Charged with shoplifting in New Jersey: penalties and options

What New Jersey calls shoplifting

New Jersey's shoplifting law, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11, covers more than walking out with something in your bag. It includes concealing merchandise with the intent to avoid paying, switching or altering price tags, moving goods to a different container to pay less, under-ringing at a register, and taking a shopping cart off the premises.

The law also creates a presumption: if someone purposely conceals unpurchased merchandise, inside or outside the store, they are presumed to have intended to avoid paying. Finding the item in your pocket or bag counts as evidence of concealment. That makes intent easier for the prosecution to argue, though a defense can still challenge it.

How the charge is graded

The grade depends on the full retail value of the merchandise involved. The grade decides which court hears the case and the possible sentence.

• Less than $200: disorderly persons offense, municipal court, up to 6 months in jail
• $200 to $500: fourth degree crime, Superior Court, up to 18 months
• More than $500 but less than $75,000: third degree crime, 3 to 5 years
• $75,000 or more: second degree crime, 5 to 10 years
• Organized retail theft enterprise: lower thresholds apply ($1,000 or more is second degree)

Mandatory community service and repeat offenses

Shoplifting has a mandatory community service rule that applies on top of other penalties. A first conviction requires at least 10 days of community service, a second at least 15 days, and a third or later conviction brings at least 90 days of jail along with community service.

Fines for a disorderly persons offense can reach $1,000, and the court can also order restitution to the store. A conviction for a disorderly persons offense is not technically a crime in New Jersey, but it still creates a record that can show up on background checks.

Diversion: conditional dismissal and PTI

Many people charged with shoplifting for the first time have options that can keep a conviction off their record.

Conditional dismissal (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13.1) is a municipal court program for disorderly persons offenses. It is generally available to people with no prior convictions who have never used a diversion program before. You enter a guilty plea, which the court holds, and you are placed on a period of supervision, typically up to one year. If you meet the conditions and stay out of trouble, the charge is dismissed. There is an application fee.

Pretrial Intervention (PTI) is the Superior Court version for indictable charges like fourth and third degree shoplifting. The prosecutor decides whether to accept you, supervision can last up to three years, and successful completion leads to dismissal. Both programs are generally a one-time opportunity, so it is worth thinking carefully about when to use one.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, be cautious. The guilty plea required for conditional dismissal can have immigration consequences even if the charge is later dismissed.

The civil demand letter

Weeks after the incident, many people receive a letter from the store or a law firm demanding money. That is a civil claim, separate from the criminal case. New Jersey law, N.J.S.A. 2A:61C-1, lets a merchant recover the retail value of merchandise that was not recovered in sellable condition (up to $500), plus a civil penalty of up to $150, and the prevailing party in a lawsuit can be awarded attorney's fees.

A store does not need a criminal conviction to bring this claim. Paying the demand does not end the criminal case, and ignoring it does not automatically mean you will be sued. A lawyer can tell you whether the amount demanded fits within the statute.

Store detentions

New Jersey allows a merchant, store security officer or police officer with probable cause to detain a suspected shoplifter in a reasonable manner for a reasonable time. Stores and officers are generally shielded from liability for a detention that meets that standard. Anything you say to store security can be used later, so keep conversations short.