shoplifting
Most of the suspected shoplifters have criminal records.
Police are sending letters to convicted shoplifters warning them to stay out of trouble.
Shoplifters are caught almost exclusively by private security officers working for the retailer.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Miscellaneous criminals
arsonist
artifice burglar
bigamist
bioterrorist
black hat
desperado
distraction burglar
distraction thief
drug dealer
embezzler
knock-knock burglar
launderer
looter
lowlife
man of straw
safecracker
scofflaw
shicer
small-timer
smuggler

shoplifter | Business English

shoplifter
noun[ C ]
 COMMERCEuk /ˈʃɒpˌlɪftɪŋ/us
someone who takes goods from a store without paying for them:
55% of adult shoplifters say they started shoplifting in their teens.