ALBANY - Two girls, being punished publicly for shoplifting, will be in public one more time this week as part of their punishment.

Chris Melton of Albany is making the girls stand on the sidewalks around town with signs that say "I got caught stealing." The girls were caught taking CDs from Target last week.

One of the girls is Melton's stepdaughter. He originally said the girl was his daughter, but a few readers disputed that in responses to a Democrat-Herald story Tuesday. The responses are on the newspaper's Web site.

Melton said he has been the girl's stepfather for a while, but he declined to say when he and the girl's mother were married. "I'm the one she looks at as her father," he said of the girl.

"We reached this decision as a family, and that's that," Melton said Wednesday morning, referring to the punishment. He said his wife and the girl agreed to the punishment.

The majority of readers who responded said Melton was doing a good thing. "Too many people got caught up in the 'oh but what about their self-esteem' boo-hoo nonsense over the last couple of decades, and look at what has resulted from that," one reader wrote. "Bravo to Mr. Melton for making the effort to see that these kids learn about consequences."

Torri Lynn, director of the Linn County Juvenile Department, said parents' involvement in their kids' cases varies.

"When the kid is arrested and referred to the department, the parents are required to come in and meet with us," Lynn said. "We discuss what happened and what the process is - whether it goes to court or peer court. That depends on the kid's history, whether this is the first time. If it's the first time, it will probably go to peer court."

The first time through the system, Lynn said, the department focuses more on education than heavy punishment. The department has a work crew and a property crimes class, where business owners discuss the impact of shoplifting on their business.

Lynn said theft, mainly shoplifting, is the most frequent crime that children commit. He said 106 juveniles were referred to the department for third-degree theft, which is mainly shoplifting, between July 2006 and June.

Albany Police have arrested 419 juveniles under the age of 18 so far this year for a wide variety of crimes, from shoplifting to disorderly conduct to drugs and alcohol to arson.