Caught shoplifting? Here is what happens next.

So, it finally happened. You are caught. Someone actually noticed you stealing. Likely you were stopped as you exited the store by plain clothed individuals. They asked you to return inside the store. What exactly is happening behind the scenes?

There are two legal pathways you need to understand; The difference between criminal and civil processes. You may be facing both but not necessarily. This is the decision of the arresting Loss Prevention personnel (so you might want to suck up a little as their report will determine the size of your civil fine down the road and also could affect the decision to contact police or not.

*IF THE POLICE WERE NOT INVOLVED YOU ONLY NEED TO HANDLE THE CIVIL PORTION*


Civil
The option in which Loss Prevention chooses to not contact police and release you
You have heard that you may just get a "citation" or a "ticket". However, Loss Prevention (or any non-law enforcement personnel) are not able to issue "citations" whatsoever. What they do have a right to do is issue a Civil Demand (some people refer to this as legal extortion).

A Civil Demand.
First the store forwards a written report of what you stole, how you stole it, why you claimed to have stolen it, and all other behavior you exhibited during the time you were in the store. It also includes the dollar value of merchandise and if it was damaged or re-saleable. Other things are taken into account such as the time it took to deal with you (LP has to be paid for this and you will be reimbursing them). The store's attorneys then receive this report and analyze it. The result is a huge bill that you receive in the mail (between $50-$1000). CA Penal Code 490.5


Do you have to pay the bill? What are your other options?
The Civil Demand bill is not exactly legally binding. LP Agents will try to scare you by saying that if you don't pay you will get arrested, have a warrant dropped on your name, destroy your credit or one of several other lies.

What will actually happen if you don't pay?
Two things:
1) You will receive additional letters demanding payment and threatening higher fines.
2) The store now has the legal right to subpoena you to civil court and attempt to sue you there. But will they? Is it worth it? Nope. It is EXTREMELY unlikely that they will ever waste their time to go to civil court just to end up with a very small financial award (of which they keep only a percentage) that doesn't even compensate them for their gas to court and back. So instead they send out mass amounts of threatening letters hoping they can scare enough people into paying (legal extortion) larger amounts willingly. And the people that ignore the letters? Oh well! Onto the next gullible thief.

So NOW what do you do? 

You can decide to do a few different things:

A) Pay the fine and be done with it
Pro- The Civil portion of this situation is done. If the police were not called, the whole thing is done.

Con-You pay a lot of money you may not have needed to pay.

B) Ignore the fine and hope it goes away.
Pro- You don't pay any money and if the situation disappears you've basically won

Con- You may have lingering stress or worry regarding the matter

C) Send a smaller amount of money and request to settle.
Pro- You may be able to make the whole situation go away with a much smaller amount than requested.
Con- Some attorneys believe this kills your chance at pleading innocent (Why would an innocent person pay?)

Trespass
You may have been informed that you are now banned from all stores owned by the company from which you stole. Your photograph will be taken. It is attached to a trespass form that you will be asked to sign. (Deciding to not cooperate with this process could be the deciding factor if police are involved or not). Once you have signed the paper and left the property (or refuse to leave in the first place) you can be arrested by police or citizen's for trespassing.


Part 2: Criminal Charges (coming soon)

The 6 Steps of Loss Prevention

*Comments open as of March 4th, 2014*

There seems to be much confusion regarding when a Loss Prevention Agent can make an apprehension on a shoplifter. We all know there are rules they must follow, but what exactly are they? Please, allow me to clarify.

The first thing you must understand is the difference between Store Policies and State Laws.

State Laws: Laws are set by the state and ultimately decide what any citizen can do to place a criminal under citizen’s arrest.

Store Policies: Policies set by retail companies that their LP Agents are supposed follow. Sometimes these policies go to the full extent of the law. Other times stores put much stronger restrictions on their LP Agents. This DOES NOT affect their legal ability to make an arrest. In other words, breaking these policies could get them fired (and maybe sued in civil court), but not arrested.

