Petit Larceny involves a theft of a good or service with a value of less than $1,000.00. The crime of Petit Larceny is enunciated in the Penal Law section 155.25. Any New York Petit Larceny Lawyer will tell you that if the value of the theft does exceed $1,000.00 it is Grand Larceny. Petit Larceny is one of is most frequently broken Criminal Laws in New York. In retail stores, Petit Larceny is often referred to as Shoplifting. Most often Shoplifting is perpetrated by teenagers or young adults and is incredibly costly. Along with Security, it is one of the single biggest line items in any Department Store's loss prevention budget. That is one of the reasons the District Attorneys in NYC, Nassau County and Suffolk County have deemed Petit Larceny a quality of life crime. It raises prices for consumers and puts an unnecessary financial burden on Law Enforcement and The Criminal Justice System. In fact, there is a civil statute that is connected to theft crimes, which allows the victims to sue the perpetrator of Petit Larceny for 5x the amount of the goods that were stolen. This is a separate action above and beyond the Criminal Case. If you are arrested for Petit Larceny in a Department or Retail Store, The Security Team in the store will tell you that you are required to sign a confession or you will not be released. They are legally allowed to hold you until the Police arrive. However, they cannot force you to sign anything and you should not. They are not Police and they work for the store. So, whose interest are they trying to protect? Tell them you want to speak to a Criminal Lawyer. Even after the Police arrive, sign nothing, admit nothing and ask to speak to a Lawyer. They may tell you that they have the theft on videotape but that might not be the truth. Either way, your New York Petit Larceny Lawyer will have the right to "discover" that information or get a copy of the videotape when you are in Court. We reiterate that they will not let you go if you sign a confession.

Many times in a Shoplifting case there is more than one person taken into custody. The Security Officers or the Police will separate you from the other alleged suspects. They will then tell you that the other suspect has confessed and has implicated you. Do not fall for this tactic. Do not confess to anything since it makes it harder to defend your Shoplifting case. Again we reiterate; do not confess and ask to speak to your New York Shoplifting Defense Lawyer.

We at Stephen Bilkis and Associates have experienced and knowledgeable New York Petit Larceny and New York Shoplifting Lawyers that can help those charges with Petit Larceny. Each Criminal Lawyer in our office is available to you and our Criminal Defense Firm offers a free consultation to discuss your Petit Larceny charge. So call us at 1800- NY-NY LAW. We can meet you at one of our convenient locations in NYC including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx or Long Island in Nassau County and Suffolk County. Our phone number is 1800- NY -NY LAW.