The 33-year-old woman had been ordered to stay out of Casper's Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, in October she ventured in with a returned item sticker in hand. She put the sticker on a telephone headset costing $174.96 and later was arrested on charges of shoplifting and criminal trespass.

"I put the pink sticker on an item so I could return it for credit," Sheila Clark explained as she pleaded guilty to the charges in Natrona County Circuit Court.

Clark did not get credit for the item. Instead, she was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Her case is nothing unusual. Casper police wrote 327 shoplifting citations this year through the beginning of December, according to department spokesman Sgt. Brad Wnuk.

Scott Jones, community programs coordinator for the Casper Police Department, said the busy season for shoplifting has just arrived, with thieves looking to blend in with crowds as they conduct their activities.

The cost to the community from shoplifting likely reaches into hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, Jones said. Nationally, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention estimates that stores lose $10 billion annually from shoplifting.

Jones suggested other shoppers can help reduce the local cost by reporting suspicious activity to store employees.

"We should have a community that has such a low tolerance for shoplifting that they know they are going to get caught," Jones said.

Some statistics about shoplifters:

69% say they steal in department stores

63% in supermarkets

57% specialty shops

54% convenience stores

47% drug stores,

27% all other type stores

n Men and women shoplift in similar numbers.

n About 25 percent of shoplifters apprehended are juveniles; 75 percent are adults.

n Shoplifters say they are caught an average of only once every 48 times. They are turned over to the police 50 percent of the time.

Source: CASA (Cleptomaniacs and Shoplifters Anonymous) at www.shopliftersanonymous.com and the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, www.shopliftingprevention.org.

Reporter Anthony Lane can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or at anthony.lane@casperstartribune.net.