Bad me…read before shooting off my keyboard.
Admittedly once again most of my experience in this area is detaining/ejecting drunk and or violent individuals. Since the “reasonable force” needed in these cases is much higher than a shoplifter who quietly or cooperatively wait I have less experience with the subtleties.
Where would be the lines drawn for handcuff use by private/internal security in a non-cooperative detained shoplifter under NC law.
My basic Bar Exam understanding (off the top of my head, without researching this stuff in a long while) is the following:
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The shopkeepers’ privilege is an exception to false imprisonment law that basically says a shopkeeper has a right to detain a suspect with probable cause just long enough to conduct a reasonable investigation. I don’t know about the shopkeepers’ rights to use force, but, traditionally, the right to use reasonable force in defense of property exists in law, so, my guess is that some force may be used to enforce the privilege. Otherwise, the privilege is meaningless, no? Don’t quote me on that.
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Battery is the intentional harmful or offensive touching of another causing harm.
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Assault is essentially the intentional threat of imminent harmful or offensive contact of another causing apprehension or fear.
So, swinging your fist at someone’s face is assault even if the swing misses. If you make contact, you now have a battery in addition to assault. If you punch a sleeping victim in the face, you have a battery, but no assault. Telling someone, “I’m gonna kick you ass tomorrow” is not assault because the threat isn’t imminent. Putting your hand on someone’s shoulder is not likely to be a battery because there’s no harm. If you accidentally hit someone, there’s no battery if it wasn’t intentional (or at least reckless).
Check your state law for a real answer.
If they don’t have probable cause to suspect me of shoplifting, then I could just keep on walking. Although, they would reserve the right to refuse me service the next time I tried to shop there.
Also, I don’t think mere concealment of goods in a pocket is typically enough to be probable cause because the customer can always take the stuff out of the pocket at the checkstand for purchase. I often put goods in my pocket with the intent to purchase them at the counter, especially if I intend to fill my hands with other goods before I get to the counter.
drachillix, your last question is way more specific that I can really answer, my guess would be that you could only handcuff someone who you were detaining, not throwing out, and that that would only be acceptable if the person was actively fighting (landing punches and kicks), not as a routine procedure, but that’s just a guess.
Putting stuff in your pocket to purchase them later is a bad habit to develop. While it may be legal in your state, concealing merchandise you haven’t paid for is a crime in and of itself in many states - not leaving the store with it, just hiding it. Again, it may be legal and accepted where you are, but in a lot of places what you’re doing is a crime and in more places is close enough to one to cause hassles. For example, from the NC general statutes:
I would never bother trying to cuff someone we were not going to detain for law enforcement. If the cuffs come out, PD will be involved.
Anyone you detain (especially if you can’t move them) is a flight risk until properly cited or taken into custody by law enforcement. NOT cuffing and or detaining by supervision in a controlled area is actually dangerous.
Many people will try to flee if not presented with overwhelming odds against escape. The escape attempt and pursuit will cause further disruption and or damage to people and property.
The receipt checking works out pretty well when our customers walk out without grabbing something they were rung up for (and it happens often enough). It also helps to make sure someone’s leaving with a receipt for the proper serial number on the guitar/amp/recording piece for the purposes of warranties and returns. We’re sure as hell not going to return a guitar if the serial number doesn’t match the one on the receipt.
In short, if you don’t like being asked to furnish your receipt at the door, then exercise your right not to shop at that store, rather than your mouth. Too many people whine and too few people actually make an effort to avoid situations that anger them.
Two things come to mind:
#1) The constitutional guarantee from illegal search and seizure pertains to the govt and military. It does not prohibit a store from insuring that everyone walks away with only what they paid for.
#2) If this receipt inspection procedure bothers you so much, DONT SHOP THERE!
You know what? I can’t think of a reason the OP deserves any more answers than s/he’s already received.