The Five Finger Discount: Shoplifting Laws

juniorjusticesllc
Jun 7, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Jul 15, 2024

Written by: Valeria Koktysh Edited By: Palina Maskevich

What is Shoplifting?

Shoplifting is a common petty crime that involves a person stealing or changing merchandise to either take it or pay less for it. More generally, this is called Larceny. Shoplifting in most places isn’t considered a crime itself, but rather a type of theft.

How do big chains take action?

Most large chain stores will not stop shoplifters until they steal a certain amount of things. This can range from $100 up to $3000, and small-scale thefts will be considered misdemeanors or even infractions. Due to this, In the last few decades, these thefts went unreported as crime causing billions of dollars in losses for the companies. Nowadays they are trying to take action much faster, in order to stop this from happening. Knowing that getting caught will swiftly lead to consequences has deterred many more people compared to harsher laws imposed before.

What is grand Larceny?

For the people that continued stealing, once they reached the limit of petty theft they would be committing Grand Larceny. The charges are much heavier, and it is considered a felony. The punishment is typically heavy fines or jail time.

After sentencing, petty theft stays on your record forever. However, in most cases, the charge can be sealed (taken off your record) when you are 18.

On the other hand, first time shoplifters’ charges are based on the worth of the property they stole. In places like Texas, lower class misdemeanors start at about $100, going up to $2500. It is rare that shoplifting results in felony charges.

As stated earlier, it is sometimes possible to remove a shoplifting case from your record. If you’re found not guilty at your trial, or if your case is dismissed, you are eligible for the destruction of any records of the case(expunction). If this isn’t your situation, completing a form of probation will allow you to seal the case, but not destroy its records. This will allow employers and other people to not see your case, but the government will still know of its existence.

Examples of State Laws on Shoplifting