Question: What Is the Crime of Shoplifting?

Answer:

The crime of shoplifting refers to the theft of merchandise from a retail store or business. Shoplifting is stealing - the taking of the property of someone else with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.

The laws against shoplifting can vary greatly from state to state. Some states also have laws describing "retail theft" and "concealment of merchandise."


In those states in which the laws specify concealment of merchandise as a crime, people can be arrested for shoplifting for concealing an article inside the store without actually leaving the store without paying. According to these laws, the act of concealment is enough to prove the intent to steal the article.

Persons can also be charged under shoplifting laws if they take action to pay less than the actual price of the item, such as altering or replacing the price tags, switching the packaging or manipulating the merchandise so that multiple items appear to be one item.

Many states now have laws making it legal for store employees to detain customers if they have a reasonable suspicion that shoplifting has taken place. These laws protect the store and employees from lawsuits against false arrest.

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