So, in order for an LP Agent to make a shoplifting apprehension they are usually supposed to follow 6 steps. Keep in mind that these 6 steps are designed to a) avoid the company getting sued for falsely accusing someone of theft and b) to strengthen the companies case in court when somebody does steal from the store.

Step #1: The LP Agent is supposed to observe the person approach the merchandise. This is to ensure that the person did not enter the store with the merchandise.

Step #2: The LP Agent is supposed to observe the person select the merchandise. Again, this is to ensure that the person took the merchandise from the store and did not walk in with it. (Some companies combines steps 1 and 2 for a total of 5 steps).

Step #3: The LP Agent is supposed to observe the person conceal the merchandise. This is to show the intent to hide the merchandise in order to not pay for it. (An exception to this rule is if the person simply carries the merchandise out of the store).


Step#4: The LP Agent is supposed to maintain constant, uninterrupted surveillance of the person after they have concealed the merchandise. This is to ensure that the person does not get scared and “dump” the merchandise at the last minute (resulting in a stop of somebody that did not steal). If they lose surveillance of the person after concealment (step #3) they are supposed disregard the apprehension and let you go without even talking to you.

Step #5: The LP Agent is supposed to observe you pass all points of sale (the cash registers) without making any attempt to pay for the concealed merchandise. Again, this is to prove the intent to steal if the case ends up going to court.

Step #6: The LP Agent is supposed to observe the person exit the store. This seals the deal. The person can be apprehended.

Summary: the LP Agent is supposed to observed the person:
#1 Approach
#2 Select
#3 Conceal
#4 Maintain constant observation
#5 Pass all points of sale
#6 Exit the store

All that being said, you need to keep in mind that these rules were made to be broken and they ARE broken on almost every stop. LP Agents are risk takers! The breaking of these rules is not illegal but it is against company policy.

*Comments open as of March 4th, 2014*

Contact: Questions and comments can be sent to me at ShoplifterPro@gmail.com



**Disclaimer** I am not an attorney. I have many years of Loss Prevention experience. Nothing on this website is to be interpreted as legal advice. The content of the website is purely informational. Neither I, nor does anybody involved with ShoplifterPro, condone shoplifting or any form of theft. If you commit theft you will eventually be caught, and prosecuted. Do not do it.

Can Shoplifting Be a Felony? Indeed.

So, you are a shoplifter. What’s the big deal? A shoplifter is barely even a criminal. Shoplifting is such a minor crime that if you get caught you will only receive a ticket, right? Not so fast. There is a very good possibility that if you shoplift you are legally committing a burglary, robbery or one of several other types of theft classified as a felony.

First things first! There is one important fact that you need to know as a “shoplifter”: There is no such crime as "shoplifting" It is true. “Shoplifting” is simply a slang term that usually refers to a crime called theft when it occurs in a retail setting.

Theft in itself has two different degrees:

Petty Theft- A theft is a petty theft when the value of stolen merchandise totals under $950. Petty theft is a misdemeanor. (CA law)

Grand Theft- A theft becomes a grand theft when the value of stolen merchandise is over $950. Grand theft is a felony. (CA law)

Burglary- A burglary is when a person enters any structure with the intent to commit a felony OR a petty theft. Burglary is a felony.

Robbery- A robbery is when you take something from an individual OR A STORE, against their will, by means of force or fear. Keep in mind that any person representing a store who confronts you regarding the crime becomes the victim should the situation become threatening or physical. Robbery is a felony.

So what does all this mean for you the shoplifter? What are some of the outcomes you could face if you're stopped by Loss Prevention? Let’s look at a few scenarios:


1)You walk into a store. You pick up two pairs of jeans and a shirt. You shove the shirt (which values $30.00) down the front of your pants. You then walk to the register and purchase the two pairs of jeans. As you exit the store you are apprehended by undercover Loss Prevention Agents. You are guilty of petty theft.

