HIGH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Shoplifting as Extra-Curricular Activity : Ethics: In a recent U.S. survey, one-third of high school students asked admitted to the troubling national pastime.

When Jeremy was growing up, he was the kind of kid who took Snickers bars from supermarket racks and small toys from the aisles of Toys R Us.

It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time--a lot of children have taken things without paying for them.

But by the time Jeremy was in the seventh grade, he was a semiprofessional thief.

While other 12-year-olds went to basketball practice, Jeremy (no real names are used in this story) went to stationary and drugstores to steal. In one three-month period, he took $800 worth of goods.

Shoplifting is a troubling pastime among teen-agers nationwide. In a recent study of American ethical attitudes and behavior, the Josephson Institute for Ethics found that 33% of high school students admit to shoplifting.

Some retailers are refusing to sit still and be victimized. At Brea Mall, the Mall Watch program invites former shoplifters to speak to store managers and sales clerks about shoplifters’ techniques, said Mary Estrada, head of mall security.

As part of the “call chain,” when a sales clerk becomes aware of a theft, a phone call is made to other mall stores with similar merchandise to alert them to the shoplifter. A Brea police officer is also assigned to the mall, with another officer patrolling the surrounding area.

The program has brought results.

“I’ve seen plenty of 12-year-olds taken out of here in handcuffs,” said Jamal Ansari, manager of the mall’s Musicland. “We let them shoplift so we can bust them.”

For Jeremy, now an Orange County sophomore, shoplifting was practically a business, an enterprising way to make money. “I never felt guilty,” he says, almost boasting.

His school friends would place orders for school supplies and he would write down their needs on a shopping list.

Then, after school, he would venture into Sav-On or Staples, taking anything from mechanical pencils and calculators to calligraphy sets--whatever his friends requested. He would even rip open boxes at Price Club to get the goods he wanted.

The next day in school, his friends would pay him discount prices for the school supplies. Jeremy, and the friends he stole with, made about $180 each during one three-week stealing spree.

After a while, it was a game to see how much he could get away with, Jeremy said. “A friend would go in with me, and then we’d just quickly stuff our jackets. In 90-degree heat we’d be going into stores with these jackets on.”

Jeremy practiced at home until he got to be quick with his hands. He claims that he could stash a set of colored pencils inside his jacket in two seconds, and sometimes did it right in front of salespeople as a kind of dare.

“They would start to catch on after a while,” he said. “One time this guy asked to see the inside of my jacket, but all the stuff was in the sleeves, so I just kind of took my jacket off halfway, and so he had to let me go.

“But I always liked going back there when I actually bought something, because then I’d just be daring them to accuse me.”

After another close call, Jeremy gave up stealing altogether. Now, even though he never had any moral qualms about shoplifting, he says he won’t do it again. “Before, it was just something to do after school,” he said. “It just doesn’t feel the same anymore.”

Mike, a sophomore, also recently gave up shoplifting.

When he was vacationing last summer, he stole all sorts of souvenirs, even clothes from merchants.

But he says he hasn’t stolen anything since the trip and had never stolen anything before.

“It was kind of an addiction while I was there, and once I got back, I quit cold turkey,” he said.

Like Jeremy, Mike said his thefts don’t bother his conscience.

On the other hand, Jessica, who has graduated from high school, is still overcome with guilt, even though many months have passed since she purloined her Nordstrom shoes. “That was my first and last time,” she said. “Stealing simply wasn’t worth the guilt.”