ok so a few months ago, i thought i was gonna be stupid and try to steal from a Spencers store in the local mall, but I decided that it wasnt a good idea. I already had the stuff outta the package but I changed my mind about stealing it, so I put it on a shelf and tried to leave the store. obviously i was stopped outside the store and asked where the stuff was and so on. the lady said "well if u just give me the stuff, i wont call security" so i went to the shelf where i put it and i gave it to her and she STILL called security! so security came down to the store and they questioned me, took my information and then searched my purse, but they dumped out my purse on the front counter IN FRONT of customers and they went through it, they actually had to move my stuff outta the way so a customer could buy something, but one of the security officers made a stupid comment about the condoms in my purse. I wanna know if they were allowed to go thru my purse on the front desk in front of ppl???
2007-07-17 12:08:35 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
They're probably allowed to go through your purse, but it was very poor form to go through it on the same counter where the customers were buying things. It would have been better to take you to the security office and do the search there. Some of the security people that are hired get an exaggerated sense of their own importance and like embarassing people. It will more than likely make you think twice before you do any shopliffting again.
2007-07-17 12:17:36 · answer #1 · answered by phlada64 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is iffy, but yes.
The problem is that you admitted to a crime and so were subject to a legal search. They invaded your privacy when dumping your purse in public though and the comments about your having condoms were verbal harassment. The company that hires and controls the security guards are the ones responsible, not the store.
You could sue the security guard company for harassment, but you suit would be hard to prove since you admitted to committing a crime; attempted shoplifting. About the best you can get is if you call the security guard company and demand an apology for the improper way you were treated and that their employees under go sexual harassment training. Clearly, that comment about your having condoms was sexual harassment.
By the way I think it is a good idea to carry them in your purse, because if you get into a position where you want to have sex you can't always trust the guy to have one, or how old it is.
By the way if the search was done on the customer counter then you should be able to get the tape of it from the security company to prove that your privacy was indeed violated. Hire a lawyer and have him send a private detective or law associate with a subpoena to the store to get that tape, so it won't be destroyed. If you do that then the security guard company will be worried that you are planning a law suit, that would make them take your more seriously.
2007-07-17 12:18:26 · answer #2 · answered by Dan S 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If it was company policy to search your purse in front of other customers, then, I guess they were just following the company's rule. If not, it could be a case of harassment or violation of your right. In any case, I think it was to your advantage that they searched your purse in front of those people; in case they would think of planting a "false" evidence among your belongings, everyone would see what they would have done. As to one of the security officers who made a stupid remark about the condoms in your purse, I didn't think he was right to comment on that; it wasn't his business. I hope everything turned out fine at the end and I hope, too, it served you a lesson not to ever think about stealing things. It does not pay to be embarrassed in front of so many strangers.
2007-07-17 12:30:35 · answer #3 · answered by annabelle p 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The location of where they searched your purse is irrelevant. The question is whether or not they are authorized to search personal belongings. I don't know the answer. Where I live, mall security guards don't even carry OC spray and are not allowed to make physical contact at all, unless out of self defense. In other places, mall security are armed and can detain and search. Whatever the case, it's a little late in the game for you to get all up in arms.
2007-07-17 12:15:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Do not rely on this information for any purposes.
Yes, they have the right to search your purse under the circumstances. Under the common law, it is called the shopkeeper's privilege.
By the way, you likely committed, inter alia, a larceny. Larceny is the trespassory taking and carrying away of a tangible personal property of another with the intent to permanetly deprive the owner of it. If the facts you stated were on a bar exam, you would clearly be guilty of larceny.
2007-07-17 21:11:44 · answer #5 · answered by Edward r 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't necessarily have the "right" to search your purse, however, they could have detained you and called to police who may (depending on the totality of the circumstances) have had probable cause to search. Or the police could take you in for questioning and get a warrant to search your purse. So you could have refused, but would have let yourself in for a lot more time and trouble.
Congrats on making the right decision, but the initial decision was what landed you in the situation. Best bet - use it as a learning experience.
2007-07-17 12:21:19 · answer #6 · answered by John W 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It concerns me that your worried about this so much other than what you had the intentions of doing. Embarrassment is your top concern. People that you will never see again probably (I hope they at least banned you from the store) but yet even though you changed your mind your worried about this. You could have been to jail, even if its just for the night.
Stop worrying about this. Its over and your obviously over the fact that you almost did this since your just wasting your time worrying how THEY broke the law to you. Even if they did you wouldn't win any case for it.
I know I might have sounded harsh but you obviously need some harsh reality. Get professional help because obviously you need it even though you changed your mind. This is a lot deeper than your making it out to be.
2007-07-17 12:22:00 · answer #7 · answered by EchosOfAngels 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes, they can do that. If you don't like the officer making such a comment, lodge a complaint with the mall about the officer. However, the store acted appropriately and you CAN be searched exactly as they did.
2007-07-17 12:12:45 · answer #8 · answered by cyanne2ak 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
since she called security and they were the ones to authorize a search then its okay for them to do that. now if she was the one who searched your purse without any security that would be wrong. you could complain to the mall security office (they do have one somewhere at that mall) and claim police harrassment, but really unless they waved them around and made an intercom announcement it wasn't really a big enough case to "get" anything from it.
2007-07-17 12:22:33 · answer #9 · answered by dancingthejig 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If they have "reasonable cause" to believe you stole something, they have a right to search you. They can conduct the search however they wish. You have the right to ask them to conduct the search somewhere else, but they are under no obligation to comply.
From your story, it sounds like they had more than reasonable cause to suspect you of stealing. So you can't challenge the search.
2007-07-17 12:17:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