2)You decide you want some new DVDs. The problem is that you are low on cash. So, you grab an empty plastic bag and a knife and you put them in your pocket (because you were already intending to steal the DVDs). You head to the store. You approach the DVD section and began choosing the ones that you like. You cut open the DVD cases and quickly put the disks inside the plastic bag. You head for the exit. As you walk out the door you are apprehended by undercover Loss Prevention Agents. You could be guilty of burglary.

3)Choose either one of the above scenarios, only this time things go slightly differently as you exit the store. You walk out the door and a Loss Prevention Agent steps in front of you. The agent tells you to return inside the store. You tell the agent in an aggressive tone, “You better get out of my way!” Your tone of voice implied a threat. Or maybe you shove the agent in an attempt to get away. You could be guilty of robbery.


I am not saying that these charges will stick. There are many factors that will affect the outcome of your case. I am saying however, that these are some of the things the local District Attorney, the responding police agency, and the store personnel will be looking at bringing to the trial.

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Contact: Questions and comments can be sent to me at ShoplifterPro@gmail.com
**Disclaimer** I am not an attorney. I have many years of Loss Prevention experience. Nothing on this website is to be interpreted as legal advice. The content of the website is purely informational. Neither I, nor does anybody involved with ShoplifterPro, condone shoplifting or any form of theft. If you commit theft you will eventually be caught, and prosecuted. Do not do it.

Top 10 Ways Shoplifters Get Caught

*Comments open as of March 4th, 2014*

Despite what you may have heard, there is no perfect shoplifting method. You can be caught NO MATTER how you try to steal. A lot of it is the luck of the draw. Is LP in the store? Are they busy with another shoplifter? Are they watching you? There is no way you can be sure. You can be sure however, that you significantly increase your chances of getting yourself caught when:


10)You carry a flat purse or back-pack: Fairly obvious, right? Not only is this an attention grabber, but it also makes the LP Agent’s job much easier. Your bag was flat, and then magically became full right after all the merchandise you were carrying disappeared. Did the LP Agent watch you fill your bag? That does not really matter. The LP Agent did not need to see concealment (See my article: The 6 Steps of Loss Prevention) to confidently make a stop on you. It is fairly obvious. Most LP Agents will make that stop. On top of being obvious, entering a store with an empty bag can also bump your charge from petty theft to burglary.

9)You over-act: You pick up the item you plan on stealing. You begin tapping on it, wiggling it, playing with it, and looking around like everything is cool. Yes, people actually think this works. When you take this approach you are basically telling LP Agents “Hey, I am not going to steal this! Look, I’m playing with it out in the open. I wouldn’t be doing that if I were going to steal it.” Then you steal it. Happens all the time.

8)You under-act: You pick up the item you are going to steal and immediately palm the item, or hold it behind something. You then quickly walk off to the most deserted part of the store. The race is on. The LP Agent knows he needs to get a view of you, either on camera or on the floor to witness the concealment.

7)You are overly friendly: You come in and immediately start chatting with store employees. You’re such a nice person! You would never steal. This will work when trying to deceive regular workers but LP is not falling for it. I have even had employees try to stop me from making an apprehension because they thought I was going to make a bad stop on that “nice” person. When I see someone being overly friendly with cashiers, managers or anybody with a name tag, I immediately become suspicious. They could be a genuinely nice person but nice people steal too.

6)You fail the "scare test": When I suspect somebody is a shoplifter I will often give them the scare test. This means I will have several people walk past the area where my suspect is looking at items. A normal shopper will pay little to no attention to who is around them. A nervous shoplifter will turn their head at everyone that passes by. Often times they will look them up and down evaluating whether or not they seem like an undercover. When this happens it is a good indicator that I should set up on this person and wait for them to “go”.



