Dr Matt Hopkins: Techniques of neutralisation behind theft at self-checkout
01st December 2025
Shoppers turn to ‘techniques of neutralisation’ to justify theft at self-checkout, says criminology expert Dr Matt Hopkins
First generation self-checkout (SCO) technology or weigh-scale based systems most commonly found in stores have created a ‘new breed’ of shoplifter who deploys ‘techniques of neutralisation’ to justify their behaviour. That’s according to Dr Matt Hopkins, Professor in Criminology at the University of Leicester and a member of the Home Office Commercial Victimisation Study steering group and Research Fellow of the Security Institute.
Although first identified by Matza and Sykes in 1957, the “Theory of Neutralisation” is as relevant today as it was back then. The theory suggests people justify deviant behaviour through temporary rationalisations that ease guilt and allow them to drift between conformity and rule breaking. They identified five key techniques: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties—each helping individuals excuse their actions without rejecting societal norms entirely.
This blog presents key insights from a conversation with Dr. Matt Hopkins, who discussed how the techniques outlined in the “Theory of Neutralisation” help to explain the rise in shop theft.
The self-checkout theft opportunity and neutralisation techniques
Dr Hopkins began by explaining: “Retailers have created the environment and opportunity and are creating a new breed of shoplifter – one who would normally never have considered taking anything but will now take one or two items.”
Self-checkout has created an opportunity for customers who would otherwise pay, Dr Hopkins continues. He cites the ‘SWIPERS’ work of Dr Emmeline Taylor, a professor of criminology at City St George’s University of London. Dr Taylor’s work identifies typologies at the self-checkout including those making genuine errors and accidentally failing to scan items but also those involved in deliberate discounting or SWIPERS – seemingly well-intentioned patrons engaging in routine shoplifting. This is a group that is motivated to ‘cheat the machines’ by price switching and substituting cheap items for more expensive products or covering bar codes while scanning, for example.
The increase in self-service options and the reduction in store employees, combined with equipping shoppers with first-generation technology, has created an unexpected effect powered by frustration and opportunity.
The result? According to Dr Hopkins, shoppers begin to work out ‘techniques of neutralisation’ in relation to theft at the self-checkout – ways of justifying their behaviour to themselves.
Dr Hopkins continues: “People can be morally conflicted by something but when a store is presenting opportunities, they start justifying behaviours to themselves through five techniques of neutralisation.”
In relation to self-checkout, these techniques of neutralisation enable shoppers to deny responsibility for their actions by blaming the tech e.g. “I thought I had scanned items/the system did not work” or denial of wrong doing e.g. “I won’t scan a few items, it’s their fault they made me wait, does it matter if I select a basic item from the menu, everybody takes a few items…”
Research by The Grocer magazine supports these findings. It surveyed 1,000 British shoppers and found 37% of respondents admitted to intentionally failing to scan items. A further SCO study of 2,634* users revealed 57% admitted to taking goods because they could not get an item to scan; while a survey by USDT Casino found two thirds – 68% – of Brits admit to stealing at a supermarket.
SeeChange recognises this tribe. Jason Souloglou, CEO SeeChange explains: “What often surprises retailers is evidence of ‘savvy’ shoppers, those who have stress-tested existing self-checkout setups and learned exactly where the loopholes are. They mimic genuine shopper behaviour; scanning some items, paying for part of the basket, generating a valid receipt to pass the exit gates, all while knowing precisely how much they can get away with. For many, it has become a challenge to ‘game the system’, with neutralisation techniques helping them justify their actions.”
Changing shopper behaviour and normalisation of shop theft
Dr Hopkins, whose work spans a variety of areas in relation to crime prevention, commercial victimisation and organised crime, and also researches on behalf of ECR retail loss, claims new Vision AI technology will keep up with the crime-generating aspects of SCO and keep retailer losses down.
And it’s needed. Police in the UK recorded 529,994 shop thefts in the 12 months to June 2025 — a 13% increase on the previous year, according to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales.
And, while the rate of increase is beginning to slow – ONS figures earlier this year showed a 12-month increase of 20% – it is still the highest ever recorded figures since 2003.
“If you look at longitudinal trends, there was a sustained period when shop theft was coming down in the early to mid-90s,” Dr Hopkins says. “But there’s little doubt it is increasing and across all retailers – big supermarkets and small convenience stores.”
He adds: “Heavy media coverage and limited police response can unintentionally reinforce shopper rationalisations by suggesting theft is easy and unlikely to be punished. At the same time, the shift to self-service environments – where staff must oversee many transactions and shoppers simultaneously – lowers perceived risk and increases opportunities for both accidental and intentional theft.”
Souloglou notes the challenge and opportunity: “Self-checkouts were introduced to make stores more efficient and to empower shoppers, but first-generation systems unintentionally created opportunities for theft. Retailers need solutions that keep pace with evolving behaviour, protecting losses while maintaining smooth, friction-free journeys and minimising the burden on staff. That’s where computer vision AI comes in: it’s a technology that can respond in real time, guiding shoppers toward correct behaviour and setting the stage for the next generation of smarter, more secure stores.”
The future and AI tech solutions
Despite the surge in shop theft, Dr Hopkins believes accidental losses through self-checkout are coming down, and will continue to do so, especially as Gen Z, SCO natives, become mainstream users of the technology. “They know how to misuse the system as well, but I think those accidental errors will decline away. You will still have malicious behaviour but we are now getting the interventions and oversight powered by vision AI to deal with it – the tech is catching up,” Dr Hopkins says.
According to Souloglou, computer vision AI deployments change shopper behaviour from the moment they’re deployed. “Within two weeks of deploying AI at self-checkout, we’ve seen accidental missed scans drop, shoppers become more conscientious, and the system subtly nudges correct behaviour. For retailers, it’s a turning point,” he says.
“Before there were randomised basket checks but now AI anonymously monitors shoppers through stores, identifies when items are coming off shelves and when they are not scanned. The tech solutions in store and at self-checkout are now light years ahead of where we were,” Dr Hopkins adds.
“When we looked at the initial roll out of SCO, it was very clear retailers wanted to roll out and increase sales without thinking about the criminogenic aspects of the tech,” Dr Hopkins recalls. “It’s very clear that’s happened. But I am under no illusion that SCO and self-service is here to stay and the technology will keep advancing to keep up with the crime-generating aspects and keep losses down.”
Souloglou concludes: “As self-service and AI deployments mature, we’re seeing the foundations for a truly connected store environment. This isn’t a futuristic concept anymore, the technology is real, it’s proving its value, and we’re beginning to understand what the next evolution of retail could look like.”
*link opens a pdf
