Shoplifting and the Law Shoplifting - a Model Code -And the Law
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. ~----------------------------------------------------____~ ____________________m. ____________ ~ __.. __ ~ .................. ~~ .. • • SHOPLIFTING AND THE LAW SHOPLIFTING - A MODEL CODE _ -AND THE LAW Published By NATIONAL COALITION TO PREVENT SHOPLIFTING A MODEL CODE DECA, ARF, GFWC Atlanta, Georgia Judi Rogers, Director . -r MODEL CODE AND COMMENTS Prepared By LA W FIRM OF SHELDON 1. LONDON Washington, D.C. JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMENTS Prepared By JOSEPH L. vmITE @ CoPyt':ght 1980 by th N t' 'b e a tonal Coalition To Prevent Shoplifting L1 rary of Congress Catalog Card ' Atlanta, Georgia Number: 80-85015 Prepared for the National Coalition to Prevent Shoplifting by the law firm of Sheldon I, London I ""--' SHOPLIFTING AND THE LAW - A MODEL CODE - Published By NATIONAL COALITION TO PREVENT SHOPLIFTING DECA, ARF, GFWC u.s. Department of Justice 81811 A tlanta, Georgia National Institute of Justice Judi Rogers, Director •.. This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the pers?n or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated In thIS documen~ ~re tho.s.e of the authors and do not necessarily repr~sent the offICIal posItIon or pOlicies of the National Institute of JustIce. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material in mi crofiche onl~ has been granted by JUdl Rogers/Exec. Director NCPS to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). ~urther reprodu~tion outside of the NCJRS system requires permis sIon of the copynght owner. MODEL CODE AND COMMENTS Prepared By LA W FIRM OF SHELDON I. LONDON Washington, D.C. JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMENTS Prepared By JOSEPH L. ~mITE © Copyright 1980 by the National Coalition To Prevent Shoplifting, Atlanta, Georgia Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-85015 SHOPLIFTING AND THE LAW -- A MODEL CODE was published by the Na tional Coalition To Preven·;: Shoplifting pursuant to Grant No. 80-JS-AX-0047, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. All Rights Reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or copied in whole or in part by any means without th~ e~press permission of the National Coalition to Prevent Shopllftlng. ! TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 Author's Note 6 Acknowledgments 7 1. Introduction About the sponsoring Organizations 2. National coalition to prevent Shoplifting 11 12 ail Federation American Ret b of America Distributive Education Clu s 13 -deration of women's Clubs AUTHOR'S NOTE • Genera1 F'" Board of Direl<?tt<?r~ .to prevent Shoplifting 14 National coa 1 10 code with comments '1ef'- by Shoplifting This has been both an unusual and satisfying assignment. We Mo d e 1 Ti .... 3. Shoplifting Defined 16 have enjoyed splendid cooperation and wish to express gratitude to Section 1 - Theft by the state's Attorneys General and their staffs, retail security • 'd and presumptions lR enforcement experts, members of the private bar, the American Section 2 - EV1 ence Retail Federation, and to Judi Rogers and the staff of the • 20 National Coalition to Prevent Shoplift:ing. Their willingness to Section 3 - penalties share their expertise in formulating t:his Model Code added • immeasurably to the quality of our work. We have drafted a statute _ Merchant's Immunity ~ro~ , 24 Section 4 Civil and Criminal L1ab111ty that we believe can work effectively to combat the serious crime • of theft by shoplifting. We would expect lawmakers to add their est of Theft by Shoplifting29 modifications, both to reflect persona.l predilections as well as Section 5 - Arr to conform the Code to the state ConElt,itutions and existing la\'l. • suspects 30 For my office this research project has been a real team effort. - Civil Liability Section 6 Attorney Luis L. Granados, III, has patiently waded through the state • 33 statutes and developed the outstanding summary of state shoplifting Section 7 - Severability laws. His significant contribution ,to both the Model Code and 33 Comment section is appreciated. Stuart L. Gasner and Steven D. section 8 - Definitions Brown, third year students at the University of Michigan School of " 34 Law, creatively participated in our research and drafting. ~ _ Effe0tive Date Section :;J • 34 I r In any assignment of this magni t:ude, the correspondence, typing Section 10- Repealer and editing tasks are enormous, but thl:!y were made routine by co 35 • An Analysis of 1980 workers and friends, Kathie C. Auth and Ruth A. Corlett. National Research Report: 4. 38 \ state-By-Statc Estimate of Shoplifting Losses Sheldon I. London 5. 