Professional boosters generally have long arrest records; it's the type of crime that will be caught every so often
. The shoplifters know they can expect to get arrested regularly, but the penalties are light since it's a non-violent crime. The damage to the store owner is no laughing matter though. They lose customers by having floor staff shadowing you as you shop, asking "May I help you?" and following you around. Many shoppers get uncomfortable and leave the store without buying anything. The store owner usually has to sell 20 or 30 of the item stolen in order to make back his investment so some stores have undoubtedly been put out of business by experiencing heavy losses at the critically busy shopping period of Christmas when everything is riding on a successful 60 days of shopping.