5)You are bringing non-clothing items into the fitting room: Some people actually think that if they conceal merchandise in the fitting room that they can not be arrested by Loss Prevention Agents. This is because it eliminates the possibility of the LP Agent’s step # 3. This might work on some LP Agents, but certainly not the one’s that are good at what they do. If I see someone bringing something into the fitting room that is not supposed to be tried on such as DVDs, Jewelry, makeup, etc., they have my full attention until I see them exit the fitting room carrying that merchandise. Believe me, bringing stuff into the fitting room is a false sense of security and it will get you caught.


4)You are leaving an evidence trail: You select the item you want to steal. You are not sure if the item will make the door beep or not so you decide to remove the item from the package. Or maybe you want to pretend the item was already your’s so you rip the tags off. Now you can conceal the item. However, you also need to rid yourself of the package. So you discard it on the shelf, or you hide it behind something. You just made the LP Agents job 95% easier. Maybe they did not see you conceal the item, but they did see you toss something down or hide something. They find the package. Now LP knows what the item is, they know you removed it from the package (this is vandalism and is illegal), and they know you are up to no good. When you walk out of the store, all the LP Agent needs to do is approach you with the empty package and demand that you return the item. They will likely tell you that you are on video opening it (you may or may not be). They will tell you that if you do not return the item you will be charged with vandalism (this trick is likely against their LP policy but it is completely legal). Once you produce the item you are under arrest for theft. It is a lose-lose situation that you created by leaving a trail of packages and tags.

3)You have “shifty” eyes: Everyone knows that you are not supposed to blatantly look for cameras or look around for people when you are going to steal. However, it seems that the majority overcompensates. When you look up to the ceiling and then side to side without moving your head, you have “shifty eyes”. Shifty eyes get shoplifters caught every day. In fact, if I am about to give up on a perspective shoplifter and they shift their eyes, I will watch them until they leave the store, no exceptions.

2)You use two hands: As an LP Agent, nothing catches my eye more than somebody with both hands on the sales shelf. When an honest shopper looks at a product of interest on the sales shelf, they typically take the item in one hand and remove it from the shelf to look at it in the open. When a shoplifter puts both hands on a product and does not remove the object from the shelf it is a DEAD GIVE AWAY that they are opening something. I have caught shoplifters that I otherwise would not have even noticed simply because they used two hands!

1)You just plain look like a shoplifter: You know who you are! This is by far the most common reason people get caught. If you fit the stereotypical profile of someone who would likely shoplift you are likely being watched as an “easy stat”. So if you have 10 facial piercings, and a bright green mohawk, or if you’re just a shady looking character, don’t do it.

Contact: Questions and comments can be sent to me at ShoplifterPro@gmail.com



**Disclaimer** I am not an attorney. I have many years of Loss Prevention experience. Nothing on this website is to be interpreted as legal advice. The content of the website is purely informational. Neither I, nor does anybody involved with ShoplifterPro, condone shoplifting or any form of theft. If you commit theft you will eventually be caught, and prosecuted. Do not do it.

*Comments open as of March 4th, 2014*

Do You Put Off Shoplifter Vibes? You Might Be Surprised.

Who exactly calls the attention of undercover Loss Prevention Agents while shopping?

Every time you enter a large retail store there are usually 1 to several people in the store that are paid just to watch you and everyone else.  Whether it be through their high-tech camera systems or a gap in the shelf, they are watching. But who exactly are they watching?

First, let me say that there is not one particular type of person that shoplifts. I have arrested people from every combination of age, race and gender. Don’t believe me? Okay, let’s pick an “unlikely one”. 75 year old Asian woman that stole just over $1000 worth of clothes. (I would tell you how she did it, but that is another article). So now that we know that every type of person steals, let’s get to it. Here is a top 5 list of who and what Loss Prevention looks for:

#5 Teenage Guys:
Full of testosterone, influenced by peer pressure and wanting free stuff, teenage guys are an obvious target for Loss Prevention. Let's face the fact that young people make dumb decisions all the time. Teenagers often don't have a lot of money but want a lot of things. This is a recipe for theft and an obvious target for LP Agents.

