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Broadly speaking, shoplifting is a term that refers to stealing from 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. It also has significant effect on retailers. About 0.6% of all inventory disappears to shoplifters. Perpetrators often justify shoplifting as a 'victimless crime'. In practice the aggregate cost of shoplifting is covered by the store owners having to increase prices to maintain profit. In 2001 it was estimated that shoplifting costs US retailers $25 million a day. (note: Strangely enough, most retailers still manage to reap record profits year after year....)
Other observers believe shoplifting numbers to be greatly exaggerated, other studies have found that over half of what is reported as shoplifting is either employee theft or fraud by management.
Companies have introduced many technologies to combat shoplifting. Many stores have video cameras filming all areas of the store, larger ones 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.
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. Other shoplifters steal on moral grounds, ie only from stores that have bad reputations for treating workers unfairly, questionable overseas labour practices, or big multinational corporations (Wal-Mart, etc.) that harm local community businesses. These people will often use the money they save from shoplifting in the big stores to support local businesses which cannot compete price-wise with multi-million dollar big-box chain stores. Shoplifting is a very common crime for those with mental disorders such as kleptomania. Drunkenness and senility also can lead to shoplifting, even by wealthy individuals. Young children also often shoplift as they do not understand the full ramifications of their actions.
A common slang term for shoplifting in America, Britain and Australia is 'Five fingered discount'
Canadian Law
In Canada shoplifting is regarded as theft. If 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 Law
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. The law does 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. California law, moreover, states that any instance of a person entering a store with intent to shoplift constitutes burglary irrespective of the value of that which is 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.
English Law
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 of orders for restitution and compensation byt 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.
Books on Shoplifting
"Steal This Book" by Abbie Hoffman
External Link
- Shoplifting (http://www.crimedoctor.com/shoplifting.htm)
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