Retail Theft in Pennsylvania

Retail theft in Pennsylvania is commonly referred to as shoplifting, and this crime can render some hard penalties for those who are convicted. It is defined as when a person takes items from an establishment unlawfully without paying for them, or if they are caught changing the tags around on any of the store’s merchandise. If the suspect takes any store items and puts them in a new container that would also constitute retail theft, as well as if they were to meddle with any of the stores security cameras or other devices and/or if an item is intentionally under-rung.

The business owner has specific rights that he or she may exercise if a customer is caught or suspected of shoplifting in their establishment. For example, if a patron has engaged in any of the activities in the previous paragraph that represent retail theft in Pennsylvania, the owner has the right to detain the person until the authorities arrive on the scene. The criminal penalties that come with shoplifting depend on the amount of items stolen, and whether or not the offender has been in trouble with this crime in the past.

For example, if the suspect has never shoplifted before, but gets caught for the first time with less than $150 worth of stolen goods, they will receive a fine of up to $300 and up to three months in jail. If the person had one prior offense, and was caught with the same small amount of merchandise, it would be classified as a second degree misdemeanor, and they could possibly get up to 24 months of jail time. The amount of fines also would greatly increase, being that they would have to possibly pay up to $5000 worth of them.

If the amount of merchandise the person stole was over $150 and they had at least one prior instance of shoplifting, their fines could actually go up to $10,000. At this point it would be labeled a first-degree misdemeanor with a possible sentence of 5 years. If the suspect had two previous convictions of shoplifting, it doesn’t matter how much merchandise they stole. It would automatically be labeled as a felony in the third degree, which carries up to 7 years behind bars. If a person who committed retail theft in Pennsylvania unlawfully retrieved over $2000 worth of items, or if they stole any type of firearm, that is also a third degree felony that carries the same amount of jail time, along with up to $15,000 in fines.