While visiting a hobby shop I watched as a teen ager was filling his book bag with all kinds of stuff, he was trying to impress his 2 looser buddies, well I was in the place with my Emt partner Bob (we were spending a day off together) I had enough of this Jack ass so when he went to exit the store with his book bag stuffed with the stolen goods, my partner and I grabbed him (I spent many years earning a living as a loss prevention officer) and boy was that punk surprised, his two buddies left him and ran off, neither of them were seen taking anything.
The crook had $83.00 worth of stolen goods when it was added up by the police.
I held the kid for police, wrote up a shoplifting report that the store had and off in cuffs he went, the stores owner tried to give us both a $50.00 gift certificate which we both turned down, after all we were trying to save the store owner money and not cost her, besides, she sure was pretty…well, she was.
So now when the kid gets a court date we will have to go and testify, so what, it was worth it, and I’d do it again.
Pilfering is a big hit to small business owners…I should know, as I was one, and it can turn into pretty substantial losses. We ended each year with a couple grand worth of missing merchandise.
Very cool…thanks so much for doing something instead of just watching! You really did a huge service to the hobby shop and even more so by not accepting the gift certificates. I think a significant amount of crime occurs just because the perps are counting on nobody doing anything even if they are witnessed in the act. Jamie
I recently yelled at a couple of illegals that were stuffing pairs of jeans under their coats. (in 90 degree weather![D)]) They dropped the stuff and left the store rather quickly.
Or tried to sell it for drug money. As for testifying, probably they will do a juvinal court plea bargin and it will never see the inside of the court room.
Good you stepped up, Jesse. $85 is a big hit for a small business like a hobby shop.
Be careful my friend, I received permenant injuries to my neck doing the same thing. The suspect was a juvenile and it took myself and 3 other men to finally subdue him.
In addition the suspect signed counter complaints against me for assault. Then his mother filed a civil suit against me.
When all was settled he was found guilty and the civil suit was dismissed. He got a slap on the wrist and I am typing this with a pain in my neck which has been there since 1983.
I can see whee you have to be careful in such situations when it comes to injury and lawsuits.
When I was in college my girlfriend and I were walking up the sidewalk into a grocrery store when we saw a guy in a thick coat being chased out of the store by an employee. The Employee was yelling for him to stop, so I assumed he had stolen something. Since he was running down the sidewalk towards me, I reared up and threw my shoulder into him, throwing him up against, and pinning him to, a brick pillar. He started to struggle to get away but the store employee ran up to grab him. Once the employee had him I just walked on into the store and finished my shopping. Never heard from the store, never heard what happened beyond that.
Fortunately I didn’t hurt myself, nor have to face any legal issues from it.
For those thinking about going out and nabbing a shoplifter, consider the following.
In the state of California, and in most cases the rest of the United States and other countries, store employees and managers have certain powers of arrest. Store officials may detain for investigation (for a reasonable length of time), the person whom they have probable cause to believe is attempting to take or has unlawfully taken merchandise.
Generally, in the United States, the store employees who detain suspects outside of and inside the store premises are allowed by state statute limited powers of arrest and have the power to initiate criminal arrests or civil sanctions or both, depending on the policy of the retailer and the state statutes governing civil demands and recovery for shoplifting. Merchants may conduct a limited search to recover the item by those authorized to make the detention. Only packages, shopping bags, handbags or other property in the immediate possession of the person detained may be searched, but not any clothing worn by the person because this would require a search warrant under the law. Licensed security guards in the United States can, under the law, ask suspects to voluntarily empty their purses, pockets, wallets, handbags, etc. and most first offenders and amateur shoplifters generally agree to do this when suggested.
An accused shoplifter has rights that protects him or her from being falsely detained. The accused is subject to many of the same rights as would be present in an arrest from sworn law enforcement, such as the right to remain silent.