North Dakota Shoplifting Laws

12.1-23-01. Consolidation of theft offenses.

1. Conduct denominated theft in sections 12.1-23-02 to 12.1-23-04 constitutes a single offense designed to include the separate offenses heretofore known as larceny, stealing, purloining, embezzlement, obtaining money or property by false pretenses, extortion, blackmail, fraudulent conversion, receiving stolen property, misappropriation of public funds, swindling, and the like.

12.1-23-10. Definitions for theft and related offenses. In this chapter:

3. "Deprive" means:

a. To withhold property or to cause it to be withheld either permanently or under such circumstances that a major portion of its economic value, or its use and benefit, has, in fact, been appropriated;

b. To withhold property or to cause it to be withheld with the intent to restore it only upon the payment of a reward or other compensation; or

c. To dispose of property or use it or transfer any interest in it under circumstances that make its restoration, in fact, unlikely.

6. "Obtain" means:

a. In relation to property, to bring about a transfer or purported transfer of an interest in the property, whether to the actor or another.

7. "Property" means any money, tangible or intangible personal property, property (whether real or personal) the location of which can be changed (including things growing on, affixed to, or found in land and documents although the rights represented thereby have no physical location), contract right, chose-in-action, interest in or claim to wealth, credit, or any other article or thing of value of any kind. "Property" also means real property the location of which cannot be moved if the offense involves transfer or attempted transfer of an interest in the property.

8. "Property of another" means property in which a person other than the actor or in which a government has an interest which the actor is not privileged to infringe without consent, regardless of the fact that the actor also has an interest in the property and regardless of the fact that the other person or government might be precluded from civil recovery because the property was used in an unlawful transaction or was subject to forfeiture as contraband. Property in possession of the actor shall not be deemed property of another who has a security interest therein, even if legal title is in the creditor pursuant to a conditional sales contract or other security agreement. "Owner" means any person or a government with an interest in property such that it is "property of another" as far as the actor is concerned.

12.1-23-14. Detention of persons suspected of unlawful use or removal of theft detection devices - Reasonable cause.

1. The activation of an antishoplifting or inventory control device as a result of a person exiting the establishment or a protected area within the establishment constitutes reasonable cause for the detention of the person exiting by the owner or operator of the establishment or by an agent or employee of the owner or operator, provided sufficient notice has been posted to advise the patrons that the device is being utilized. Each detention must be made in a reasonable manner and only for a reasonable period of time sufficient for any inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the activation of the device or for the recovery of goods.

2. If the taking into custody and detention of the person by a law enforcement officer, security officer, merchant, or merchant's employee is done in compliance with the requirements of this section, the law enforcement officer, security officer, merchant, or merchant's employee may not be held criminally or civilly liable, including any liability for false arrest, false imprisonment, unlawful detention, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, or defamation.

12.1-23-02. Theft of property. A person is guilty of theft if he:

1. Knowingly takes or exercises unauthorized control over, or makes an unauthorized transfer of an interest in, the property of another with intent to deprive the owner thereof;

2. Knowingly obtains the property of another by deception or by threat with intent to deprive the owner thereof, or intentionally deprives another of his property by deception or by threat; or

3. Knowingly receives, retains, or disposes of property of another which has been stolen, with intent to deprive the owner thereof.

12.1-23-07. Misapplication of entrusted property.

1. A person is guilty of misapplication of entrusted property if the person disposes of, uses, or transfers any interest in property that has been entrusted to the person as a fiduciary, or in the person's capacity as a public servant or an officer, director, agent, employee of, or a person controlling a financial institution, in a manner that the person knows is not authorized and that the person knows to involve a risk of loss or detriment to the owner of the property or to the government or other person for whose benefit the property was entrusted.

2. Misapplication of entrusted property is:

a. A class B felony if the value of the property misapplied exceeds ten thousand dollars.

b. A class C felony if the value of the property misapplied exceeds five hundred dollars but does not exceed ten thousand dollars.

c. A class A misdemeanor if the value of the property misapplied exceeds two hundred fifty dollars but does not exceed five hundred dollars.

d. A class B misdemeanor in all other cases.

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