I Was On Camera, Will I Get Caught Shoplifting?

[laws are good]

I went to Target and stole a $30 merchandise. I was careful about the cameras and all. It was actually a box of sports cards. I took the packs out of the box and put the box back on the shelf. The box looks as if it was never opened, except the plastic seal was off the box. I had the cards in my pocket and walked out the store: no one stopped me. This happened a couple days ago. Will Target track him down? Will cops get involved?

Hopefully Target doesn't track me down. I feel really guilty and never should've done it. Please tell me what will happen...

[gigirle]

Probably nothing will happen. But no one here can say for sure. My crystal ball is in the shop getting fixed. How about you come back and ask what to do IF and WHEN you get caught. Learn from your mistakes and dont do it again.

[panther10758]

If Target has evidence of theft (video or eye witiness) then they can pursue charges. If they got your plates or have your information via a credit/debit card its not hard to find you. All they need to do is file a report with DA or Police and sometime within statute of limitations you can be arrested and charged. I would reframe from returning to this retailer to avaoid being stopped by LP and held until Police arrive.

[bam!]

Target has state of the art camera systems. They have solved many major crimes. They give a lot of money to local police departments. They have a very aggressive policy on theft.

Ok. You stole. They find the empty package. They know that package wasn't there before say 8AM when the store opened. It is now 5PM. They call security. Security uses their state of art camera system (which includes multiple DVR's and video analytics) to find out who dropped the item off in that spot. Then they backtrack all the way to when you entered the store. From there, they track you to your vehicle and get the vehicle plate numbers. From there, they forward that to the local police for whom they recently gave funds for new police vehicles and took the local police chief out to dinner. Pretty much you are screwed.

But for a $30 pack of cards? Only if the security dude was extremely bored....but it could happen.

[laws are good]

There were like two police officers at the door and my car was parked far away...

What are my chances of getting caught? Anyone else experience something like this? How long does it take the police to call or visit me?

I'll never do this again, I feel so guilty...

[Mouser]

You have very little to worry about. Target may have a state of the art surveillance system, but they cannot alocate a lot of man power to back track petty thefts while organized shoplifting rings make off with tons of merchandise. Some employee has probably picked up the empty box and thrown it in the loss bin in the manager's office; from there it's written off as a loss and reported to Target's theft insurance. The police will not come after you for this. What city did this happen in? The size of the city is sometimes inversely proportional to the likelyhood of police involvement after the fact.

[laws are good]

Thank you for your help. It's keeping me at ease right now, but I still feel extremely guilty. Let's just say that the area that I shoplifted was in a so-so environment(not very good, but not very bad), but with many other retail department stores around the area.

[Mouser]

It's really not worth their time to pursue this. The most they will likely do is try to find you on camera and just make note of you for when you come in next time--if they even do that. relax and forget about it; just never do it again, beacuse if they catrch you they WILL prosecute.

[laws are good]

Alright thank you for your help. I will never do this again, I will always regret doing this.

[panther10758]

Lets be honest the likeihood Target will pursue this is low. However if they discover theft while looking at something else and (as Bam states) the LP is bored yes they can. No one here can say for sure. there is much we do not know. Your best option is to stay out of Target and cross your fingers for next year