this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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Shoplifting is a crime, not a business dispute.
Right. But if a business steals from you, that's a civil matter, and the cops don't get involved.
Not adding pickles to a sandwich when you asked for it isn't theft, it's an innocent mistake. You don't need to threaten someone with jailtime over it.
Let me give you a real-world example. This actually happened to me. I'm a temp working for a large corporation. The corp decides that they aren't satisfied with my work. I get a call from my temp agency saying "Your contract has been terminated."
Okay, this sucks, but it happens. However, I have a bunch of stuff (which I own) on my desk, and now I can't go back and get it because my keycard doesn't work anymore. When I show up and ask for my stuff, they tell me to email somebody, and that person doesn't reply. I even ask a friend who works there to go by my desk and set if he can get my stuff, and he says that my desk has been cleared off, and it's likely in the trash somewhere.
So, I go to the police. The police tell me that it's a civil matter, not a criminal one, and I'll have to take the corp to small claims court.
Now. If I had taken something from the corp home with me (i.e. stolen it), which would it be? A criminal matter or a civil matter? You'd better believe that would be a criminal matter and police would be involved.
It's pretty simple. You need intent to permanently deprive to be theft, and there's little chance they can nail down anybody with that intent in that case. They're not out to make you whole, they're out to arrest people. Even if they could make a criminal case, you'd have to go through the civil courts to get restitution. Since it's not a situation where they can realistically make an arrest, your only options are civil.