Lisa Pelosi: No. I think it varies. Some people can afford to purchase a merchandise but there are some emotional issue that they are going through and which makes them, for some reason, feel control of themselves by shoplifting and it makes them feel good to take it without paying for it. I’ve had many cases where people can clearly afford the item that they’re accused of taking and in fact, often times, they’ve spent hundreds of dollars in the store and they just might take a lipstick or a tie or something of that nature and there’s no real financial reason for them to be doing so.
People May be Unaware That They’ve Committed a Shoplifting Offense
Interviewer: What explanation do they give you for that? Do they know why sometimes or is it just something they’re like “I don’t know”, like a little buzz?
Lisa Pelosi: Yes, it’s hard to tell. Sometimes, they don’t even realize that they’re doing it, like they just do it and they don’t realize it or often times, people really aren’t even taking the items, often times it’s just the lapse of sort of judgment at the register and you have something in your hand and you start to go out of the store or you inadvertently put something at some place and then, the next thing is you’re charged with shoplifting.
How Does a Person Inadvertently Commit Theft or Shoplifting?
Interviewer: Right. And I could relate to that. I mean there’s sometimes where — I mean I use to be a smoker, so I’d always have a habit of pocketing lighters and my friends would always say, like “Hey, you just pocketed my lighter”, and I’m like, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that”. I think just that in itself, that action, I was like man, I got to be careful with that because that can get me into some trouble.
Lisa Pelosi: Yes. That’s what happens if someone takes a pen inadvertently and that does happen often times. People are accused of shoplifting when it’s just something that they didn’t realize they were doing. I had one woman who was at a known department store and she actually brought with her a clear plastic bag that she was putting items in because she was doing a lot of shopping and she had no intention of taking anything, she was just using it as a storage bag as she was shopping and she caught herself in a very serious situation.
Cases of Inadvertent Shoplifting Can be Amicably Resolved by a Competent Attorney
We were able to have the case dismissed against her. But yes, often times, things that we do that we think are logical and normal and that inadvertently, our actions cause store security to see it as something more than what we intended. So, I do handle a lot of cases of people who did make a mistake like that and we have to try to explain to the prosecutor that this is a person who’s never been arrested and clearly had enough funds to pay for the items and we’ve been successful with those cases many times.
A Child May Accidentally Take Something and that Could Be Construed as Shoplifting
Interviewer: Have you ever seen babies or children that accidentally put something in the basket or take something and there’s a parent at fault because of that?
Lisa Pelosi: I’ve had colleagues that had cases like that but I’ve never had a case like that but that is something that store security can misread that and think that the parent or the adult with the child was involved with the theft.
