Long Island Guide : Long Island New York » Kids & Teens http://longislandguides.net LI News and Business Directory Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:23:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 When the Sky is Falling, Does Shoplifting Really Matter? http://longislandguides.net/long-island-ny/shoplifting-online-programs http://longislandguides.net/long-island-ny/shoplifting-online-programs#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:32:57 +0000 Editor http://longislandguides.net/?p=1446

As my colleague and I sat and contemplated the perils of what may lie ahead with the news of Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and AIG, my colleague clicked on a CNN website only to see the headline: “The Sky is Falling!” – shown with a picture of a stockbroker looking up at a tall Wall Street building, presumably about to collapse.

After we picked ourselves up off the floor in our uncomfortable laughter, we looked at each other and asked, does the work we do really matter now? Does anybody really care about shoplifting? In the scope of the problems facing citizens, businesses and communities, should anybody really care?

And as we came back from our momentary haze of gloom the answer was a resounding YES! Shoplifting is too important an economic and social issue to let it fall by the wayside, in good times or bad.  In fact, now more than ever is the time to address shoplifting especially for those typically honest kids and consumers who may be pushed by hardship to try their hand at it.

A recent NASP survey asked hundreds of judges, prosecutors, diversion, probation and law enforcement officers if they thought shoplifting was a Gateway Crime – “a crime with little or no consequence which acts as an initiator to other criminal behavior.”

79% of these justice professionals said “yes”, adding that in their experience shoplifting is a gateway to greater acts of shoplifting as well as more serious crime. And I should note that this number is up 7% in just 3 years; from 72% in 2005 to 79% in 2008.

What does this mean? I’m not 100% certain. What I do know is that in the scope of criminal activity in communities, addressing shoplifting has fallen quite low on the totem pole. But if in the opinion of justice professionals across the nation, shoplifting is often the starting point to future criminal behavior – employee theft, burglary, robbery, fraud, embezzlement, ORC – the importance of proactively addressing shoplifting becomes much clearer.

One way criminal and juvenile justice professionals are addressing the shoplifting problem is by utilizing shoplifting offender education programs provided by NASP to reduce delinquents’ propensity for repeat offenses. Over the last 7 to 10 years education programs have become widely accepted and utilized by court systems as a mechanism to handle non-professional shoplifting offenders. The justice community has found offender-paid education programs a cost-effective mechanism to effectively handle these cases.

While this method for addressing shoplifting has been proven effective in court documented studies, its downfall is that it can only be utilized by criminal justice when and if retailers apprehend and prosecute offenders. This is not to say that every retailer must apprehend and prosecute all shoplifters in their stores in order to effectively address shoplifting. That is simply not practical or even true.

Today, there are many effective actions retailers can take which do not require prosecution. For example, retailers are the only stakeholders in the shoplifting problem that can identify offenders and therefore, have a unique opportunity to distribute parent support or education pamphlets to youthful or consumer offenders at apprehension to help reduce repeat offenses.

In addition, community members look to retailers as the victims, to give them the barometer of how “big a deal” shoplifting really is in their local community. As a local retailer you can set the tone for community action. Shoplifting and other criminal activity will always rise to the level acceptable to the community.

When retailers are proactive in addressing shoplifting it sends an important message to community members and offenders that criminal behavior, on any level, will not be tolerated in your store or community and that no crime, however small, pays. There are many ways that a retail company or individual employee can be pro-active in helping to reduce the shoplifting problem even when they don’t prosecute as a rule. It can be done at little or no cost and it can be as simple as:

  • Distributing Parent Support Pamphlets to the parents of youth apprehended in your stores
  • Volunteering to serve on local court-sponsored victim impact panels, community boards and teen courts
  • Utilizing community awareness posters to provide public awareness and education about shoplifting prevention
  • Hosting awareness training for criminal & juvenile justice professionals
  • Offering the courts the opportunity to have offenders participate in a security tour of your store
  • Volunteering to speak at local crime prevention classes
  • Helping to fund local law enforcement or justice agency shoplifter education programs
  • Supporting local and/or national shoplifting prevention campaigns

While these initiatives may seem “out of the box” compared to mainstream LP initiatives, we must not disregard the impact that these actions have in reducing crime in the community. Restorative Justice Principles state that when “community norms denounce harmful behavior it reinforces productive behavior;” and that the more connected a potential offender feels to their community, the more likely they are to restrain impulses that would be disapproved by the community.

