Preventative Shoplifting Program
In order to be proactive in combating the impact shoplifting has on a community, Northern Community Mediation (NCM) has developed a Preventative, Shoplifting Program targeting fourth-grade students in the Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District service area. The intention of NCM is to go into every fourth-grade classroom in the public, charter, parochial and private schools on a yearly basis.

There are four components to the program:

1. The first is a jug that contains candy bars. The significance of this display is to help the children visualize the fact that for every $1,000 shoplifted, a merchant must sell 900 candy bars per week per year in order to recoup his/her losses.
2. The second component is a power point presentation that addresses questions, such as 1) What is shoplifting? 2) Why do people shoplift? and 3) What are some of the facts about shoplifting?
3. The third component is an audiovisual DVD produced by NCM that depicts the consequences of shoplifting.
4. The final component is an activity book that the students work on during the presentation and then take home to share with their parents.