When people think of shoplifting charges, they typically think of someone going into a physical store and stealing an item from the shelves.
However, shoplifting as a crime actually covers more actions than this simple act of physical theft. What else can lead to a shoplifting charge, then?
Texas Penal Code discusses numerous other offenses that carry a shoplifting charge beyond simply stealing items.
Concealment of items
First: concealing items. It is something that some people do without any nefarious intentions. If a person, for example, puts a pair of sunglasses into a box of shoes when they ant to buy both, they may do so to make the items easier to carry. However, employees might have a suspicion that the person is attempting to hide an item so they can remove it without payment.
Disabling security devices
Next: removing or disabling security devices. The use of tools to disable security cameras can result in a person getting arrested before they even leave the store, whether or not they intended to actually steal anything or even have any contraband on hand.
Messing with price tags
Finally: messing around with price tags. The removal, alteration or replacement of price tags is a punishable offense. People sometimes attempt to do this in order to avoid outright stealing. However, attempting to get an enormous discount through a false price tag is still a form of theft. Thus, the penal code will treat it as a shoplifting incident.
Any of these actions can land a person with the same sort of charges that someone outright stealing could face.