First Advisor
Kathryn Wuschke
Term of Graduation
January 2026
Date of Publication
6-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Language
English
Subjects
Big-box stores, Portland Oregon, QGIS, Shoplifting, Spatial Analysis, Temporal Analysis
Physical Description
1 online resource ( pages)
Abstract
Shoplifting has contributed to significant losses in Oregon, reaching nearly $956 million in 2022 (Capital One Shopping, 2025). While overall property crime in Portland, Oregon, dropped between 2023 and 2024, reported shoplifting incidents increased by 50.0% (Portland Police Bureau, 2023; 2024). In Oregon, stealing property worth $100 or less is third-degree theft and a Class C misdemeanor (Lounsbury, 2025). Second-degree theft involving stealing property between $100 and $1,000 is a Class A misdemeanor (Lounsbury, 2025). Although often classified as petty or minor theft, shoplifting imposes strain on retailers, consumers, and communities, which raises questions about the spatial and temporal distribution of this crime. This study uses Portland Police Bureau (PPB) offense data to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of shoplifting across seven big-box store chains and 22 store locations in Portland, Oregon, between 2022 and 2025. The findings indicate that shoplifting incidents are concentrated at specific store locations and during particular time periods. These findings highlight where and when shoplifting occurred, providing context for understanding theft in large stores in urban environments. Due to the underreporting nature of shoplifting, the dataset likely does not capture the full extent of shoplifting activity, so the observed patterns should be interpreted as an estimate of reported shoplifting rather than a complete measure of all events. Overall, this study contributes to understanding shoplifting patterns and offers implications for retailers, law enforcement, and policymakers in developing crime prevention strategies.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Recommended Citation
Petrenko, Elizabeth, "Shoplifting: Analyzing Spatial and Temporal Patterns" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 7124.