Shoplifting is one of the varieties of deviant behavior – theft. The spread of this type of deviant behavior becomes spontaneous and poorly controlled, which requires special attention from practitioners who develop programs of preventive measures. The purpose of the article is to identify social and individual personal imperatives for involving teenagers in shoplifting. Research methods: to determine the theoretical conclusions, methods of analysis and synthesis were used, which make it possible to establish socially determined risk factors for involving a teenager in shoplifting. In the empirical part, the methods of short questions and answers were used; expert survey, a one-time mass survey method for adolescents, as well as diagnosing a tendency to deviant behavior. The methodological base is represented by relevant psychological and pedagogical concepts that reflect the essence of deviant behavior of adolescents and the factors of its development. The conclusion is based on the results of a theoretical study, which can be considered the establishment of socially determined risk factors that contribute to the involvement of adolescents in shoplifting. And also on the results of an empirical study, during which the characteristic individual-personal characteristics of a teenager were identified, which determine his involvement in shoplifting. The compilation of the obtained results made it possible to identify the dynamics of teenagers’ involvement in shoplifting, which, in turn, will allow a specialist working in the field of deviant behavior of minors to determine the content of preventive social and pedagogical activities.