What is Kleptomania?

Kleptomania is recognised as a mental health condition where a person feels a strong urge, often uncontrollable, to steal things they do not need or that have little to no value. These episodes of stealing tend to happen repeatedly, and while it might seem confusing or irrational to others, it is classified as a legitimate psychological disorder. Many people with kleptomania keep it hidden and only seek help after getting into legal trouble.¹ 

For those who suffer from kleptomania, this discrepancy between medical knowledge and legal interpretation may have significant consequences. If you or anyone you know has kleptomania, reading this article further will provide you with the necessary information about how the legal system approaches kleptomania.

Understanding Kleptomania

Common Signs

Common signs of this condition include:

• Repeated, intense urges to steal items
• Feeling guilty or ashamed after the act
• A build-up of anxiety or emotional tension before stealing
• A sense of relief or satisfaction afterwards
• Constant fear of being caught or arrested

Prevalence

• Affects around 0.6% of the general population
• Found in 4-24% of people who are arrested for shoplifting
• Women are about three times more likely to experience it than men
• Typically starts in adolescence
• On average, women seek treatment around age 35, and men around age 50¹ 

Kleptomania vs. Regular Stealing

Although kleptomania is a recognised mental disorder, that does not always mean the legal system will view it as a valid excuse for stealing. Courts often struggle with balancing empathy for the condition and the enforcement of the law.

It is important to understand the difference between someone who has kleptomania and someone who steals for other reasons. Typical stealing is usually done intentionally and driven by motives such as financial gain, rebellion, or peer pressure. In contrast, people with kleptomania do not steal for a purpose; they do it because of the intense and psychological impulse they cannot control. The act is often unplanned and can happen randomly without much thought. In short, regular stealing is usually deliberate with a motive, while kleptomania is driven by an overwhelming, irrational urge.¹

Aetiology

The exact cause of kleptomania is not fully understood, but there are several theories that try to explain why it might happen.

Childhood trauma 

Some theories believe that traumatic experiences during childhood might play a role in the development. In these cases, stealing could be a symbolic way of reclaiming what was lost in childhood.¹ Research has shown that kleptomania may be more common than previously thought and that early-life experiences, especially poor parental care, lack of emotional support or abuse, could contribute to it, relating to the biopsychosocial model.² A study found that people with kleptomania had lower scores for both maternal and parental care. This suggests that parenting style might be a factor in the development.³ 

Mood disorders  

There also seems to be a strong connection between kleptomania and mood disorders. In a study, many individuals with this condition had a lifelong history of major depression, anxiety, or eating disorders. They also found that these conditions were also seen in close family members, suggesting there may be a genetic or shared environmental link. This has led researchers to think that kleptomania might be part of a broader group of conditions known as affective spectrum disorders, which are all related to mood regulation.⁴

Brain chemistry and biological factors 

Chemical imbalances in the brain may also contribute to kleptomania. Issues with neurotransmitters like dopamine (affects motivation and the brain’s reward system) and serotonin (helps regulate mood) have been linked to the condition. Particularly, low serotonin levels have been linked to impulsivity and trouble controlling urges. Some researchers have also suggested that issues with the brain’s opioid system (which regulates pleasure and pain) could make it harder for them to resist the stealing urges.⁵ 

Legal Perspective on Kleptomania

In the eyes of the law, stealing or theft is defined as taking something that belongs to someone else with the intention of permanently depriving them of it. In the UK, theft is generally addressed under the Theft Act 1968. For a conviction to be secured, the prosecution must establish two essential legal components:

• Actus reus—the physical act of stealing
• Mens rea—the mental intent to steal 

In most legal systems, the reason why someone stole something does not usually matter. What matters is whether the person knew what they were doing and intended to do it. That is where kleptomania complicates things in the legal system. While it is recognised as a legitimate mental health disorder and considered a type of behavioural addiction, it does not necessarily protect someone from being prosecuted. Despite knowing that their activities are immoral, people with kleptomania have an obsessive drive to steal. Because of this, they can still meet the criteria for intent in legal terms and are often convicted unless they can successfully claim insanity.⁷

