The owners of the Palmetto Moon business worked with the families of the teens to come up with a solution, rehabilitation over prosecution. Two teenagers from South Carolina stole from a store in a Greenville mall, but the store didn’t press charges against them.
Two teenagers from South Carolina stole from a store in a Greenville mall, but the store didn’t press charges against them. Instead, it is rehabilitation over prosecution where they used the incident as a chance to teach the teens a lesson and give back to the community. (Photo: Greenville Business Magazine)
Rehabilitation over Prosecution in Palmetto Moon
On March 13, Greenville Police caught the teens on surveillance video stealing from Palmetto Moon in Haywood Mall. Amber Dube, the president of Palmetto Moon, said that when the clothing store found out that the shoplifters were teenagers, they wanted to work with the families to solve the problem without going to court, through rehabilitation over prosecution. So, the boys are going to work for Palmetto Moon.
Dube said, “I think this is a situation where teenagers do stupid things, and we know that.” “So I think it’s important for us to think about what they did and really judge them based on who they are and what they can give back to the community.” Dube said that the parents of the teens were very involved in finding a solution to the shoplifting and that the boys went back to the store in order to return the stolen items, apologize, and pay for them.
She said thinking about rehabilitation over prosecution, “These kids are smart, they’re good at sports, and they have a bright future.” “So we wanted to make sure they learned a lesson and were held responsible for their actions. We thought this was the best way for them to learn their lesson and also give back to the community.”
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Bottom Line
The teens will work at the back of Palmetto Moon to learn what the other workers do for preparing the store for customers. The boys will give the Greenville Police Department their wages and will also work for the agency for free.
Dube said, “I really hope that this sends a message about community, giving back, and working together as a parent.” “I hope that this message really gets through to the community to say that we’re all in this together and that we can make our communities much better and more positive.”
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