At the beginning of Rule of the Bone, Chappie's conception of "real crime" is rather nebulous. Still a young man, he strives to form an identity (which includes a moral position about the definition and meaning of the criminal act) mainly by observing and repeating the behavior of his peers.
At first, Chappie conceives of crime as an act which rejects social norms as they are encoded into regulation and law. However, built into this idea is the belief that disobeying law admits one into a whole new identity with its own community and norms. When he goes to the mall to shoplift, he expects social support, even praise, from the people close to him. This belief dissolves when he returns home to flaunt his spoils, and receives only scorn from his parents. Later, when Chappie obtains $20 from his mother on the fraudulent premise of a rent payment, he begins to understand that "real" crime offers no social recourse to an identity: it is utterly alienating, and demolishes the trust that human relationships rely on.
Chappie is indeed a real criminal because he's leading the lifestyle associated with criminals in his neighborhood. He hangs out at a store called Video Den with some bikers for whom he sells drugs; when he's not at the store, Chappie's hanging out at the mall, checking out the girls and shoplifting. He thought he'd impress his family by bringing back some stuff he'd stolen from the mall, but after he gets caught shoplifting items at Victoria's Secret, his parents are very upset. Nevertheless, they still allow Chappie to come home.
Once at home, he asks his mother for some money for rent. She gives him $20.00. This is when Chappie views himself as a "real criminal." He's openly lied to his mother, obtaining money under false pretenses. This is how criminals behave; they will lie to the people they're supposed to care about for their own personal gain.
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