The incident took place on Thursday, September 3, at one of the Dino chain’s stores in the Nowogrodziec municipality, shortly before closing time. The unknown perpetrator first paid for his goods, but moments later, when the cashier was giving him his change, he took money from the cash register and fled.
The matter was reported to the police. Officers secured the surveillance footage. Efforts are under way to establish the thief’s identity and arrest him. Interestingly, he will face charges for “particularly audacious theft”, which carries a sentence of between six months and as much as eight years in prison. (Let us recall that “ordinary” theft carries a sentence of between three months and five years in prison.)
What is audacious theft?
In June, while passing the so-called anti-COVID Shield legislation, MPs amended the Criminal Code. Harsher penalties for shoplifters were introduced. As we read on the “Rzeczpospolita” website:
Particularly audacious theft will be deemed to have occurred in two cases: first, when the perpetrator’s conduct demonstrates a dismissive or defiant attitude toward the owner of the property or other people, or when they use “force of a kind other than force against a person in order to take control of property.”
Second, it will include the theft of movable property located directly on a person or in clothing worn by that person, or carried or moved by that person under conditions of direct contact, as well as property located in objects carried or moved under such conditions.
Importantly, in the case of particularly audacious theft, the value of the stolen goods or cash is irrelevant—the act is treated as a FELONY, even if the perpetrator takes something such as a candy bar. In the case of “traditional” theft, however, the threshold is PLN 500. Theft below this amount is still treated as a MISDEMEANOR.