A county store in Custer, Washington has come up with one novel way to curb shoplifting – shoplifters who are caught have the choice of getting taken away by the police or working 26 hours in the store, to pay off a $200 fine, while wearing a bright orange t-shirt that reads “I stole from the Custer Country Store” (see: Shoplifters’ choice: public humiliation? Or juvenile detention).
Typically, I don’t think public humilation is an effective deterent to future crimes. But in a town of 300 (like Custer, WA), where I’m sure everyone knows everyone’s business, public humilation may just work here. I guess time will tell.
