Interesting way to deal with shoplifters

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37834457/ns/business-the_new_york_times/

I have to say I quite like it.

[IndigoSkies 168]

This is no more different than Muslims buying up a small township and installing Shariah law. Or Jews doing the same thing or anyone else doing the same. This is a slippery slope to creating a parallel judicial system in America that is not allowed by the Constitution, the Supreme law of the land. Nothing shall trample on it. Not even Chinese eel merchants. Only the police should have the power to detain people with reasonable cause. Not some old Chinese hag trying to protect his kumquats.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

This is no more different than Muslims buying up a small township and installing Shariah law. Or Jews doing the same thing or anyone else doing the same. This is a slippery slope to creating a parallel judicial system in America that is not allowed by the Constitution, the Supreme law of the land. Nothing shall trample on it. Not even Chinese eel merchants. Only the police should have the power to detain people with reasonable cause. Not some old Chinese hag trying to protect his kumquats.

You enter private property and steal something the owners have a right to hold you. Besides, US law still protects you. For instance if I was accused of stealing I would want the police there and I wouldn't comply with the store's demands.

If they posted my name etc. and I hadn't been charged I would sue them for defamation.

Edited June 21, 2010 by Sousuke

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I've worked in retail stores that did something similar. Whoever was caught, would have a Polaroid picture taken with the item they stole and pinned on a wall, but it was not displayed in a public area.

Edited June 21, 2010 by El Buscador

[sandinista! 1,816]

I've worked in retail stores that did something similar. Whoever was caught, would have a Polaroid picture taken with the item they stole and pinned on a wall, but it was not displayed in a public area.

there's a chinese restaurant we order from sometimes that does a similar thing with bad checks. they don't take debit or credit cards, but will take checks, and all the bad checks they've received they have posted on the wall. anyone up at the counter waiting to pay their bill or pick up their takeout can see who's check is up there. i don't see writing a bad check as being any different from stealing really, as long as it's not a bank error issue or something.

[SMR 368]

You enter private property and steal something the owners have a right to hold you. Besides, US law still protects you. For instance if I was accused of stealing I would want the police there and I wouldn't comply with the store's demands.

If they posted my name etc. and I hadn't been charged I would sue them for defamation.

They have a right to hold you but only until the police get their. If they don't intend to call the police, they are guilty of kidnapping. Also, they can't seize your ID or even force you to show it. Taking a picture is very shaky ground.

I support store owners stopping shoplifters and calling police. I think part of the problem is that when the police do arrive, they may not take a hard enough stance. When the police arrive and the shoplifter has his day in court and the charges hold up, I think the storeowner has a right to demand compensation.

Stores, however, also have responsibility for falsely accusing people.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

They have a right to hold you but only until the police get their. If they don't intend to call the police, they are guilty of kidnapping. Also, they can't seize your ID or even force you to show it. Taking a picture is very shaky ground.

I support store owners stopping shoplifters and calling police. I think part of the problem is that when the police do arrive, they may not take a hard enough stance. When the police arrive and the shoplifter has his day in court and the charges hold up, I think the storeowner has a right to demand compensation.

Stores, however, also have responsibility for falsely accusing people.

Right. You don't have to comply with any of their demands other than remaining in the store. If people do so, they do it voluntarily to avoid a misdemeanor. At least that's my take.

(Though I suspect many in the communities don't fully understand their rights)

Edited June 22, 2010 by Sousuke

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I used to manage the liquor dept. of a retail store chain and I watched a guy casually walk up to a cheap $5 bottle of vodka and walk right towards the exit. We were not suppose to apprehend shoplifters so all we could do was follow him to his car and ask him for the bottle back. He obliged, but had he refused, all we could do was to take his license plate number down and call the cops.

Edited June 22, 2010 by El Buscador

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

^ That was the same for us when I worked retail. All I could do was go up to them and ask them publicly to pay for the item or return it.

I remember one guy stole a bag of chips and the owners daughter saw him take them and he was eating them at the deli next door. I had to go over there and ask him if he paid for the bag of chips. It publicly shamed him and he paid for the bag of chips right then. Then he had to talk to my store owner and the deli manager about what he'd done to make it right.

If people stole and left before I could speak to them then we wrote their license plate down and reported it to the store owner who handled it from there. A lot of the customers were regulars as it was the neighborhood store so he was sometimes sensitive to them giving them a chance first to come clean and make it right in order to keep their business and the community business.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

JC Penney a few years ago was one of the few companies who would still chase people out into the parking lot and tackle them if necessary.

Personally I like what these stores are doing. If you're protecting your property, go for it. They've got video evidence and they're offering an alternative to a permanent legal record.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

^ That was the same for us when I worked retail. All I could do was go up to them and ask them publicly to pay for the item or return it.

I remember one guy stole a bag of chips and the owners daughter saw him take them and he was eating them at the deli next door. I had to go over there and ask him if he paid for the bag of chips. It publicly shamed him and he paid for the bag of chips right then. Then he had to talk to my store owner and the deli manager about what he'd done to make it right.

If people stole and left before I could speak to them then we wrote their license plate down and reported it to the store owner who handled it from there. A lot of the customers were regulars as it was the neighborhood store so he was sometimes sensitive to them giving them a chance first to come clean and make it right in order to keep their business and the community business.

Yeah - it gets tricky when its a regular shopper who spends hundred of dollars every month because you don't want to lose their business.