While life in Estonia is becoming safer and serious crime is decreasing, shoplifting has surged significantly in recent years, growing by up to 30 percent. This increase is noticeable in both organized crime and opportunistic thefts.

"I think one of the reasons lately is that the economic situation is forcing people to steal food items. /.../ Previously, items like bread, pastries or sausage weren't stolen as much, but today, these products are also appearing in our statistics," said Kaimar Karuauk, head of manned security services at Forus.

No retail chain has been immune to the rise in thefts, department store Kaubamaja's director, Erkki Laugus confirmed.

"It can be said that over the last three years, the number of offenders detained in our stores has tripled. On average, we detain at least one lawbreaker every day in our two department stores, which means there are more incidents involving detainment than there are days in the year," Laugus stated.

Most thefts at Kaubamaja are registered in the beauty department, where there is a wide range of products. Laugus believes that because cosmetic products are often small, offenders feel they are much easier to take.

The methods of theft are increasingly ingenious.

"One completely absurd method is, for example, where parts of lipstick testers are literally bitten off and the tester case is then left behind before an attempt to 'integrate' the stolen lip gloss into their own lipstick case later," described Laugus.

Electronics, household items and clothing are also stolen, with the largest attempted thefts amounting to thousands of euros.

"We have had cases where several expensive winter parkas were attempted to be stolen at once, with the price of each item exceeding €1,000. /.../ It's particularly strange when we have to detain foreign tourists for such thefts, which happens from time to time," noted Laugus.

Youth-committed crimes constitute a category of their own. These are often acts of bravado where a young person wants to prove themselves in their social group. According to psychologist Lauri Pihkva, this behavior is particularly prevalent in adolescence.

"It's like there's a built-in desire to break some rules, push boundaries and test oneself and, I don't know, the world," he said.

There have also been instances where a large shopping cart is simply filled with items and then someone attempts to leave without paying. Sometimes, however, the thief is more cunning.

"We had a case here where a three-member group picked a busy time of day in an electronics store, when there were many people and all the salespeople were occupied. They distracted the sales staff, then one member of the group went to the back of the store and into the storage room where they committed the theft. The loss was over €20,000," described Inna Toater, head of the investigative department at the Police and Border Guard Board's Ida-Harju Police Station.

This is also one of the larger shoplifting incidents. The most severe damage is indeed caused by professional serial thieves, of which there are several hundred in the capital alone. The goal of these criminals is to resell their loot on the secondary market, which has also gained momentum in Estonia in recent years.

"The share of professional thieves in Estonian stores has indeed increased. A few years ago, we had problems with professional thieves from the east and, for example, from Riga, but today, we see that it is more often locals," said Laugus.

Professional thieves often operate in groups and have learned over the years how to distract store employees and identify blind spots in stores.

"For committing thefts, foil-lined bags are also used to pass through security gates unnoticed. /.../ We have also found magnets on detainees, which can be used to remove security devices in stores," Toater explained.

The increase in thefts in grocery stores is also due to self-service checkouts. Here, even those who previously did not consider themselves capable of stealing have been caught. According to psychologist Lauri Pihkva, self-checkouts challenge a person's sense of morality because there seems to be no one watching while paying.

"Even very empathetic and nice people are capable of causing harm to others. /.../ If I do something now and the person who suffers from it is right next to me, then it's hard for me to cause that harm because we have empathy and guilt. If the victim is further away, it feels easier," Pihkva explained.

While none of us is born a thief, Pihkva notes that some people are more prone to disregarding norms. This is usually related to a personality disorder or an addiction problem acquired over a lifetime. In the worst case – and these are indeed a small percentage in society – a person may struggle with kleptomania.

"Kleptomania is also a mental disorder. A kleptomaniac has an urge – it might be somewhat comparable to an addict's craving – to do something, and it's very difficult for them to resist this urge. A kleptomaniac may also feel a deep sense of guilt after stealing. /.../ However, this does not absolve them of responsibility any more than a diagnosis of an addiction disorder excuses a drunk driver," explained Pihkva.

To curb the growth of thefts, companies have increased spending on security solutions and personnel. Special attention is paid to expensive products in security work.

"We monitor activity around the more expensive products. If someone stands there for a long time or starts putting their hands in their pockets, then we start monitoring, watching and checking," said Karuauk.

Most of the time, however, the value of stolen goods remains below €200, which classifies it as a misdemeanor, not a crime.

Security personnel report that even prison sentences are not effective if the individual returns to the same environment after release.

"For young people, a supportive network is definitely important so that they understand that stealing is not okay. At home, positive behavior and law-abidingness are supported. But I think that thefts in this sense will not completely disappear," said Karuauk.

The most coveted item among shoplifters continues to be alcohol.

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