Using Insanity as a Legal Defence

Sometimes, a person might argue that they were legally insane at the time of the stealing, which means that they could not understand or control their actions. To be able to assess this, the court would have to use a combination of cognitive and control tests to evaluate whether the individual could rationally understand what they were doing or control their behaviour. But for someone with kleptomania, this defence is rarely successful. This is because most kleptomaniacs know that what they are doing is wrong, yet they can't help themselves. So, even though they struggle with impulse control, it usually does not meet the legal threshold for insanity.⁷ 

Kleptomania as a Sentencing Factor

While kleptomania may not excuse the crime itself, it can sometimes be taken into account during sentencing. Courts may consider the mental health disorder when deciding on the severity of the punishment. However, this raises concerns: What if people take the condition to get a lighter sentence, especially if they are repeat offenders?

How the Legal System Diagnoses Kleptomania

Kleptomania is one of the few psychiatric disorders where a medical diagnosis can play a role in a criminal case. In a legal setting, it is diagnosed using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). However, diagnosing kleptomania is extremely tricky. Most of the criteria are based on what the person says about their own experiences. These self-reported symptoms are subjective and are hard to verify, which makes the diagnosis open to error or misuse, especially in court.⁸ 

To be able to accurately diagnose someone with kleptomania, clinicians need to rule out other mental health conditions that can also lead to stealing, such as conduct disorder, mania, or antisocial personality disorder. That said, the presence of conditions like depression or other personality disorders does not automatically rule out kleptomania, which can further complicate things. In short, kleptomania is a difficult and controversial diagnosis in legal cases. Courts tend to be cautious because there is often no concrete evidence or way to prove or disprove it, and even with a professional evaluation, it might not be enough to avoid legal consequences. That is why any diagnosis of kleptomania in a legal context needs to be handled with great care.⁸ 

Case Study of Kleptomania

To better understand how kleptomania can appear in real life, here is an example case. 

Case

A 45-year-old man was arrested three times in one year for shoplifting, which led authorities to evaluate him for kleptomania. He had a complex mental health history, including previous diagnoses of conduct disorder, depression, antisocial personality disorder, and alcohol dependence. His habit of shoplifting began around age 29.⁸ 

Although kleptomania has been considered a diagnosis in the past, it was never officially confirmed. One reason was the difficulty in verifying his repeated claims about stealing due to uncontrollable urges, especially in the presence of other mental health issues that, according to diagnostic guidelines, can sometimes rule out kleptomania. Another issue was that he was often intoxicated during these incidents, making it harder to assess his true mental state.⁸

He admitted to stealing for fun with friends as a teenager and resumed stealing in his late twenties, taking things he did not need or use. Over the years, he served more than seven years in prison for stealing a wide range of random low-value items like children’s scissors, crayons, colouring books, and brooches, which he would hide at home. After divorcing, he sold the house, and his ex-wife confirmed seeing many unused items. He stated that these were gifts from people who owed him money. He also explained that his stealing was not planned and that it happened on impulse, often after feeling a build-up of emotional tension that was only relieved once he had taken something.⁸

The officer assigned to his case requested his criminal and personal history, and his accounts matched consistently with the records. Even though he had other disorders and a history of conduct issues, not all of his stealing could be explained by those diagnoses. His stealing behaviours varied at different stages of life and did not always follow the same patterns. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, alcohol dependence, and kleptomania. They concluded that kleptomania was only responsible for some of his thefts, not all.⁸ 

Summary

• Kleptomania is defined as having a persistent, strong urge to steal things, often taking things that they do not need or use
• In most legal cases, kleptomania is not accepted as a valid excuse for theft
• Diagnosing kleptomania is difficult, especially in a legal context, because it relies heavily on self-reported symptoms, which are hard to verify
• Courts are often reluctant to accept kleptomania as a defence due to the lack of evidence
• The insanity defence is rarely successful in kleptomania cases since most individuals with the condition are aware that their actions are wrong
• If kleptomania is acknowledged, it may help reduce the sentence, but would not typically lead to dismissal of charges