To all: Merry Christmas!
I challenged several of you to provide the specific law that grants the Best Buy broad rights that ursurp your invidiual rights and freedoms. Last I checked, my local Best Buy (although private property) was still in America.
WE HAVE A WINNER!!! Congradulations Steve86!
However, don’t celebrate yet. It wasn’t a complete answer, only partial credit. Here’s why.....
“Shopkeepers Perogitive” is only employed when the managment, employees or loss prevention personel directly observe theft.
This gives the shop owner rights just short of police, the right to detain, question and effect citizen arrest(most states). In most cases, it does not extend to search of the person, they need to wait for police. However, during questioning they can request to search and if granted, conduct the search (again, some states). Documenting all very carefully since this will be the basis of a criminal charge.
It does not extend to generalized warrantless searches of all shoppers.
Example: The restroom at the store is private property. The stalls are where some criminals go to hide store property on their body. Are you suggesting the store has a right to place a camera in each stall to watch you?
No, the courts have ruled that their is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Personal rights, your civil rights, are more important to the court than the shopholder’s rights to protect his property at all costs.
I am very respectful of the jobs the Loss Prevention folks at the store try to perform in the face of overwhelming odds... Their success or failure has a direct impact on the cost of goods all of us law abiding customers pay.
This discussion has been good since I hope it has raised some understanding of your personal freedoms and rights, the very precious commodity that many have paid in blood to protect.
We have been conditioned over the years to gradually voluntarily surrender these rights by government and in this case, private business.
In the case of private business, we empathise with the shop owner and being decent people, try to help them prevent theft. In most of the posts here, some Freepers defended the shopkeepers right to proptect his property over the right of the individual.
Never in this discussion did I ever promote being rude, overtly agressive or anything close to what the jerk did in the actual article that promoted this discussion. That kind of behavior has no place in our society.
God Bless you Terycarl for the job you do at the Indiana Department of Corrections. Tough job, I wouldn’t want it....
Again, to all....A very Merry Christmas to all of you and your families and a Happy New Year!
Let’s all work to get conservatives elected to all levels of office to protect our freedoms.
Here is the skinny.
I don’t know why you keep insisting about something that is pretty well much defined and searchable for sources on the internet.
First off, shoplifting is governed by State Laws, so they vary from state to state, however there are common themes. One being you cannot detain anybody without reasonable suspicion, which means ‘witnessed’, or you’ve triggered electronic sensors.
Once you have reasonable cause, you may detain for a reasonable amount of time and restraint. As you wait on the police.
You can (and almost always will by trained personal) be asked to present a receipt for items you are leaving the store with. Failing to produce a receipt may lead to reasonable suspicion. At the least, expect store security to ask for the merchandise.
But all this is not definitive because it goes by State by State unless the items in question are above ‘petty theft’ levels. I cannot be definitive, you cannot be definitive, we can only talk state by state, so stop trying to be authoritative and definitive.
Above and beyond that, there are ample ‘case law’ established. Go read some.