December 1, 2008 Study reveals large number teens lie, cheat and steal Play video

(Amy Sinclair, NECN) - Parents of teenagers will no doubt find this story interesting, and not in a good way. According to a large survey done by a California-based ethics institute, more than 30 percent of teens admit to lieing, cheating and stealing within the last year. So what's a parent to do?

This encounter at a Portland video store will sound familiar to anyone who sells stuff teenagers want.

Bill "we ask if they want to rent or buy that video. They play dumb. We say, the one that's underneath your coat, in your pocket under your sleeve."

And for every teen who gets caught, teens confirm, there are plenty more who don't.

Teen: "in high school just about everybody bragged about stealing something or cheating. Cheating was a big thing to brag about in high school."

A recent survey of 30,000 high school students done by the Josephson Institute revealed the following...49 percent of boys, 36 percent of girls admitted to lying to save money.

Cheating? 64 percent say they cheated on a test, 36 percent said they used the internet to plagiarize, and when it comes to stealing...35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls admit they stole something from a store within the last year.

The survey confirms what many parents don't want to believe...that teens are lying, stealing and cheating and the numbers say there's a decent chance their son or daughter is guilty.

And police who work routinely with young shoplifters say these

Police Officer: "Most of the kids don't want for anything. 90 percent of the kids have money in their pockets."

Officer Scarpelli says teens do it for the thrill.

Police Officer: "it's a high for them, they can get away with it wow. His advice to parents is to ask questions…lots of them.

Officer: 'what are you going to the mall for who's going to be there who's picking you up. Things like that."

Perhaps surprisingly, teens say bring it on.

Teen: "parents need to bore idea into head it's not ok to steal or cheat." Teen: "my parents never talked about with me. "

Parents never know when a life lesson will stick, so their advice, keep pressing.