Shoplifting As A Felony (S 822)

We opposed legislation which would make it a felony, punishable by five years in prison, for two individuals associated with each other to shoplift a piece of merchandise. As it currently stands, a person who engages in shoplifting can be punished by as little as a $50 fine. Yet this bill would greatly exaggerate the stakes if the shoplifting is done in tandem with another person. We argued that if two or more people act together to steal expensive items from a store, they can be charged under the law accordingly, but turning every minor piece of shoplifting into a felony because two people do it together creates an abuse of the criminal law that should not be allowed.