The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention says around one of every 11 Americans is a shoplifter. Minors account for 25 percent of shoplifting crimes, while adults make up 75 percent. Some 55 percent of adult shoplifters say they started in their teens.

While the Christmas shopping season now underway is the most profitable time of the year for retailers, it is also the busiest shoplifting time on the calendar. Some people steal for themselves, others do it for presents, and some sell what they steal at a discount for 100 percent profit.

No matter the reason, retail security is already out in force to bust thieves. Here is a look at retail theft laws in Illinois. If you or your loved one faces theft charges, a criminal defense attorney can help.

Shoplifting Laws in Illinois

Shoplifting is an epidemic throughout our country. Some individuals convicted of the crime explain they only did it to feed their families, indicating a community failure to aid those in need of assistance. Others do it for the sheer thrill of the experience. No matter the reason, statistics show shoplifting is only caught once in 48 incidents. Despite these dismal numbers, management watches security cameras only 1 percent of the time, enabling a new rise in shoplifting by customers and employees alike. 

Sweetheart Shoplifting 

“Sweethearting” is the term coined for incidents where an alleged thief pays for some but not all of his or her items. This maneuver is completed solely by the shopper, or while working in conjunction with the cashier. The two most common situations include the following:

• The shopper puts all but a few items on the conveyor belt for the cashier to scan, leaving one or two unnoticed items in the cart, thus walking out of the door without paying for those items; or
• The cashier gives the customer a “sweetheart” of a deal by intentionally not scanning all of the merchandise, either by bypassing the scanner or covering the barcode.

How Big is the Problem?

Christmas is less than two weeks away, and most of us are now finishing up on our holiday shopping. Unfortunately, beginning around Black Friday and ending near Christmas Eve, far too many instances of retail theft occur. Being accused of shoplifting, price-switching, or other forms of retail theft can come with very serious consequences.

How Many People Shop During the Holiday Season?

Over 174 million Americans shop in-store and online from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. On Black Friday, around 77 million consumers shop for the holidays, and 55 million consumers go holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday. On average, Americans will spend around $967 for holiday gifts. Overall, holiday sales will equate to around $682 billion this holiday season.

What is Porch Piracy?

Parents often question their decisions and actions when raising their children. Are the parents nurturing enough? Are they strict when necessary? When your child is arrested and charged with minor delinquency such as juvenile theft, you may begin to question how you, as a parent, failed your child.

While there are methods to prevention and detection of delinquent behavior, the truth is that there may not be anything that could have prevented the incident; sometimes kids just behave foolishly and make mistakes. However, these small lapses in judgment do not need to derail their lives.

Early Detection

The road to true delinquency does not occur overnight; it is a path similar to adolescence. Most teens and young adults do not wake up in the morning believing that they are going to hang out with the wrong crowd that day or partake in destructive behavior. These paths are eased into slowly. Recent research shows that there are two beginning points for delinquency, including:

When people hear the term “shoplifting,” they typically think of someone taking an item for sale in a store without paying for it. This is the classic form of shoplifting. However, Illinois law defines many other acts as shoplifting.

Other acts that are considered shoplifting in Illinois include the following:

1. Changing the sale price or removing tags;
2. Under-ringing merchandise. This could come up in a self-checkout situation or be done by an employee;
3. Removing the store’s shopping cart from the premises;
4. Returning stolen merchandise for cash, exchange, or store credit;
5. Using or possessing a theft detection shielding device; or
6. Failing to return an item that has been rented.

The Prevalence of Shoplifting

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, approximately 27 million people have been caught shoplifting. About 10 million people have been caught in the last five years.