A friend of mine works as Asset Protection (which includes more than just Loss Prevention) at Walmart and I hear much interesting stuff. It’s pretty much the same at Target, too. There is a legal process that must be followed; otherwise, a criminal case can be lost for breaks in the evidence path. When that’s the case, a “wrongly”-accused shoplifter could turn around an sue the store. It’s also why only AP can detain, as they’ve been trained for it, and corporate training is a very effective playbook strategy for defense attorneys. Other employees can alert AP, but cannot do any detaining.
Apparently he’s pretty effective, because he’s had to go to court a few times to testify, which resulted in conviction. One case, the defendant was going to fight it all the way to the end, until the day of jury selection, that so was the store. Then he copped a plea.
Some items just aren’t expensive enough to warrant criminal prosecution, but that doesn’t mean the shoplifter gets away with it. There’s still civil fines, which can be calculated involving the amount of the AP’s time at his rate of pay (including annual benefits broken down to an hourly rate), along with other store resources. A lousy $10 theft can cost as much as $250, which the shoplifter would then have to take to court to contest. The cost of a lawyer, alone, would wipe out any success.
And then there is the Trespass, which is an order to stay out of the store for 6 months, a year, or forever, depending on the situation. And a Trespass order may apply to just the one store, or all stores in the entire chain. No, you don’t have a “right” to shop at any store you choose; they’re private businesses that can refuse you for any reason except those specified by law, which is race, religion, nationality, or gender. And while Trespass may seem minor, if you do return and if they do recognize you, and if they do have the copy of the Trespass order, you can be arrested for a Felony criminal offense.
So, yeah, some stores may figure it’s just an unavoidable cost of business, but others are really ramping it up to discourage it. It may be better to err on the side of caution, so some will still get away with it, but it’s still being addressed.