Shoplifting has become a common problem for the stores and retail businesses. People often come to store to buy products but go away taking products without payment and without make the employees know about it. Employees try their best to catch such shoplifters instantly while staying at the store.
But if instantly not possible, you can also be charged with shoplifting after leaving the store in Canada, ever after some days. This article offers you the further details about it in the next sections. So, let’s read onward.
Activities Considered as Shoplifting
Taking an item from a store without the owner’s consent or making any payment for it is considered shoplifting. It is often compared to stealing any merchandise. Again, if you go to a store and take a product of which you remove the price tag or replace it to lower the price is also considered shoplifting.
Moreover, if you pay for any merchandise using a false or fake account or by accounts of others without their permission, that is shoplifting. Actually, shoplifting has now become a common problem and occurs in many store, shop or retail business. When there is a sale for on any products or merchandises in any stores, shoplifting happens most.
Nowadays, most of the stores take necessary precautions to avoid shoplifting as well as to easily catch the shoplifters. When get caught, shoplifters must face penalties depending upon the depth of their crime.
Can I Be Charged with Shoplifting after Leaving the Store in Canada?
YES, you can be charged with shoplifting in Canada even after leaving the store.
As already mentioned, recently most of the stores take necessary steps to catch and avoid such violations. In order to do that, they often set several surveillance cameras in the stores so that all the small and large things happened in the store get caught in those camera footage. Employees randomly check out the footage and as a result, if you try to do any kind of shoplifting, they can catch you instantly.
In case, the employees fail to catch you for shoplifting instantly while staying in the store, they can charge you even when you leave the store or after one or some days after leaving the store. It is because they have enough proof with them, the footage of your shoplifting. So, you can never escape denying the truth.
Another thing is that if you find any shop without having any surveillance camera to capture footage and do shoplifting once, you should never return back to that shop again in your life or at least for a longer period of time. Because, the second time when you will go to that store, you might get the same employee working their like the shoplifting day. The employee might recognize you and catch you or at least take photos of you that you do not know.
Sometimes, employees of one store pass information or photos of shoplifters to the others. And it might become risky for you to go to any store lest they should recognize you and catch you.
Consequences of Shoplifting
If get caught, you must have to face penalties for shoplifting in Canada. Consequences of shoplifting basically vary depending on the value or cost of the product that has been stolen. Such as,
- If the value of the property or the product that you shoplifted is under $1,000, you will face penalties according to the class 1 misdemeanor crime.
- If the value ranges from $1,000 to $2,000, it will fall under class 6 felony charges.
- When the value gets increased more than $2,000, punishment is also serious than before. You will get charged with class 5 felony.
- If a firearm is stolen, penalties will be according to class 6 felony.
- In case you use any device as support while shoplifting, you will get charged with class 5 felony.
Penalties and punishments would become more severe in case of any past criminal records you may have. And in some cases, stores might decide to sue you for shoplifting in the civil court which would bring dangerous consequences for you.
Conclusion
So, now you have probably got your answer that whether you can be charged with shoplifting after leaving the store in Canada or not, right. Shoplifting is a crime, not a mere violation. If you get caught, the consequences would be dangerous like prison time, jail time and many more. If you commit such crimes, we suggest you to consult with a shoplifting lawyer other than anything. But we always recommend you to avoid such crimes and be safe.
