ok..say you buy a dvd or something and when you leave the
store you set the alarm off. is it true that you can just keep walking and don't have to let them check you? could you get in trouble if u don't stop?
2007-12-08 17:27:29 · 10 answers · asked by Annika 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
As long as you have the receipt for what you have in your possession, I wouldn't worry!
Yes, you could get in trouble if you don't stop and show them the receipt, because if you run they will assume you stole!!!
2007-12-08 17:39:58 · answer #1 · answered by Working Man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hasn't happened to me within the store. But going out of the local Walmart it's happened to me twice. And when these things happen, then of course everyone in the vicinity gives me dagger-eyed looks as if I were a criminal, and the Walmart employees go through everything in my cart, looking at everything with great suspicion, until they finally figure out that the security chip on some pricey item wasn't properly deactivated at the check-out station. I have a vague memory of reading something about a lawsuit filed by a shopper against the Fred Meyer department store chain in the Pacific Northwest a few years ago because a Fred Meyer security guard stopped and questioned the shopper in the parking lot after an alarm went off when she exited the store. I believe in that case the court ruled that she was entitled to various damages from the store (she had in fact not stolen anything; the alarm was not working right), and that security alarms did not in general give the store the right to question people who were not observed committing any crime. But I've done a quick search for that news story and I can't find it. So better ask a lawyer.
2016-04-08 03:01:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to work in a Wal Mart . Not FOR Wal Mart, thank god, but as an Optician in the Optical shop owned by another company. We used to hear that damn alarm go off every 3 to 5 minutes, and the people just kept on walking. Nobody seemed to care. Also, thy are so cheap, that ALL THE CAMERAS IN THE STORE ARE FAKE! By law, you can only be detained or searched if they have seen you steal something and have proof. Most of the employees were the biggest shoplifters of all.That's why they pay their employees the lowest wages on earth and give them only enogh hours to prevent them from getting medical benefits, sickpay, or vacation time.
2007-12-08 17:41:14 · answer #3 · answered by Moona Lisa ® 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In virtually every State a shopkeeper, or his employees, have the legal right to detain you if they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect that you've stolen something.
If you set off the alarms and refuse to stop to have the reason checked, that constitutes "reasonable grounds", and the security guards can stop you and - if you decline to be searched or to show what caused the alarm - they can hold you until the police arrive.
If you try to get away they can use necessary force to hold you.
If, after you're stopped and held for the police, you can show that you bought the DVD, you'll not be convicted of shoplifting - but you'll have no legal reason to complain about the arrest.
EDIT:
irishmoo..."By law, you can only be detained or searched if they have seen you steal something and have proof."
Wrong, wrong, wrong. The legal basis to be able to detain you is "reasonable suspicion", NOT "proof".
Richard
2007-12-08 17:36:07 · answer #4 · answered by rickinnocal 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
lol
when i was small we went to buy a tv so we took a shopping cart and it had some kiddy books in it, we just put the tv on top of it, paid for the tv and pushed the cart out, the alarm went off, but the employees didnt even give a crap
2007-12-08 17:31:42 · answer #5 · answered by wwwwwwweeeeee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No you wont get in trouble, as long as you bought the item and have a reciept then you dont have to worry about anything.
2007-12-08 17:30:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't get in trouble if you bought it. If no one is standing at the door, just keep walking. Its not your fault they hire morons.
2007-12-08 17:30:39 · answer #7 · answered by Arcanum Noctis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That happened to me once. They were calling at me to come back, I just ignored them.
As long as I've got my receipt screw them, I don't time to hang around while they get their act together.
2007-12-08 17:34:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can get into trouble.If you didn't do anything wrong then stopping shouldn't be a problem.
2007-12-08 17:50:24 · answer #9 · answered by mikk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's private property and they have the right to detain you until the police arrive if they think you're stealing something.
2007-12-08 17:34:47 · answer #10 · answered by Scott Evil 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