A hand wandering across a shelf, a bag ajar, an object slipped between two movements into the lining of a coat ... and in an instant your stock is confused, your sales are impacted, the confidence of your employees is damaged, and your security service feels powerless.
Faced with the crime of shoplifting, how do you protect yourself and what are the penalties for the offender?
- Shoplifting, definition.
"Visit shoplifting is constituted as soon as the "symbolic barrier" represented by the store checkout is crossed without paying" (1) Entering, appropriating, leaving, stealing during the opening hours of a business, without any relationship between the thieving customer and the owner of the establishment. "Fraudulently seizing someone else's goods for sale" (French Penal Code, article 311-3).
2. Shoplifting
Whether theft or attempt, the legal context clearly establishes that this offence is punishable, and penalties vary according to the seriousness of the crime. Shoplifting is categorized as simple theft when no aggravating circumstances are present.
The retailer can file a complaint more easily. He will have the right to claim damages for his losses, and the return of stolen goods.
Penalties can include up to three years' imprisonment and a 45,000-euro fine. If the shoplifting is qualified as aggravated due to circumstances such as a break-in, the use of violence, or the complicity of a minor, the penalties can be significantly more severe. Penalties can range from five years' imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros, to life imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros in the most serious cases.
Fixed-rate fines: In certain cases, where the value of the stolen goods is less than or equal to 300 euros, judges may opt for a fixed-rate fine. This avoids a trial, but the thief must pay a fixed sum, usually 300 euros.
Amicable agreements can also be reached between the shopkeeper and the thief, especially if the value of the goods is modest and this is the offender's first offence.
3. Impact on businesses
The appearance and recurrence of shoplifting in your establishment can have many negative facets, which go beyond the mere reduction in your sales, whether substantial or anecdotal.
Reduced motivation and involvement among your employees, including and especially among your security staff, misunderstandings and loss of confidence when faced with differences between actual and theoretical stock levels, the notorious "shrinkage" whose lack of concrete justification can lead to dissatisfaction and doubts... the impacts are also psychological for your employees and collaborators.
4. Prevention and deterrence
You can act now and kill two birds with one stone by installing technological tools and accessories to
1) prevent
2) flush out shoplifting.
Our anti-theft markers and accessories, coupled with detection bollards installed more or less blatantly, send a strong signal to thieves: this place is protected, you'll be found out. Our algorithmic cameras, meanwhile, can analyze suspicious behavior and report it in real time to security teams: an individual who has walked too many times around an aisle, who slips an object into his bag...
CONCLUSION.
The legal framework surrounding shoplifting is rigorous, reflecting society's desire to protect businesses and deter attempted theft. A variety of criminal sanctions are designed to punish offenders, while taking into account the specific circumstances of each offence.
While the rule of law provides for measures and penalties to protect and punish shoplifters, it is essential for your business that you put in place strategies to deter, anticipate, analyze, control and detect attempted thefts.
A goal that can be reached thanks to our many tailor-made offers.
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