# Code Adam and storekeeper's privilege **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308 "2018-12-18T03:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/101 "2018-12-20T13:26:07Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I had a Walmart receipt checker demand to check my receipt at the exit doors. I declined and she aggressively grabbed my cart and wouldn’t let go and I wasn’t leaving without it. The argument escalated and, after a long few minutes, a manager-type told her to stand down. It wasn’t exactly [/r/publicfreakout](https://www.reddit.com/r/publicfreakout) material but a far more heated discussion with a stranger than I’d experienced in years. > > False imprisonment? I don’t know. I probably could have run past her but doing so would have meant abandoning my stuff. It seems to me that if you have to leave your possessions to leave, a case could be made. I’m sorry but I’ll never understand this mentality. You went through a hassle to avoid a 2 second check of your receipt? Every time I leave Costco they do this and I don’t even have to break stride. Seriously, I would pick my battles more wisely. And before you counter with “no just cause” I’ll just say stores get ripped off all the time and they’re sick of it. Theft causes price increases. If they want to make sure I’m not one of those vermin who steal, the 2 seconds for a receipt check are worth it to me too and should be to any reasonable person. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/102 "2018-12-20T13:34:49Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Wait a minute. If a crime is committed in a building, isn’t everyone inside at the time by definition a suspect? Surely it would depend on the circumstances, wouldn’t it? If it’s a small house and there are two people in it, sure, maybe, but a retail store might have hundreds of people in it at a busy time. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/103 "2018-12-20T15:07:23Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I’m sorry but I’ll never understand this mentality. You went through a hassle to avoid a 2 second check of your receipt? Every time I leave Costco they do this and I don’t even have to break stride. Seriously, I would pick my battles more wisely I wonder if you agreed to stop at the door when you signed your Costco membership. As for other stores; at he risk of being guilty of classism there is something about a demanding, underpaid Shlub looking through bags and receipts Like the exiting customer might be a thief that rubs some people the wrong way. I have observed that the demeanor of the store employee has a lot to do with how folks respond. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/104 "2018-12-20T16:46:24Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I’m sorry but I’ll never understand this mentality. You went through a hassle to avoid a 2 second check of your receipt? Every time I leave Costco they do this and I don’t even have to break stride. Seriously, I would pick my battles more wisely. > > And before you counter with “no just cause” I’ll just say stores get ripped off all the time and they’re sick of it. Theft causes price increases. If they want to make sure I’m not one of those vermin who steal, the 2 seconds for a receipt check are worth it to me too and should be to any reasonable person. It was a remarkable event because of the hassle. Almost every other time\* I’ve declined a request to show my receipt has been smooth sailing right out the door. One should always decline a request to submit to a voluntary search like this. To illustrate, I’m going to need you to hand me your wallet. That reflexive LOL, NO! should be applied to any unjustified, unnecessary search. Don’t be a sucker. If someone is going to accuse another of theft, there had better be some evidence. Besides, I already threw my receipt away/didn’t take it from the cashier/it’s buried in one of my shopping bags. All of this sets aside that fact that receipt checking is pure security theatrics. I’ve got a cart full of stuff and a ‘two second’ glance at an easily counterfeited slip of thermal printer paper isn’t going to catch anything. Consider how few retailers even bother. \*After sidestepping a receipt checker at Guitar Center years ago, she followed me out and dutifully wrote down my license plate. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/105 "2018-12-20T17:47:34Z")
The biggest problem at the work where I work is people trying to get in after we’re closed. We lock the door and station a worker at the entrance to let people out. However, we are plagued with people who want to come in “for one item,” which will magically turn into half a cart. We cannot let them in, and they get all upset. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/106 "2018-12-20T18:25:29Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I’m sorry but I’ll never understand this mentality. You went through a hassle to avoid a 2 second check of your receipt? Every time I leave Costco they do this and I don’t even have to break stride. Seriously, I would pick my battles more wisely. > > And before you counter with “no just cause” I’ll just say stores get ripped off all the time and they’re sick of it. Theft causes price increases. If they want to make sure I’m not one of those vermin who steal, the 2 seconds for a receipt check are worth it to me too and should be to any reasonable person. Costco is a membership store, not open to the general public. They are allowed to demand your receipt. Walmart is not. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/107 "2018-12-20T19:29:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Costco is a membership store, not open to the general public. They are allowed to demand your receipt. Walmart is not. Its a sidetrack to the OP. But I never got this explanation. Why would it being a membership store allow Costco to stop you LEAVING, rather than entering the store, legally speaking. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/108 "2018-12-20T19:31:24Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Its a sidetrack to the OP. But I never got this explanation. Why would it being a membership store allow Costco to stop you LEAVING, rather than entering the store, legally speaking. They cant actually stop you, but if you don’t comply they can revoke your membership. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/109 "2018-12-20T20:33:02Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > LEOs are trained to know what PC is for a warrantless arrest and generally are not so impetuous. But the standards are the same. If an LEO arrests someone for something that clearly established law says that he is not allowed to arrest them for, he is subject to criminal and civil penalties, the same as a citizen. That is the example I’m thinking of - an LEO arresting someone for a made-up crime like filming an officer in public or not showing an identification card. Those are not crimes, an LEO arrests you, has he kidnapped you? