youth Educational Shoplifting Program (Y.E.S. Program) for juveniles are evidence-based and have been approved by thousands of criminal justice professionals and utilized in more than 2,000 jurisdictions across the United States. NASP programs continue to deliver the lowest court-reported recidivism rates of 2.9% nationwide. To learn more about NASP, visit http://www.shopliftingprevention.org.
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Shannon McPhee, Turning Point Justice, http://www.turningpointjustice.com, +1 310-920-9642, [email protected]
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