In this waning economy, where NASP has already seen a nationwide increase in referrals of consumer shoplifting offenders and where loss prevention departments are being directed to find creative ways to reduce losses on less of a budget, it seems that these simple yet effective initiatives’ time has come.

Please do not hesitate to contact NASP for more information about volunteering, community awareness posters, education pamphlets & community problem solving or to let us know what you are doing that works! We can be reached at 516-932-0165 or justice@shopliftingprevention.org.

By Caroline Kochman, Executive Director, National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP).

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]]> http://longislandguides.net/long-island-ny/hair-products/feed 0 Lake George – Gateway to the Adirondacks http://longislandguides.net/long-island-ny/lake-george-gateway-to-the-adirondacks http://longislandguides.net/long-island-ny/lake-george-gateway-to-the-adirondacks#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:48:13 +0000 seospecialist http://longislandguides.net/?p=1205

An Adirondack treasure, a fun-filled vacation spot…Lake George is the place to go when you want to do it all.

Lake George, located in the foothills of the Adirondacks, is approximately 32 miles long and is nearly 3 miles wide. Much of the shoreline is unsettled, and through federal and state conservation efforts, will remain so. Small communities surround the lake, each lending its own unique style and way of life.

Of these, the village of Lake George offers the largest mix of attractions, restaurants, shops and nightlife. You can walk within a two-block radius and rent a boat, watch a war reenactment, relax on the beach, take a cruise, play miniature golf, parasail, hit the arcades, ride in a horse drawn carriage, have a cocktail overlooking the lake, or just relax on a bench and watch the world go by. The variety of sounds, images, and tastes are as varied as the people who flock to Lake George each year to enjoy a relaxed and fun-filled vacation.

There are numerous lodging options available within Lake George village, outside the village or in other nearby communities such as Diamond Point or the town of Bolton. Whether you like to pitch your tent under the stars, relax by the motel pool, or bunk with the kids in a rustic Adirondack cabin, you will find just the right place to call home during your stay.

Lake George in the Adirondacks is approximately 32 miles long and is nearly 3 miles wide.

lake-george-tourMuch of the Lake George shoreline, particularly the eastern shore, is unsettled. Due to the tight restrictions, through federally and state administered conservation efforts, it will forever remain so. The shoreline ranges from beautiful, quiet, sandy beaches to rocky crags, cliffs, marshes and tall hemlock stands.

The water quality and clarity is excellent. In fact the water of Lake George is so clean, many of the summer and year round residents take their daily drinking water directly from the lake, without purification.

Scuba diving is very popular in Lake George. Not only does the water clarity lend itself to this form of activity, the local history of the Adirondack region demands the avid diver to come and explore. Historic shipwrecks abound. There are numerous underwater sites to discover and explore. These sites are protected. It is forbidden to disturb or remove any artifact found in the lake. But who knows, maybe you will be the one to find a French and Indian war cannon or shipwreck! Lake George Lodging

Boating on the lake runs the gamut from small personal watercraft like jet skies, to the large tour boats. Boating is one of the most popular activities on the lake and throughout the Adirondacks. With so many miles of water, crowded conditions are rare. There are also great places for boaters to congregate. Places like Paradise and Log Bay are popular sites for families to anchor for a day of swimming. You will find that boaters on Lake George are very friendly, helpful people. If you bring your boat to the lake, as many visitors do, you will find it easy to launch and dock. You will also need to purchase a Lake George Park Commission boat permit, which can be purchased at the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce main office and most marinas.

If quiet is your objective, you can pull your yacht into a secluded cove and spend the entire day in relative privacy. Many of the islands on the lake are state owned and managed. For a small fee, you can reserve a campsite for a night, week, or longer.

lake-george-boatThere are great shoreline picnic spots available as well. A list of these sites can be had by calling the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.

During the summer, a number of boat shows occur. Everyone’s favorite is The Antique and Classic Boat Show. This year’s show will be held at the public docks in Lake George Village on August 24th.

Fishing on the lake has long been a draw for many an angler. You can sit peacefully on a dock and drop a line down for some pan fish like Perch, Sunnies and Rock Bass, or you can head out on the open water. If you don’t own a boat, or would like to learn the best techniques for landing the big ones, several charter fishing companies will take you and your party out for a day of exciting fishing.

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