Indeed, part of Lohan’s penance for that necklace-napping incident involves taking a class on how not to steal stuff. I was curious about what goes on in those gatherings, too…
… so I called Barbara Staib, director of the communications at the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention. Staib’s group offers programs for offenders, including court-ordered classes similar to the one Lohan may have to take. She says the program focuses on treatment, getting first-time offenders to realize why they steal and why they shouldn’t do it again.
"The classes we run are designed to help people if they are truly petty theft offenders, not professional shoplifters or people who shoplift to support a drug habit," Staib tells me. "They’re shoplifting because of something going on with their lives, or something they perceive to be missing from their lives."
