South Dakota Law-Can retail stores legally hold a shoplifter under false imprisonment?

Question

South Dakota Law-Can retail stores legally hold a shoplifter under false imprisonment legally until higher authority arrives?

I have looked through our laws but I keep coming up with the same website.

Do any of you know? I did find a really good one on Washington State, but that isn't going to help me if their state laws are different.

Answer 1

Yes, a store may detain a shoplifter if the store has reasonable grounds for doing so. The statute you are looking for outlines what is considered reasonable and is reproduced below.

SDCL § 22-30A-19.2
Any owner or seller of merchandise, who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed retail theft pursuant to § 22-30A-19.1, may detain such person, on or off the premises of a retail mercantile establishment, in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time:


(1) To request identification;

(2) To verify such identification;

(3) To make reasonable inquiry as to whether such person has in his or her possession unpurchased merchandise and, to make reasonable investigation of the ownership of such merchandise;

(4) To inform a law enforcement officer of the detention of the person and surrender that person to the custody of a law enforcement officer; and

(5) In the case of a minor, to inform a law enforcement officer, a parent, guardian, or other private person interested in the welfare of the detained minor and to surrender custody of the minor to such person.


An owner or seller of merchandise may make a detention as permitted in this section off the premises of a retail mercantile establishment only if such detention is pursuant to the immediate pursuit of such person.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, a security officer or other store employee can hold a suspect to a crime until police arrive. So can you. It's called a citizen's arrest. The degree of restraint allowed probably differs from one jurisdiction to another. And if someone has reason to believe that a crime was committed, then it's not false imprisonment. It's detaining a suspect. False imprisonment is kidnapping without moving the victim.

Answer 3

Most states allow detention of a shoplifter. My son works for a major retailer doing loss prevention work. He watches w surveillance equipment & confronts the person as they attempt to leave. Police are called & handle the case appropriately.

Answer 4

They can try to detain someone. If that person is determined to get away, they have to decide if they want to get into a fight and a possible brutality charge.

If they can detain someone without excessive phsyical force for a short period of time until the police arrive, I don't think they would be held criminally liable, assuming the person is guilty.

Answer 5

Only if the "shop-lifter" is caught in the act. They can even detain the person if the person gets out of the store. --They chase them down and tackle if needed.

Answer 6

Yes shopkeeper laws apply.

Answer 7

i live in south dakota and my friend tried to buy a pack of smokes and they held him until the police arrived but i dunno about shoplifting

Answer 8

yes they can