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j v it v- tfcv i economist sun stouffville tribune i economist sun stouffwlle tnbun saturday j998l 1 j t- v a simii x- pressure to keep up with pricey fashion trends has some teenagers turning to shoplifting n highend clothes 1 r r by nesreens arras js x correspondent ommyhilfigger calvin klein j t adidasand nike hip teens v wear those labels and those labels cost a pretty penny 2 t once the domain of discern- ing adults expensive designer clothing has a new market in todays fashionconscious youth c but tihepressure to keep up with that pricey trend means some jeens who are desperate to fitin but cant afford the hottest designer clothes are turning to shoplifdng- brianrobinsbn loss preventionsuper- visor atthe- bay in richmond hills thillcrestmall says if youths could afford the clothing they wouldnt be stealing some teehvhave even stolen labels to resew diem on to clothing they can afford says he agrees teens may feel pressured to have certain items especially when they see friends wearing theml v theft growing studies conducted in the greater toronto area show theft among youth is growing and everhanging fashion trends ihatcaii make orbreak a teens social standkig may beta blame l according- tostatistics released by the mterhaiibnal protective groupr44 per cent- of 2500 shoplifting arrests in- the gta involved youths under the age of 18 r ortheper centj young males xpenswcv accounted for 34 per cent of those arrests wnom steal 1 jl -j- 1 i e 4 many teens have leafnedto mwaft that system jv vi when a teenager wants something bad enoughtheyll do anything to get it lima said i rv v robinson said many parents are refus- t ing to dish out die cashjof v or simply cant afford these expensive garments i steve lind of fochmqnii hillwhd 16yearold son said parents face an equal you cant get away with going to tellers anymore land said v i youjspend 150 onrunhing shoes for them becauseyou dont want tovee them i vgowthout tzraj r r n uridsaidjhespendsmemorieyon v designer duds becausches aware offfie f peer pressure and hedoesnxwant hiscbild t v knowrtvas the- one wearing vthercheap stuff j f ak v itsjustagoodthinghesgotapartrtinie job to help out lindsaid vv v j not all teens steal because of- the pres- sure to own the coolest clothes j forthejhrillofit someteens alspfeehpeer pressure to th staff photomike barrett 17 of richmond hill said v butperks said he knows mahy teens who have tried it and continue tol do it veyenfmey have been caught theydbnt do it just tokeepup with j ashibh perks explains a lot of them do it becausethey think its in thing to do they likeo- walk v around lopkuig alltough v f perks said itsnqtpnly males who steal he knowssof many females whoshoplift cosmetics fronvdrug and department stores because- things are loose thereand its so easy todb i 7 t v v for whatever reason- teens decide to while young females made up almost 10 percent l j y v impress mends or for lark 4 realize 1 youameft accounted for 48997 in that much limasaid teenagers steal clothing and evenajbrsttime offender faces acommu- stolen merchandise why should i feel guilty she added sports caps that are easy to shove into nityseryice sentence x v-v- f iohcestoldashirt i really liked said a manufachirers are charging outrageous school bagsv c -i- jwhenwerrcpmejaciossashliftef i6f yearold thomhill teen who asked to prices for thingsthatarent even worth the 4 rfandnamessuch as nike fila and ask himwhv dicl voud remain anonymous mbney s i really liked it but didnt have 110 to at sport blow ori something that isnt even worth promenade shopping