Title: Shoplifting Detention - How Retail Stores Detain a Suspected Shoplifter?
Headings: Shoplifting Detention – How Retail Stores Detain a Suspected Shoplifter?
Shoplifting Detention – How Retail Stores Detain a Suspected Shoplifter?
Shoplifting Detention
Shoplifting Detention: The Policy Decision
Shoplifting Detention: Approaching the Suspect
Shoplifting Detention: The Stop
Shoplifting Detention: The Use of force
Shoplifting Detention: Processing the Shoplifter
Shoplifting Detention: Written Incident Reports
About Chris McGoey

Content: To establish a solid base for probable cause and prevent false arrest claims, there are six universally accepted steps that a merchant should follow before deciding to stop someone suspected of shoplifting: You must see the shoplifter approach your merchandise
You must see the shoplifter select your merchandise
You must see the shoplifter conceal or carry away or convert your merchandise
You must maintain continuous observation the shoplifter
You must see the shoplifter fail to pay for the merchandise
You must approach the shoplifter outside of the store
Shoplifting Detention: The Policy Decision
The decision to approach and confront someone suspected of committing theft should not be taken lightly. It’s critical to provide special training to anyone charged with the responsibility of apprehending shoplifters. Some states have “Merchant Statutes” that give the store operator some limited liability protection if they approach a suspected shoplifter in good faith and the stop is based on a reasonable belief that shoplifting had occurred. A merchant statute gives the store operator the right to “detain” someone temporarily either for the purpose of recovering their merchandise and/or for summoning the police. To detain someone, under the statute, means that they are not technically under arrest, but merely being temporarily investigated. The detention process can evolve into an arrest if the suspected shoplifter is taken into custody for the purpose of arrest. The definition of custody means not being free to leave (i.e. while handcuffed). In jurisdictions that do not have the protection of a merchant’s statute, a store operator must make a citizen’s arrest without any liability protection.