Fed Up With Shoplifters, One LA Chain Turns To Public Shaming

LOS ANGELES, CA — Frustrated by brazen shoplifters, one high-end boutique chain has turned to public shaming in an effort to discourage theft.

Kitson — whose Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades locations are a favorite of celebrities — has recently made Instagram posts calling out alleged shoplifters. And inside the windows of its main store on Robertson Boulevard, shoppers can view a wall-of-shame that includes images of those accused by the store of stealing high-end merchandise.

"As a small business, we feel abandoned by the authorities. With little support from the mayor or district attorney, we've been compelled to take matters into our own hands," Kitson stylist Lisa Goodman told Fox 11.

On Instagram, the shame posts include one calling out an influencer — by name — who posted a photo of a collection of cosmetics. "Gifted, bought, or stolen?" the post asks.

Another post, again calling out an accused shoplifter by name, implores people to be on the lookout for a person wearing a hat at Coachella that says "does it look like I fly economy," apparently stolen from Kitson.

The posts include surveillance video, screenshots of accused shoplifters' social media posts and other personal information about them, like family connections and workplaces.

One shaming effort targeted at an influencer accused by the store of shoplifting preceded the influencer making her account private, NBC 4 reported.

“I guess it's public shaming, but I don't know what to do,” owner Fraser Ross told NBC 4. "We just came to a point that this is what we have to do."

Kitson says its been the victim of the kind of smash-and-grab robberies in LA that have recently drawn national attention. The incidents prompted police agencies in LA County to create a task force to combat organized retail crime and make several high-profile arrests.