I represent the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) - perhaps the following will be of value to you. NASP's Shoplifter Education/Alternative Sentencing programs, both the SA Course for Adults and the Y.E.S. Program for Juveniles are designed to help offenders understand why they shoplifted in the first place and gives them the tools to ensure it never happens again. As for court, their goal is prevent repeat offenses and NASP programs have a less than 3% recidivism (Repeat offender) rate nationally.
While no one can tell you exactly what will happen since every court and every case is different, I can tell you that we have never had anyone who completed a program proactively before going to court have a bad experience because of it. In a nutshell, while I cannot guarantee that it will help your case, I can guarantee 2 things - It will not hurt your case and IT WILL HELP YOU PERSONALLY! If your goal is to never find yourself in this situation again, a NASP program will help you reach that goal.
The following is an excerpt from a recent e-mail I got from someone referred to NASP via this site might be of interest:
I wanted to sing the praises of your program once again- I cannot stress enough how much I value the information and enlightenment I learned from completed(ing) your SA program. I now feel as if I have the tools necessary to prevent something like this from ever happening again- I also feel more confident going to court with what I have learned. I'm looking forward to leaving this experience behind me to say the least!
If you have specific questions on your case, feel free to contact me privately. I can see if we work with the court where your case is being heard. (We currently work with some 500 plus courts in 48 states.)