What are the laws about store employees catching shoplifters?
The laws in every state are different. You should pose this question to a lawyer in your area. Generally, a store owner has a right to protect his, her or it's merchandise, including taking reasonable steps to apprehend shoplifters. That means you could take reasonable steps to stop the person and detain them until authorities arrive. There are, however, many reasons to avoid taking such measures, including the policies and procedures that you employer has in place. While they may appreciate you stopping someone from stealing beer, you may get fired for violating company policy, especially if the person, or you gets hurt and a lawsuit may follow. You would be well advised to find out what the policies are with respect to stopping shoplifters and follow those guidelines, even if that means that you can do no more than what you are already doing. Most grocery chains have inventory control specialists; unless that is your job, you should leave the fighting to them.
Shoplifting from Best Buy, can they prosocute after you leave?
A few weeks ago my friend shoplifted an iPod for Best Buy that was about $200 USD. No one stopped her or questioned her on the way out, but she said when she was leaving she noticed that the Best Buy security was taking down her license plates, a few hours later a police officer showed up at her house and was knocking on the door but she didn't answer cause she was too scared. Now what we are wondering is what is going to happen next? Are they going to get a warrant and come back? Will they even bother to get a warrant and pursue even though it was just an iPod? What happens if they get a warrant and dont find anything? Are they legally allowed to arrest her if they have video evidence and lisence plates? We are both really confused about this whole situation, anyone work at Best Buy that can help her out? Let us know!!
Does it really cost a lot to prosecute someone?
I don't want to keep you reading long so I'll sum it up: I got in a fight with a dude and won. That night I then went to work a nightshift at a factory, and I had left my door to my house unlocked (small town, everyone knows each other, you know the story) When I came back home, I found the place ransacked, several electronic equipments missing including a relatively new laptop, and a note written in block writing saying "Now what, M.F.?" I went out to my car to get my cell phone to call the police when I noticed a piece of paper on the ground--a paycheck stub with his name on it. I actually laughed cause I knew this dude was a cooked goose. The cop came, took a statement, took fingerprints and pictures, took the taunting note and paycheck stub and said they'd get on it. A week later, the officer told me that they got in contact with him, and that he voluntarily let him search the house but none of the stolen property was found. He said he told him that he came over to my house to confront me about some whatever made up story, we got in an altercation, and the stub must have fallen out then. However, he refused to take a polygraph test or give a handwriting sample. A year passed, and everytime I asked the cops about it, they'd tell me in so many other words to just let them do their jobs. I bugged them enough, and they got a search warrant for the guy's handwriting sample. For some reason, it took FIVE MONTHS for the results to get back! And it was inconclusive. I asked for them to just turn it over to the prosecutor anyway, but they said they wouldn't because the case was weak and the prosecutor wouldn't file charges with only one piece of evidence, and that they just can't throw every suspect on trial cause trials cost a lot. I KNOW THAT PUNK DID IT!!! How is it expensive to jail him a couple of months (assuming he might not make bail) and putting him on trial and asking a jury what they think?!? I'm a victim here, and they're just letting him walk!!! How much does it cost to prosecute for a breaking and entering charge?
Can I get in trouble for shoplifting if I am outside the store and they have my license plate number?
It is possible that there is no camera footage and the car was not my car. It was at sport chalet and they found part of the packaging in the dressing room, but didn't confront me until outside the store. He said he was gonna call the cops but told me to have a nice night.
Can you get caught shoplifting after you leave the store?
I know this sounds ridiculous, but I shoplifted something a few days ago just to see what it was like or if I could get away with it. Here's how it went, I grabbed some makeup and looked at it a little bit as if deciding which one I should purchase, and walked away from the aisle with it in my hand. I walked past a security guard who smiled at me and I smiled politely back. I went to a stack of clothing toward the front of the store and grabbed a shirt. I then hid the makeup in the shirt and went to the dressing rooms to "try-on" the shirt. I unwrapped everything in order to get the tags off and hid all of the plastic in the shirt. I then left the shirt back where I found it, but accidentally left all of the wrappers in the shirt. I made it out of the store successfully. Now, if an employee is fixing the shirts and finds the wrappers, will she report them to security and will they be able to figure out that I stole? There were cameras everywhere except for the dressing rooms, but nobody saw me put the makeup in my purse or could prove that I left with the makeup. It was Black Friday so there were a lot of people inside the store though. I'm just really paranoid that I'm going to walk back into the store and be arrested. The makeup probably cost around $15 altogether. So I guess I have a couple questions: 1. Can I get caught? 2. What is the probability of me getting caught? 3. What do I do?