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Shoplifting in Supermarkets, Drugstores, and Hardware Stores

Key Points on Shop­lif­ting


Criminal offense: Shop­lif­ting under § 242 StGB includes the taking of someone else’s movable property with the inten­tion of unlawfully appro­pria­ting it for oneself or a third party. Even hiding goods in clot­hing can be punis­hable.

Damage amount and criminal complaint: For low-value items (under 25 euros), a criminal complaint by the injured party is required unless there is a parti­cular public inte­rest.

Penalty for shop­lif­ting: Up to 5 years impri­son­ment or a fine for simple theft. From 3 months to 10 years impri­son­ment for aggravated theft (§ 243 StGB).

Juve­niles and young adults: Juve­niles usually receive milder penal­ties such as commu­nity service. Repeat offenses may result in juve­nile detention or juve­nile impri­son­ment. Young adults may also be sentenced under juve­nile law.

Beha­vior upon recei­ving a letter from the police: Do not provide any infor­ma­tion without legal counsel and imme­dia­tely contact a criminal defense attorney. They will request access to the case files and may seek to have the procee­dings dismissed.

Legal assis­tance: Early legal defense can help to avoid an indict­ment or public trial and achieve a lenient sentence.

Retailers in Germany are reporting an increase in shop­lif­ting inci­dents, parti­cu­larly affec­ting super­mar­kets, discount stores, drugs­tores, and hard­ware stores.

The ways in which shop­lif­ting can occur are varied. Actions such as consuming food within the store, not scan­ning items at self-checkout stations, or hiding articles in clot­hing can consti­tute criminal acts of theft.

The theft of an item in a super­market, drugs­tore, or hard­ware store gene­rally falls under the criminal offense of theft accor­ding to § 242 StGB. Under § 242 StGB, anyone who unlawfully takes a movable item belon­ging to someone else with the intent to appro­priate it for them­selves or a third party is punis­hable by up to five years in prison or a fine.

When Does Shoplifting Become a Crime?

Deter­mi­ning when a person is crimi­nally liable for theft can be complex, as a theft can be divided into the follo­wing phases: non-punis­hable prepa­ra­tory actions, attempt, comple­tion, and termi­na­tion of the act.

Correct clas­si­fi­ca­tion often requires the legal exper­tise of a specia­list in criminal law and can signi­fi­cantly impact the penalty in indi­vi­dual cases.

Contrary to common belief, a theft does not only occur when the person has left the store with the item, thereby depri­ving the store owner of access to it. Theft is committed as soon as small items are hidden in a pocket, jacket, or bag, making them inac­ces­sible.

Addi­tio­nally, theft does not have to be a secret act. You can be crimi­nally liable for theft even if another person witnesses the act—whether planned or by chance.

Impact of Damage Value on Sentencing for Shoplifting

The theft of items of low value is only prose­cuted if the victim files a corre­spon­ding criminal complaint, accor­ding to § 248 StGB, unless the law enforce­ment agency deems prose­cu­tion neces­sary due to special public inte­rest.

The low value of an item is deter­mined by its market value, curr­ently assumed to be under 25 euros.

It is important to note that even for the theft of low-value items, such as a lipstick in a drugs­tore, an avocado in a super­market, or a few screws in a hard­ware store, a criminal inves­ti­ga­tion can be initiated. Ther­e­fore, cont­ac­ting a criminal defense attorney is highly recom­mended.

What Penalties Can Be Expected?

The penalty for shop­lif­ting depends on various factors, inclu­ding the type of theft, the value of the stolen goods, and the offender’s previous convic­tions.

Penalty for Shoplifting

A simple shop­lif­ting offense under § 242 StGB can result in up to five years of impri­son­ment or a fine.

In cases of parti­cu­larly severe shop­lif­ting under § 243 StGB, the penalty ranges from three months to ten years in prison. Depen­ding on whether the offender has a posi­tive social prognosis, the sentence may be suspended on proba­tion.

Theft by Juveniles and Young Adults

For juve­niles (aged 14 to 18), penal­ties are gene­rally milder than for adults, as the focus is more on reha­bi­li­ta­tion than punish­ment. With the help of a specia­lized criminal defense lawyer, it may be possible to have the procee­dings dismissed.

If a juve­nile is convicted of shop­lif­ting, they are often required to perform commu­nity service. Repeat offen­ders may face juve­nile detention or even juve­nile impri­son­ment, which corre­sponds to impri­son­ment in adult criminal law.

For young adults (aged 18 to 21), there is also the possi­bi­lity of prose­cu­ting the offense under juve­nile criminal law, which can lead to signi­fi­cantly lighter penal­ties.

What to Do If You Receive a Letter from the Police?

If you are caught shop­lif­ting, the store owner will most likely file a criminal complaint and a police report against you. This initiates a criminal inves­ti­ga­tion. Shortly after the inci­dent, you will receive a letter from the police or public prosecutor’s office (defen­dant hearing), giving you the oppor­tu­nity to provide infor­ma­tion about the inci­dent or summo­ning you to a police inter­view.

It is important to know that, as a suspect, you have the right to remain silent and are not obli­gated to provide any infor­ma­tion about the inci­dent. You are also not required to attend the inter­view.

Once you receive such a letter, contact a criminal defense attorney imme­dia­tely. They will request access to the case files and prepare a state­ment to seek a dismissal of the case or the mildest possible penalty. The assis­tance of a specia­lized criminal defense lawyer can often prevent charges from being filed, meaning you will avoid a court hearing and save substan­tial costs asso­ciated with court procee­dings.

If a convic­tion for theft does occur, it will not neces­s­a­rily be recorded in your criminal record. However, it is likely to be entered in the Federal Central Register, where it can be accessed by other courts.

How Can We Help?

Our goal is to inter­vene early to stra­te­gi­cally influence the procee­dings, avoid public atten­tion, and protect your repu­ta­tion and profes­sional future.

First, we cancel the summons for you and request access to the case files. All commu­ni­ca­tion with the police and the public prosecutor’s office will then go through our law firm, so you no longer need to worry about being cont­acted directly by the police.

After revie­wing the case files, we will examine the formal requi­re­ments of the criminal procee­dings and the indi­vi­dual evidence to deter­mine whether there is suffi­cient suspi­cion against you. We aim to have the case dismissed during the inves­ti­ga­tion phase to avoid a public trial. Remai­ning inac­tive during the inves­ti­ga­tion and addres­sing all alle­ga­tions only at trial is rarely a good defense stra­tegy.

We are also available to act as your appointed defense counsel. Even if this offense does not qualify as a felony, the accused often has the right to a court-appointed defense attorney. The accused can choose their defense attorney, and the court will inform them with the indict­ment that they have a week to name their appointed defense attorney. If the accused is in pre-trial detention, they are imme­dia­tely entitled to an appointed defense attorney.

If you have any further ques­tions or if you are a suspect in a criminal case, please do not hesi­tate to contact us.

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