#4 Senior Citizens:
Surprised are you? Don't be. In my career, I have arrested at least a dozen shoplifters that were older than 85. The elderly often think that nobody is watching them. It is for this very reason that a lot of LP Agents will indeed focus in on grandma and grandpa. The elderly are often not very slick in their theft methods. Often times they do not have very much income. This combined with the fact that they will not likely try to flee or fight makes them a quick and easy stat to add to the weekly numbers.

#3 People with Baby Strollers:
One thing that stands out in my mind from when I was very first being trained in Loss Prevention is the phrase, “Everyone with a baby stroller steals”. Clearly not EVERYBODY with a baby stroller steals, but many many do. My very first shoplifter indeed concealed merchandise inside of her baby stroller.




 There are a few main reasons that people with strollers steal. a) People with cute innocent babies often give off innocent vibes. Who would steal while with a young child? The answer is a lot of people. b) People often store a lot of their own possessions in their strollers. This can make it hard for Loss Prevention to figure out what they took from the store and what they walked in with. If they can't prove that the merchandise belongs to the store it is a lot harder to prove a theft. c) The biggest reason of all is that strollers offer a lot of spaces to hold things. These spaces are designed to conveniently close, concealing items inside while walking. All the person needs to do is set an item on the open compartment, close it when nobody is looking and they are good to go.

#2 Drug Addicts:
You may be thinking, "How would you know if somebody is a drug addict or not?". Unfortunately when an addict is so desperate for money that he or she enters a store to steal, they generally are in pretty bad shape. This does manifest into physical appearance. Combine appearance with the fact that they target items that can easily be re-sold on the street, and you have them pegged. It is sad that they are in their current state due to an insatiable addiction. However, it is our job to prevent loss and not be counselors. Therefore, addicts are always being watched by LP Agents.



#1 Teenage Girls (and young women):
Congratulations, ladies. You are likely the most watched person type out of everybody. This is because you are NOTORIOUS for stealing make-up, hair accessories, tampons, douche kits, condoms, pregnancy tests, Urinary Tract Infection treatments, clothes (especially bras and underwear) and jewelry. This wide array of items makes you an easy target for Loss Prevention Agents. In addition to the fact that you are likely being watched regardless of what you are doing, here are a few enhancers that really call attention to you:

a) You are carrying a huge purse: This is for obvious reasons. If your purse looks empty this will increase LP interest even more. It may also increase your chances of getting caught. (See my article: Top 10 ways Shoplifters Get Caught).

b) You are wearing a lot of make-up: Let’s face it, this looks ugly. People that make the poor decision to walk around with unattractive amounts of make-up will likely make the poor decision to steal things (usually more make-up).

c) You have dyed hair: Especially if it is blue, green, purple, bright red, or any extravagant color. This shows that you are willing to go against social norms and make gutsy choices that a lot of other people would not make.

d) You are with a group of friends: There is strength in numbers. People often feel less afraid to break the rules when they are with other people. When I see a group of teenage girls come into the store with no parents, believe me they will get my undivided attention until the second the walk out the door. This is partially because I might get multiple stats at once therefore boosting my numbers and making the rest of my week much more relaxed.

e) You are in a high-theft section of the store (i.e. cosmetics, jewelry, feminine hygiene, intimates): Loss Prevention generally watches everybody that comes into thigh-theft sections of the store. However, you as a teenage girl will call a lot more attention (Especially if you combine your age with the factors listed above).

Contact: Questions and comments can be sent to me at ShoplifterPro@gmail.com



**Disclaimer** I am not an attorney. I have many years of Loss Prevention experience. Nothing on this website is to be interpreted as legal advice. The content of the website is purely informational. Neither I, nor does anybody involved with ShoplifterPro, condone shoplifting or any form of theft. If you commit theft you will eventually be caught, and prosecuted. Do not do it.