What happens if I’m caught shoplifting?
What happens if I’ve been charged with shoplifting?
What if I take goods out of a shop by mistake?
My son has been given a trespass notice from the mall after he was caught stealing. Is this legal?
What happens if I’m caught shoplifting?
Shoplifting is taking something from a shop without paying or if you change the price of goods in order to pay a lower price on something. If you’re caught doing either, the shopkeeper, security guard or shop detective can make what is known as a citizen’s arrest if;
- You’ve stolen items worth more than $300, or
- They believe on reasonable and probable grounds you’ve stolen something, and the time is between 9am and 6pm
If you run away from the shopkeeper, security guard or shop detective, they can call the Police who can find and arrest you.
What happens if I’ve been charged with shoplifting?
It depends on your age, and your criminal history.
If you’re under 14 you can’t be arrested or charged with shoplifting. Instead, the Child, Young Persons and their Families service can become involved.
If you’re between 14 and 17 and;
It’s your first offence, you’ll usually be given a warning
If it’s a more serious offence or you’ve been caught before, the Police can take it further:
- they can call a family group conference (FGC)
- they can decide you have to write a letter of apology to the shopkeeper, pay some compensation or do some community work (see What is Police Youth Aid diversion?)
- they can take you to Youth Court if you’ve got a long history of shoplifting or offending
If you’re 17 years or older, then it’s up to the Police to decide whether to lay charges or not.
You can;
Go to the District Court and
- if you’re guilty you will be ordered to pay a fine of up to $500 and court costs
- if the object stolen is worth more than $100, you can go to prison for up to three
- months
- if what you’ve stolen is worth more than $300, you can go to prison for up to seven
- years
- if you’re charged with aggravated assault, you can be fined and go to prison for up to three years
Apply for discharge without conviction
- you can do this if you plead guilty, and the offence is small
- if you get this, you can still be ordered to pay prosecution costs
Get diversion
- if the offence is not very serious and if it’s your first time offending. More information is in our diversion section
What if I take goods out of a shop by mistake?
You can defend your shoplifting charge if:
- You forgot to pay for the item and didn’t intend to steal it
- You took the item out of the shop for another purpose, for example if you wanted to see how sunglasses reacted to natural light
- You didn’t put the item in your bag and didn’t know it was there
My son was given a trespass notice from the mall after he was caught stealing. Is this legal?
Sometimes after a child is caught stealing they’re given a trespass notice to prevent the child from coming back to the shop or mall for two years. You normally can’t do anything about the trespass notice because malls and shops are private property, and if the management decides to give a trespass notice, they’re allowed to by law.
You have the option of taking your complaint to the Office of Human Rights Proceedings. For more information, you can contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau , or read the Neighbourhood Support factsheet.