I heard an old friend of mine back home got caught stealing from the local Target, from my understanding, about $20 worth of CD’s and some candy. He’s not the brightest character, and that’s not why I’m here.
I was talking with my friend Greg who told me about this happening, and I said that if my arrested friend had known/wanted, he could have left the premises even after being told by the Target security to stop and wait. Greg is saying they have a right to physically hold you there, and if you resist them, they can likely call it violent.
My understanding, though I can’t find any cases on this situation to back it up now, was that anyone other than the government/law/police holding you against your will was called “False Imprisonment” or “Illegal Imprisonment”. I remember reading somewhere that even when the person has stolen from the premises, they can not be held against their will, because it would either be violent or false imprisonment.
So who’s right? Greg or me? And are there any good cases about this? (Federal or Arizona cases would be optimal).
And on a side note, is there a free database of U.S. court cases online? Possibly with a keyword search option? I couldn’t find it.
Target is most certainly within there rights to detain people who are caught stealing until law enforcement gets there. What kind of world would it be if we didn’t allow this? As long as they follow certain procedures such as calling the police in a timely manner and not further escalting the incident (btw, if the thief tries to fight his way out they are allowed to fight back). It may seem that laws are bent to protect criminals, but thats usually the exception not the rule. Society has a right/obligation to protect its citizens from undesireable behaviors such as thievery.
I used to work at a Target and I witnessed them take down several shoplifters, often physically. They (in Texas at least), can not only detain shoplifters until cops arrive, but also use virtually any amount of physical force while doing so. Target (as well as most other large retailers) has undercover security working in conjunction with the cameras in the sky. After you’re detained by Target asset protections, you’re usually handcuffed in a waiting room and your actions are usually videotaped. In fact, the only time I ever saw Target security go lax on a criminal is when they threatened a guard with a knife (which of course just escalated the charges and made the cops considerably more interested in catching the thief).
Even if your friend gets away, the cameras in the parking lot have incredible zoom capabilities so they’ll still get a license plate and report it to the police. Sounds like your friend learned an important lesson in not stealing.
As far as I know, there is no free national database of court cases online, though many states have begun to post all recent decisions online, and these databases have search functions of varying levels. New York’s cases are posted at its Official Reporter’s website, and other states’ databases can be found through findlaw.com.
As to the main question, I have no idea, though my advice would be not to steal CD’s from Target to avoid the whole question.
Welcome to the SDMB PCS. I can assure that a citizen’s arrest is legal in all 50 states.
I worked for a department store many years ago, and I saw many a shoplifter and dishonest employee detained by security. The police never had an issue with this when they came to pick up the criminals.
The only time this became an issue was once when the little old lady who was caught shoplifting was found innocent by a jury of other little old ladies. She then in turn sued the store for false arrest. (I don’t know the outcome of this action).
The store’s powers don’t come from the concept of citizen’s arrest. You can only perform a citizen’s arrest if you suspect a felony is taking place. Most shoplifting cases are going to be misdemeanors, including, almost certainly, the one in the OP. The power of a store owner or agent to stop a shoplifter comes is granted simply to protect their merchandise.
I believe the OP’s friend’s information is a misunderstanding of Costco-style stores where they ask to check your bag and receipt as you exit. In the case that the stores-people have no reason to think you stole something, they can not mandate an ability to search what you have already bought. In that case, legally speaking, it does appear to be that you can just walk out without letting them check.
I actually did just that a few weeks ago at a Circuit City. The checker at the door asked if he could “see my receipt.” “No,” I replied as I walked out the door. He asked several more times, seemingly worried – then yelled for a manager as he followed me out the door. I just strolled over to my car and took off without incident.
Why did I do this? Because I detest sacrificing my rights when there is no legal obligation. There was no contract between the store and myself (unlike Costco), and as such, I reserve the right to refuse their bagchecks. I own the merchandise now, and they do not have the right to search it, regardless of how much they try to intimidate us.
Thanks for all the replies! The citizen’s arrest does debunk my original assumptions. But just to keep things lively, I told my roommate the story and he said he worked at Safeway in high school, and in the training video they emphasized that if you see someone stealing, confront them and talk to them, but do not touch them in any way or try to stop them from leaving. Perhaps Safeway just had a bad experience with a lawsuit?
Yep, it has to do with the liability. Department store asset protection/loss prevention agents go through extremely thorough training about the legalities of detaining shoplifters, how to handle them, self defense, etc. Convenience stores generally aren’t going to waste the time or money training clerks about all the nuances of defending the store’s property against shoplifting, especially since most of the stuff in there isn’t worth stealing.
That said, I believe I’ve heard of chain convenience stores hiring roaming undercover security going to various high-risk stores to try and catch shoplifters. Dunno if it’s true.
You will quickly see that, the amount of “persuasion” they can use, and the potential for civil liability, depends on the state you are in. Some states allow the merchant more leeway than others. If you want to know the law in your state, I recommend looking up the statutes using http://www.findlaw.com.casecode .
I have a related question. If they don’t catch the shoplifter in the act but later see the theft on videotape while looking over security cameras, what are the store’s options? Can they send the police to arrest the thief (assuming they know who it was) at home? Can they arrest them next time they come in to the store?
If the tape clearly shows a person or group of people stealing merchandise and leaving the store without paying? Of course they could arrest them where ever they could find them. Why wouldn’t they be able to do so?
You’re like my hero. I was in one of these sorts of stores, Target I think, and was asked to allow my bags to be checked. I wasn’t thinking and said OK, and have been kicking myself mentally ever since. I want to be asked again so I can refuse but in the last couple of years no one’s asked me, dammit.
Apropos of nothing whatsoever, John Waters in one of his books tells the story of financing one of his early films in part with the settlement he got from some store after they detained him for shoplifting some records. He did shoplift them, but realized he’d been spotted and put them back but the store detective detained him anyway.
In places where it’s legal to “detain” such as in the Arizona statute quoted above, what’s the legal definition or limits of “detain”? Cuffs? Small, dark room? Or just make you stay put until the police show up? Not being a shoplifter myself, I can yet imagine some idiot thinking I shoplifted (I don’t know why; that’s why I said “idiot”), and I won’t want to allow cuffs or to be led into a back room. On the other hand, if he’s got a specific complaint or effectively communicates to me that he considers me suspect, then I’m likely to want to wait for the police myself just so the idiot gets his comeuppance. But… in the vestibule or wherever he accosts me – not in a back room. What are the rights/limits of either party in this case?
Violence during the commission of a theft is called robbery. Robbery is a much more serious crime than shoplifting. This also includes violence which occurs while attempting to flee a shoplifting. As always things may be different depending on the state.
I don’t know, but if what you say is really true, I’d like a citation, because several people have made that claim to me – that you have to catch the shoplifter in the act of leaving the property with the merchandise, and you have to find the merchandise on them (or witness them drop it or whatever) for it to be legal to arrest them for misdemeanor petit larceny. And I’ve never heard of somebody getting arrested later for misdemeanor shoplifting. Hence, my question.