41 state Shoplifting statutes 6. summary of ~ Model Code To The Juvenile 152 \1 7. Application of the U Justice System V \ Precl~ding page blank 5 Preceding page blank Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION , , Prevent Shoplifting gratefully The National Coal~t~on TOt 'b t.,~, that Attorney Sheldon th 'portant con r~ U-"_Jll - h ' ng acknowledges e ~m, 'th'sModel Code and researc ~ Shoplifting is America's most expensive crime. The loss I. London has made ~n dra~t~~g ~The Coalition appreciates that figure of $24 billion in 1980 is staggering; consider that for the various laws of shop~~ft7ng. r the convening of the 1982 every $1 stolen in bank robberies that year, over $300 were this work was completed ~n t~mel'tf? would also like to acknowledge stolen in shoplifted merchandise. legislat~ve' sess~on's . The Coa'~who ~ ~on drafted the commen t ary r egard- the efforts ?f J?S7Ph L. to the Juvenile Justice System. ing the appl~cab~l~ty of ~h~~~'dethe 0 Shoplifting is a leading contributor to higher prices and inflation. On the average, retail prices are five to seven percent to list everyone who gave their timIe higher than they would be if merchants did not have to pass through It would be impossible h drafting and approva shoplifting costs to their customers. And, there are the hidden energy, and concern towards'fact the however,researc 'tha t the approved,~ publi-_ costs: for elaborate security systems; prosecuting and punishing of this document. It ~s a been ossible w~thout the par apprehended shoplifters; sales taxes lost to state and local cation of this Code would not ~aveinCIUdlng: Maurice Aresty, Hous:on governments because an item was stolen, not bought; and finally, tici ation of several ~ey,peop e, arr P.C.,Attorney,New York the personal loss to the convicted shoplifter because of his or RetaIl Merchants Assoc~at~on, ROb~r~ Bpen~~y Company, William Landres, her criminal record. S.M.P.A., Norm Weslow, Attorney! io~ Washington S.M.p.A.',and National Retail Merchants ASSOC~:!eri~an Society of Industr al , In 1979, through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Cleveland S.M.P.A., R. A. Shaw! R tail Association, John F~~zpat~~ck,7 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Security, W.C. McBraye7, ~e~r~7a ~erry Udell, American Reta~l Fea Attorney, Penjurdel-Ph~la e p ~a, Coalition was officially formed to combat this pervasive problem. eration. Comprised of the American Retail Federation, the Distributive Education Clubs of America and the General Federation of Women's " , ~ alition has been privi~eged to ha~e_ Clubs, the Coalition administers a comprehensive program of public Since ~ ts ~ncept~on our J: ,--0 aw Enforcement Ass~stance l?-dlTI~n education, research, training, and technical assistance to lead both the financ~al support o~ t~~ L ~ of the staff of the Off~ce of the fight against the shoplifting epidemic. This Model Theft by istration and the personal conun~ ;en ntion In particular, the Shoplifting Code is one part of that effort. Juvenile Justice and Delinquen~y re~~iclY "the enthusiastic sUPp07t, Coali tion would like to recogn~ze Phu ram monitor for the Coal~ t~on ' , 'II "ho has been t e prog , " f OJJ~P of er"w f Sial Emphasis 0 U . ~ a Model Theft by Shoplifting Code andMarJor~e Emily Martin, M~ D~rector 0 pec D~v~s~on As is the case with other crimes, a systematic approach must be taken if society is to reduce the incidence of shoplifting. No one group can do the job alone; each must act in concert with the others if real progress is to be made. Judi Rogers Executive Director Retailers must understand their rights and responsibilities. National Coalition To Prevent The store manager or employee is the front line of defense against Shoplifting shoplifting, and he or she must know what should and should not be done under the law when encountering a shoplifting suspect. .,;. The law must be simple and clearcut for the understanding and use of nonlawyer retailers. It must give retailers flexibility in dealing with varied types of shoplifting situations, and retailers must be persuaded that the legal system is on their side, to crime.cooperate with them in their good faith efforts to eradicate this 6 7 ~---------.~~ ~- How To Use The Model Code , volvement in conducting searches Peace officers have regulaIft~rs They need clear direction and arrests of suspected shopl '·te so that they can act This Model Code is not meant to be automatically applicable o when such actions are approprla "as is" to every state. It is extremely important that it be as t , b'l't without fear of lla 1 1 y. tailored to fit the existing constitutional and statutory framework heav caseloads and often give of any state in which it is introduced. Prosecutors generally ~av7t be~ause of the small amounts shoplifting cases a 10wd~~~?rllly of obtaining convictions: and For example, the Model Code refers to theft by shoplifting as of money involved, the, 1 lCU The law should be wrltten , an "offense." The criminal laws of some states do not use the the often inconsequentlal ~ente~ces.