Beneath the counter at C & E Appliance & Service in The Plains, manager Lee Jones keeps 25 to 30 tools and products, all items that shoplifters have tried to steal in the past two weeks.

“They feel they can’t afford it,” Jones said. “They do it because they have a legitimate need.”

With higher gas prices and a weak economy, more Americans are shoplifting, according to recent retail industry surveys.

The National Retail Federation found that 74 percent of 116 retailers surveyed said they believed shoplifting had increased from 2006 to 2007.    

About $41.6 billion in goods were stolen from retail stores in 2006, according to the federation’s most recent data.

Although employee theft accounts for the largest portion of that figure, shoplifting accounted for $13.3 billion in retail losses. The Athens County Sheriff’s Office handles at least one call about shoplifting each week. That number is up from previous years, Deputy Jerry Hallowell said.

“The economy is bad,” Hallowell said. “That is causing people to do what they normally wouldn’t do.”

Shoplifters usually steal small items, such as food, candy and hair products in crowded stores or places with distracted employees, Hallowell added.

Theft under $500 is a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months  in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to the Ohio Revised Code.  

Some petty thefts are committed for thrills or out of thoughtlessness, but in rural areas outside of Athens, desperation is a big motivator, said Capt. Tom Pyle of the Athens Police Department.

Athens Police Department receives several calls each week to prevent retail theft, but has not noted an increase in shoplifting, Pyle said.

Drive-offs at gas pumps also kept police busy this year, Pyle said.

However since gas stations switched to pay at the pump in the past six months, those thefts have decreased, Pyle said.

Ohio University Police Department does not handle many shoplifting calls, because university-owned stores, such as Bobcat Essentials in Baker University Center, are small and well monitored, OUPD Lt. Rich Russell said.

Shoplifters caught in Athens might be referred to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, a non-profit group that helps educate petty and professional shoplifters about the detriments of stealing.

The association helps about 15,000 people each year, spokeswoman Barbara Staib said. The number of calls and referrals has increased with the weakening economy, but an exact number is difficult to pinpoint because of the anonymity of the program, she added.

Motivation such as peer pressure, mental illness or rough economic times, can give people who have considered stealing an incentive to try it, Staib said.

Shoplifting tends to spike around holidays, officers said.

In the early ’90s, Athens police officers caught a woman stealing clothes and toys from a local store before Christmas. After returning the items, officers pitched in to buy her children some presents for Santa, Pyle said.