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Shoplifting is theft of merchandise for sale in a shop, store, or other retail establishment, usually by a would-be patron or customer. It is one of the most common crimes that police and the courts deal with.
Most shoplifters are amateurs; however, there are people and groups who make their living from shoplifting, and they tend to be more skilled. One technique is to have a group of people rush a store and grab as much merchandise as possible and then rush out, the large numbers making it difficult to pursue. Some individuals insist that they shoplift in an effort to resist selling their labor, and/or to protest corporate power. These individuals focus--often exclusively--on targeting chain stores; Wal-Mart is an especially popular target for political shoplifters.
A common slang term for shoplifting in Australia, Britain and the United States is "Five finger discount". In the US, it is often referred to as "boosting"; those who sell shoplifted goods (at a steep discount) are referred to as "boosters."
Economic Impact and Response from Shops
Retailers claim it has significant effect on their bottom line, stating that about 0.6% of all inventory disappears to shoplifters. In 2001 it was claimed that shoplifting costs US retailers $25 million a day. Other observers, however, believe industry shoplifting numbers to be greatly exaggerated. Studies have found that over half of what is reported as shoplifting is either employee theft or fraud. Perpetrators often justify shoplifting as a "victimless crime".
Companies have introduced many technologies to combat shoplifting. Many stores have video cameras filming all areas of the store; larger stores are often are patrolled by undercover investigators. Security devices are often affixed to products that set off alarms at the store exit if they are not deactivated by a cashier.
Legal Status in different Countries
Canada
In Canada shoplifting is regarded as theft. If the amount equivalent to the stolen items is under $5,000 CAD, it is thus up to the prosecutor to decide if it will be prosecuted as a summary or indictable offence. In most cases it is treated as a lesser summary offence.
United States
In most states in the United States, shoplifting is a misdemeanor crime of petty larceny when specifically committed against a retail establishment by a patron. Some states do not distinguish between shoplifting and other forms of petty larceny, although a judge may consider the context of any crime in sentencing.
In some jurisdictions within the United States, certain egregious instances of shoplifting involving large dollar amounts of merchandise and/or a high degree of criminal sophistication may be prosecuted and punished as burglary or otherwise as a felony. California law, moreover, states that any instance of a person entering a store with intent to shoplift constitutes burglary regardless of the value of items actually shoplifted; this state also makes it a felony when an accused shoplifter has any prior theft conviction, whether such prior conviction was for shoplifting itself or not – see felony petty theft.
Some recidivist shoplifters in the United States have been given long sentences under three-strikes laws, such as Leandro Andrade, who received a sentence of 50 years to life; such sentences have been affirmed as neither cruel nor unusual punishment by the U.S. Supreme Court. See also Fixing Broken Windows for an explanation of the theory underlying such laws.
England and Wales
There is no specific offence of shoplifting in England and Wales and offenders are usually charged with the offence of theft but are liable to be made subject to orders for restitution and compensation by the criminal courts.
Increasingly, retail companies are using the civil courts as a means of recovering compensation and obtaining exclusion orders where appropriate. In addition, companies are issuing exclusion letters to offenders and those they suspect as a means of attempting to encourage the police to charge those arrested for theft with burglary on the basis that they are trespassers. This remains a controversial issue and, generally, the police are reluctant to charge with the more serious offence.
References
Abbie Hoffman. Steal This Book. Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002. ISBN 156858217X
See also
External links
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