Theft

Theft is directed against the property of another offense. What behavior manifests itself in individual cases as theft, determined according to the constituent elements of the national criminal provisions, such as § 242 of the Criminal Code ( Germany ), or § 127Vorlage: § / Maintenance / RIS Search Criminal Code ( Austria ).

Legal situation in individual countries

• Germany: Theft ( Germany )
• England and Wales: Theft (England and Wales)
• France: Theft (France)
• Austria: Theft ( Austria )
• Switzerland: Theft ( Switzerland )

Others

Klaufen

Klaufen is a humorous, from stealing and buy combined neologism (contamination ) from the 1970s, which is mostly used by young people. What is meant is, in addition to the stolen goods to another purchase. Preference is given to articles of little value, usually drinks or display goods in the checkout area are.

If a person leaves the business without obviously have bought something, the attentiveness of the staff will instinctively drawn to problems such as irritable behavior, bulging backpack bags, hanging out labels or baggy pockets. In seminars sales staff will then trained to make thieves from the behavior identified. Thus, in order from the typical behavioral profile of a thief (Enter - Search - steal - left ) to fall out, a thief uses consciously or unconsciously a psychological strategy:

Go socializing

Go socialize the name above all of the seventies was especially used for shoplifting in radical left milieu. It is based on criticism of the private ownership: theft was legitimized as anticipated socialization on your own, however, the transition between primary politically legitimated fact, simple protection or assertion (often ironic ) euphemism is difficult to draw.

Beischlafdiebstahl

Problems surrounding the term kleptomania

Shoplifting committed generally to low-grade stolen property. Subsequently therefore arises mostly the question of whether the thief had actually needed to steal. This question is implicitly based on the assumption that thefts stem from a rational decision, such as: " I need some mandatory, but it can not afford: therefore it is reasonable to steal it. "

The German crime statistics for shoplifting reveals that only a very small percentage of thefts committed out of genuine material need.

Due to this only apparent contradiction ( asset position of the thief - low value of the stolen goods ) is repeatedly argued that it could ( it should ) but a kind of mental disorder is based. Almost inevitably, the term kleptomania is then brought into play. However, courts and forensic psychiatry require the explicit proof of recognized mental disorders to criminal culpability classified as reduced or canceled in case of theft (also as with all other offenses ). Only the absence of rational theft reasons and the presence of completely non-specific phenomena (such as a tension before the theft and a decrease in tension after the theft, or guilt ) can not prove the existence of a mental illness. The often mentioned in this context layman's term kleptomania rejects the forensic psychiatry from hence.