Have you ever taken something from a store and then wondered how long the store has to follow up with you?
The answer to this question depends heavily on the jurisdiction you are operating within. In some parts of the United States, you can only be charged for petty shoplifting (under $50) for 6 months, but in other areas, it can be longer. The statute of limitations (how long you can still be charged for) tends to vary according to how much you have stolen, too.
Let’s learn more about this!
How Long After Shoplifting Can You Be Caught?
If you’ve ever taken anything from a store, you might be feeling nervous about the prospect of getting caught – even if the event was quite a while ago. You may be wondering whether they could still follow up with you, and if you could get into trouble for something months or even years down the line.
The amount of time that a store has to press charges tends to vary according to both your location and the value of the items you stole. If you have only stolen a small amount (under $50 in many states), most stores will only have a number of months to pursue you.
If you’ve stolen goods with a higher value (often between $50 and $2,000), stores will have longer to pursue you, and if you’ve stolen goods at a felony level (over $2,000), they may have several years to pursue you.
Just because you appear to have gotten away with it in the immediate aftermath doesn’t mean that the store won’t follow up with you later.
It is important to research this for your individual state, but many follow a similar setup of allowing only 6 months or a year for petty theft and longer periods (2 years, 3 years, 5 years, and sometimes longer) for larger amounts of money.
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How Is Shoplifting Classified?
It may help to understand how the different kinds of shoplifting are classified and dealt with because this often affects how long the store has to pursue you. Do note that the information here is for general purposes; it may vary from state to state, and you should not depend upon it for legal advice.
Theft of low-value items is usually classed as a misdemeanor or infraction. An infraction refers to the theft of an item under $50 in value and is the least serious kind of charge. The fines are under $250 for this kind of theft.
Above $50, the theft is unlikely to be classified as an infraction, and will instead be a misdemeanor, and can be punished by a short prison stint (usually up to 6 months), and fines between $50 and $1,000. Items valued at under $400 will usually see a misdemeanor charge, often called “petty theft.”
Stealing items worth more than $400 is classified as “grand theft,” and it will be up to the jury what sort of charge is applied.
You may face a year or more in jail for this kind of theft. Note that previous convictions can affect how the crime is handled, how much leniency you are shown, and what sort of penalty is passed.
Of course, the theft of higher value goods has a higher classification and more serious penalties. Stealing goods with a value of $1,000 to $2,000 is considered a Class 6 felony, and stealing goods valued at more than $2,000 is a Class 5 felony.
The amount of time that a store has to pursue a person for felony-level theft varies depending on the state but will be longer than for infractions or misdemeanors.
It’s important to understand your individual state’s rules and regulations if you’re trying to get a better grasp of how this works, but this should give you an idea of the classifications for the different levels of theft.
Can Shoplifters Be Pursued After 6 Months?
A store can pursue a shoplifter at any time until the statute of limitations runs out. This statute depends upon how much you have stolen.
In many cases, a store can still pursue a shoplifter 6 months down the line, and in some cases, years later.
It is worth noting that if the amount stolen was small, stores are not particularly likely to pursue an individual months later unless there are repeat offenses or they have some other reason to do so. Legally speaking, however, shoplifters can be pursued months or even years after they have committed the crime.
Many people are unaware of this, but a moment of poor decision-making can have an impact a long time later.
If the store can prove that an individual stole something (e.g. if the store has camera footage), they can pursue them for a long time after the event has taken place.
How Quickly Do Stores Contact Shoplifters?
You might think that if you have left the store without being challenged, you’ve got away with the crime, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
Many stores do not intervene with shoplifters for fear of causing violence and creating a scene that may upset other shoppers. They also do not want to wrongly accuse somebody.
Furthermore, it can be difficult to prove that somebody was intending to shoplift if they are challenged before they have left the store. The individual might have put an item in their pocket but still fully intend to pay for it at the checkout.
Provided that they do, no crime has been committed, so it’s often better not to confront people directly.
Instead, stores take note of the individual and get in touch with the police when somebody leaves without paying for goods.
They may also put up posters, review security footage, etc., and identify shoplifters later. It’s not advisable to return to a store you have stolen something from, as you may be recognized and challenged, or banned from the store.
You should also note that even if you are confident nobody saw you at the time, you may be caught later. Most stores do regular stock checks and review their stock against their sales. If items are found to be missing, managers will talk to staff and ask whether they saw anybody suspicious.
They will also check the camera footage and may identify you at this point. This won’t necessarily happen on the same day that the theft occurred; depending on the store, it could be days later.
They can pass on the footage to the police, who may be able to identify the shoplifter from the footage, or request help from members of the public in identifying them.
Furthermore, you should be aware that many stores share information about shoplifters and may pass around pictures and footage.
A shoplifter may find themselves banned from multiple stores in their local area, even if they have only stolen from one.
Do You Go To Jail For Shoplifting?
This depends on a lot of different factors, but yes, you can go to jail for shoplifting. If you have only stolen low-value items and it’s your first offense, you are likely to get a fine.
However, for repeat offenses and larger amounts of money, you could be facing a jail sentence of several months or even a few years.
For major theft, such as over $35,000 (this is state-dependent), you could be looking at as much as 20 years in jail.
Conclusion
A lot of people steal small items from their local stores without thinking too much about it, but doing so can have serious and lasting consequences, including big fines and possibly jail time.
A store generally has between 6 months and 3 years to pursue shoplifters but may have longer for high-level theft in some states.
Reference Sources
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/shoplifting-when-it-s-a-felony-23344