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 In May 1997, the Deschutes County District Attorney and Juvenile Community Justice began designing a program to hold shoplifters directly accountable to merchants. In our county, costs for prosecution of these cases range from $600–900 per case.
It has become increasingly clear that it is not effective or efficient to continue that practice for many of these cases. Letters (signed by the District Attorney and the Juvenile Community Justice Director) were mailed to approximately 150 merchants through the county, requesting their assistance by joining the Merchant Accountability Board (MAB), which serves as the victim board for shoplifting cases.
By the end of June 1997, twelve merchants had responded, each agreeing to serve for a one month period. In July, an organizational meeting for the Board was held. Members determined their general guidelines for restitution/fines for shoplifting offenders. MABs were scheduled for Wednesdays at 1:30PM at our Community Justice Mediation Center, beginning in August 1997.
The law enforcement community responded to a request from the District Attorney to directly cite adult Theft III offenders to the program; the time for these direct citation MAB “arraignments” was established for Tuesdays at 8:15AM. The DA and one of Deschutes County’s public defenders participated in a video outlining the requirements of participation in the program. This video is shown to offenders, who may then decide whether or not to participate in mediation.
If an offender agrees to the terms and conditions of the offender contract, he/she appears before the Board, is assessed the restitution/fine and is allowed up to six months to complete the terms and conditions of the Board–mediated contract. Juvenile Community Justice staff monitors contract compliance and send restitution payments directly to merchants.
MABs have been shown to hold offenders more directly accountable to their victims and the community. It affords merchants input opportunities regarding sanctions. It also saves tax dollars for use in other public safety areas, and promotes cooperation among area merchants.
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