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/110 "2018-12-20T20:39:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > That is the example I’m thinking of - an LEO arresting someone for a made-up crime like filming an officer in public or not showing an identification card. Those are not crimes, an LEO arrests you, has he kidnapped you? IANAL but I think the best you can hope for is a civil case for [False Arrest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_arrest). Also possibly a federal civil rights case if the incident is so blatant and well publicized that the feds get involved (on your side, not cop’s) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/111 "2018-12-20T20:45:12Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I’m sorry but I’ll never understand this mentality. You went through a hassle to avoid a 2 second check of your receipt? Every time I leave Costco they do this and I don’t even have to break stride. Seriously, I would pick my battles more wisely. > > And before you counter with “no just cause” I’ll just say stores get ripped off all the time and they’re sick of it. Theft causes price increases. If they want to make sure I’m not one of those vermin who steal, the 2 seconds for a receipt check are worth it to me too and should be to any reasonable person. 1. You have to let Costco check off your receipt as a condition of the membership agreement. Walmart is not the same. 2. “People steal from us.” is not enough to FORCE me to give up my rights. Asking me to show my receipt? OK. Illegally detaining me if I do not? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/112 "2018-12-20T21:02:24Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > 1. You have to let Costco check off your receipt as a condition of the membership agreement. Walmart is not the same. > > 2. “People steal from us.” is not enough to FORCE me to give up my rights. Asking me to show my receipt? OK. Illegally detaining me if I do not? Nope. For me the line is if there is a queue to have your receipt checked. Happy to quickly show my receipt on the way out if asked, but there is no way I am going take time out of my day queuing up to prove I have not stolen anything from the shop I just gave my money to. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/113 "2018-12-20T21:38:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Costco is a membership store, not open to the general public. They are allowed to demand your receipt. Walmart is not. Any store can demand your receipt. And you can refuse and walk out and not be detained without probable cause that you’ve done something which warrants being detained, such as shoplifting. > [@](#): > > They cant actually stop you, but if you don’t comply they can revoke your membership. Similarly, Walmart can bar you from entry. There are no differences between Walmart and Costco in this instance, other than it being easier for Costco to identify you as someone who has been banned. “Costco is allowed and Walmart isn’t”, isn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/114 "2018-12-20T22:39:09Z")
Also, regarding this: > [@DrDeth](#): > > Costco is a membership store, not open to the general public. Costco is open to the general public- just show up with a Costco Cash Card or buy alcohol, prescription medicine, etc. > **[9 ways to shop at Costco without a membership](https://www.businessinsider.com/shop-at-costco-without-membership-2018-3)** > > Costco charges $60 a year for a basic membership to shop at the warehouse club — but there are ways to take shop there without being a member. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/115 "2018-12-20T23:08:55Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Also, regarding this: > > Costco is open to the general public- just show up with a Costco Cash Card or buy alcohol, prescription medicine, etc. > > [How to Shop at Costco Without a Membership](https://www.businessinsider.com/shop-at-costco-without-membership-2018-3) Yeah, but in general only members can shop there- or buy those cards. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/116 "2018-12-20T23:19:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, but in general only members can shop there- or buy those cards. Members have to buy you the card. “In general”, anyone can shop there without a membership, with restrictions. But any differences between how I define “in general” and you do don’t affect my argument. “They are allowed to demand your receipt” is no different then what other stores can do, and it’s especially comparable to how they don’t differ from other stores in this regard with the added knowledge that one can shop there without a membership. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/117 "2018-12-20T23:59:49Z")
Shoplifting is such a massive hit to retailers I’m surprised the receipt checks aren’t more commom. This time of year the Wal-Mart I go to has law enforcement at the doors. I guess to have a LE representative to maybe discourage a thief. I don’t like to have to stop and have my cart checked. I’d prefer not to even be in the store, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It’s harmless. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/118 "2018-12-21T00:13:19Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > What are the police for if not to protect and serve? You’re not going to like the [answer.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/19/parkland-shooting-judge-school-cops-no-duty-protect-kids/2360683002/) The primary objective of law enforcement at any level is to maintain order so the governmental unit which they serve can continue to function. EVERYTHING else is secondary. And that is a long standing precedent, having been argued all the way to SCOTUS. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/119 "2018-12-21T00:15:19Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t like to have to stop and have my cart checked. Then say “no thank you” and keep walking. I have never had a problem when doing that. > [@](#): > > but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. In this case you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308/120 "2018-12-21T00:18:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Shoplifting is such a massive hit to retailers I’m surprised the receipt checks aren’t more commom. This time of year the Wal-Mart I go to has law enforcement at the doors. I guess to have a LE representative to maybe discourage a thief. > I don’t like to have to stop and have my cart checked. I’d prefer not to even be in the store, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It’s harmless. It could be as a courtesy but it’s also quite possible, even probable, that the department that has officers at your Walmart door may be billing the store for the coverage. There are agencies that do that just as they do it for extra traffic controls at large funerals and special events. When there is a fair or large market at one of our parks in which extra police presence is necessary the promoter of such show is advised they will receive a bill. And extra presence is required by ordinance for certain events so they have no choice. This does not make the police an employee of the promoter or company putting on the show and paying for the coverage. In fact, some years ago I wrote a show promoter a citation for public urination on the park grounds he was holding the show and paying for extra coverage by us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/code-adam-and-storekeepers-privilege/826308.md?page=7)