What happens after a shoplifting arrest in Florida?

Florida calls shoplifting "retail theft." Section 812.015 defines it broadly: taking or carrying away merchandise, money or property, but also altering or removing a price tag or bar code, moving goods into another container, or removing a shopping cart, with intent to deprive the merchant of the item or its full retail value (s. 812.015(1)(i)). The degree of the charge then comes from the general theft statute, explained in when theft becomes a felony in Florida. How Mr. Mead defends theft cases is on our theft defense page. The other charges he handles are listed under criminal defense.

What happens after a shoplifting arrest, step by step?

1. Store detention. A merchant or employee with probable cause may take the person into custody and hold him or her "in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time" to recover the goods or for prosecution, and must call law enforcement immediately (s. 812.015(3)(a)). An anti-theft alarm going off at the exit is reasonable cause to stop someone briefly, if the store posts notice that it uses such devices (s. 812.015(3)(b)).
2. Police decision. An officer may arrest for retail theft without a warrant, on or off the store's premises (s. 812.015(4)). For a misdemeanor, many people receive a notice to appear with a court date instead of going to jail; others are booked.
3. First appearance or release. Anyone booked sees a judge within 24 hours, where release conditions are set, as described in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Palm Beach or Broward.
4. Filing decision. The State Attorney reviews the report and store video and decides what to file. In Palm Beach County, retail theft is one of the misdemeanors the State Attorney's County Court Division names as typical of its caseload.
5. Arraignment. The person, or a lawyer by written plea, enters a plea and diversion may be discussed. Our page on whether you have to go to your arraignment explains the options.
6. Resolution. The case ends in diversion, a dismissal, a plea or a trial. If convicted, restitution is mandatory (s. 812.015(12)).

How serious is the charge?

For retail theft, "value of merchandise" means the sale price when it was taken (s. 812.015(1)(n)), which is usually easier for the State to prove than the market value used in other theft cases. A second or later petit theft conviction from a merchant brings the mandatory fine of $50 to $1,000, which the court may replace with public service hours (s. 812.015(2)). The ceilings are compared across all crimes in our chart of Florida criminal penalties.

What is the civil demand letter, and do I have to pay it?

Weeks after the arrest, many people receive a letter from the store or its law firm demanding money. That letter comes from a different law, section 772.11, which lets a person injured by a theft sue for three times the actual damages, with a minimum of $200, plus attorney's fees. Before suing, the claimant must send a written demand for $200 or the treble amount, and if the person pays within 30 days of receiving it, he or she must get a written release from further civil liability for that act. Parents can be liable for an unemancipated minor who lives with them.

Two points matter. First, the civil demand and the criminal case are separate: paying does not dismiss the charge, and not paying is not a crime. Second, anything written back to the store can be used as evidence. Whether to respond is a decision best made with a lawyer who knows where the criminal case stands.

Can a first shoplifting charge be diverted in Palm Beach or Broward?

Often it can be considered, but diversion is never automatic. In Broward, the State Attorney's Misdemeanor Diversion Program is for first-time offenders, is supervised by Broward Sheriff's Office Probation, and eligibility and approval are decided at arraignment. The office charges $150 per defendant for the costs of prosecution and says no refunds are given, whether or not the participant completes the program. In Palm Beach County, the State Attorney says many misdemeanor cases handled at its Belle Glade, North County and South County offices "result in plea offers and pretrial diversion." The statewide rules, felony programs and timing are compared in pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward. Misdemeanors from Boca Raton and the other south county cities are usually heard at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

What changes the answer?

• The price and the count. The sale price sets the degree, and items from one scheme can be aggregated; retail theft also has 120-day aggregation rules for organized and repeat thefts (s. 812.015(8), (9)).
• Prior thefts. One prior raises the degree and triggers the mandatory fine; two or more make it a felony (ss. 812.014(3), 812.015(2)).
• Tools. A foil-lined bag or tag remover can make it a felony even when the goods are cheap (s. 812.015(7)), and the Broward State Attorney lists possession of an anti-shoplifting control device among the charges not eligible for its felony pretrial intervention program.
• What happened at the door. Resisting recovery is a separate misdemeanor, unless the person did not know or have reason to know who was trying to recover the goods (s. 812.015(6)).
• Age. For a person under 18 with no prior record, the court may suspend or delay a driver license for 6 months to 1 year as an alternative sentence (s. 812.0155). Juvenile cases are covered on our juvenile offenses page.
• A firearm. Carrying a firearm during an organized retail theft makes it a first-degree felony (s. 812.015(11)(b)).
• Gas station drive-offs. Leaving without paying for gas is petit theft and adds a driver license suspension of up to 6 months for a first conviction and 1 year after that (s. 812.014(5)).

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical 23-year-old in Fort Lauderdale stopped at a store exit with cosmetics priced at $180 in a tote bag, no prior record, and given a notice to appear. Under the statutes, that is first-degree petit theft, a misdemeanor with a maximum of 1 year and $1,000. At arraignment the State would decide whether to offer the Misdemeanor Diversion Program, which would mean BSO supervision, the $150 costs of prosecution and the program's conditions, with the case dropped on completion. A few weeks later, a civil demand letter asking for a few hundred dollars might arrive; paying it would not end the criminal case. If the tote bag had been lined with foil to defeat the alarm, the same $180 case could be charged as a third-degree felony under s. 812.015(7). This illustration is not a prediction for any case.

Common mistakes people make

• Signing a written "confession" or statement for store security without understanding it can be used in court.
• Treating the civil demand letter as the end of the matter, or ignoring the court date because the store was paid.
• Missing the arraignment, which can lead to a warrant and can cost a diversion opportunity.
• Not mentioning old theft pleas from another state, which can change the degree.
• Going back to the store after a trespass warning, which can create a new charge.
• Posting about the incident on social media.

What to do this week

1. Find the notice to appear or arrest paperwork and note the court date, courtroom and statute.
2. Keep any receipts, bank records or messages that show what was paid for.
3. Write down what happened at the store while it is fresh: who stopped you, for how long, what was said.
4. Do not respond to the civil demand letter until you have advice.
5. Stay away from the store if you were given a trespass warning.
6. Talk to a defense attorney about diversion before arraignment.

Frequently asked questions

Can a store hold me until the police come?

Yes, if it has probable cause, and only in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time; the store must call law enforcement immediately (s. 812.015(3)). A store that follows these rules is protected from false arrest claims (s. 812.015(3)(c), (5)).

Will I go to jail for a first shoplifting charge?

Jail is possible up to the maximum for the degree, but a first misdemeanor case often ends in other ways, such as diversion or a plea without jail. No outcome can be promised.

Do I have to pay the civil demand?

The law gives the store a right to demand $200 or treble damages and to sue (s. 772.11). Paying within 30 days gets a release from civil liability for that act, but it does not affect the criminal case.

Can a shoplifting arrest be sealed?

A case dismissed as to all counts is often sealed automatically, and other outcomes may qualify for court-ordered sealing. See our page on automatic record sealing.

What if I forgot an item in my cart?

Theft requires intent to deprive the merchant of the item. Store video, receipts and what was said at the door often decide whether intent can be proven.

Does a withhold of adjudication help?

A withhold avoids a formal conviction and can matter for sealing, though it can still count in some later proceedings. See what a withhold of adjudication is.

How can Mr. Mead help?

Mr. Mead's practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, with more than three decades in South Florida courts. In a shoplifting case, the store video, the price evidence, the prior record and the timing of a diversion request all matter, and they are worth reviewing before arraignment. The office is in Boca Raton, Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you were arrested for shoplifting, a confidential call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

Request a Call Back