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When we launched our “Shoplifter of the Week” feature, the brainchild of San Diego-based senior editor Brae Canlen, we thought we’d get a few hits.

Actually, we got a lot.

The regular feature, which chronicles some of the more interesting acts of thievery in home centers and lumberyards around the country, is a semi-permanent resident of our “most clicked” box on our Web site’s home page.

In fact, for the entire month of December, a story about organized theft in New Jersey’s Cape May County—“Stolen: 113 vacuums, 154 light fixtures, 22 kitchen cabinets and more”—generated more page views than all but a half-dozen news items produced in the month. The story was more widely read than those with much larger national implications—“Lowe’s launches Energy Centers” for instance, and “True Value sues former lawyers.”

January’s shoplifting journalism was even hotter. An isolated shoplifting story—“Building Materials used to hide stolen goods”—rose to No. 2 on the charts. And there were a lot of big stories in January.

The shoplifting feature also has generated reader comments—none of which shows sympathy for the lowly thief. Rather, there is a general rage against the leniency of the legal system.

As they say in the dental industry, we seem to have hit a nerve.

Maybe it’s just good timing. A recent study, called “Loss Prevention 2010: Retailers Battling Shrink in Tough Times,” found that 44% of multinational retailers are seeing a rise in theft. Here’s another eye-opening finding: Retailers reported employee theft of cash increased from 32% to 45% of total losses.

To a big retailer, shoplifting is seen as a cost of doing business, an expense to be monitored with bar charts and mitigated with investments in retail technology systems (such as the sponsor of the study.)

To the small business owner, shoplifting is a crime against all that is good and noble on this earth—a slander to decades of hard, honest work. And in many cases, it’s viewed as a reflection of the crumbling of civilization.

We appreciate both of these views. And in a sense, the big retailer and small business owner are both right—or at least, both groups can learn from each other.

Here’s an outsider’s perspective, but an outsider who has covered retail payment systems and loss prevention for years at a sister publication. (Full disclosure: Home Channel News has never been a victim of shoplifting, but other publications have stolen our cover design ideas.) The big retailers don’t take it personally enough. And the small stores probably take it too personally.

To the big corporation, don’t lose sight of the most important consideration to any loss-prevention program: corporate culture and quality staffing. To the small business owner, recognize that there are increasing threats, and technology can help the bottom line.

Shoplifting hurts everyone. And as long as stores allow customers to walk through the aisles in the self-service style invented in the early 20th century, there will be losses.

We can’t stop it, but we can contain it—especially if we’re aware of the methods of the shoplifters. And that’s the idea behind our “Shoplifter of the Week.”

Has your company adopted a successful strategy to bust thieves? Drop us a note, in the spirit of cooperation against a common enemy.