Wrongfully accused of shoplifting

ASOT

Well hypothetically if Someone was to be accused of shoplifting before leaving a shop in there area that the reguarly vist ,told they can't leave the store without being searched in broad view of a packed store & not given an apology and sent on there way.

What could someone do in the followup to this situation?

All hypothetically speaking of course.

Zambia

Talk to a solicitor

Jame Gumb

Use Google to research a recent case which (from memory) involved a well known accessories store...some girls from the wrong side of the tracks were falsely accused of shoplifting and publicly humiliated. (Again from memory), they got significant payouts from the store.

tricky D

Reputable security operations use SCONE as a guide to dealing with shoplifters.

Selection
Concealment
Observation
Non-payment
Exit

They also try to do any searching in private as in public exposes them to defamation.

deceit

This happened to one of my colleague who works in IT security. After he was wrongly stopped and checked he got a solicitor involved.
They made a big fuss about it and he ended up with 10k compensation for it.
I believe the large payment was mostly because in his position he requires an impeccable record and a 10 year background check though. Also the security guard was very aggressive in handling him while being very loud letting everyone around know that he was being brought back into the store on the belief he was stealing items.

who_me

tricky D wrote: »

Reputable security operations use SCONE as a guide to dealing with shoplifters.

Selection
Concealment
Observation
Non-payment
Exit

They also try to do any searching in private as in public exposes them to defamation.

You'd think doing it in private would open up other risks. Are these searches done by the (generally, all-male) security staff? What if it's a female shopper who's about to be searched?

I've also wondered what happens if you refuse to go to an office/backroom if they were to make such a 'request'. Obviously you could say "If you have a problem, call the police and I'll happily wait here until they arrive. But I'm not going anywhere with you". I presume, they have no authority to drag you off if you refuse.

daveyeh

ASOT wrote: »

Well hypothetically if Someone was to be accused of shoplifting before leaving a shop in there area that the reguarly vist ,told they can't leave the store without being searched in broad view of a packed store & not given an apology and sent on there way.

What could someone do in the followup to this situation?

All hypothetically speaking of course.

Tell the store security guard to f**k off or you'll sue them, their employer, the shop, their ma and anyone else they care about. Hypothetically.

coylemj

ASOT wrote: »

Well hypothetically if Someone was to be accused of shoplifting before leaving a shop in there area that the reguarly vist ,told they can't leave the store without being searched in broad view of a packed store & not given an apology and sent on there way.

Hypothetically (sic) a very unlikely scenario. The subject has not left the store so how can they be accused of stealing? Being searched in public is a big no-no, even for the cops. All people working in retail security know that you can do nothing until the subject exits the premises.

ASOT wrote: »

What could someone do in the followup to this situation?

All hypothetically speaking of course.

Hypothetically sue their collective ass for assault, false imprisonment and defamation.

tricky D

who_me wrote: »

You'd think doing it in private would open up other risks. Are these searches done by the (generally, all-male) security staff? What if it's a female shopper who's about to be searched?

I've also wondered what happens if you refuse to go to an office/backroom if they were to make such a 'request'. Obviously you could say "If you have a problem, call the police and I'll happily wait here until they arrive. But I'm not going anywhere with you". I presume, they have no authority to drag you off if you refuse.

In private with witness and/or camera. Female security for female search. All assuming the resources are there. Fine for a department store setup but awkward for a small outlet.

You're right about refusing, so it's generally a wait until the Gardaí arrive.

Procrastastudy

Depending on how hypothteical this really is and how much depth you want to go into this thread and the Act and Case may be of some interest.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056710497

There is also the element of false imprisonment - if you can get access to a Book on Tort (I'd recomend Healy) thats a very interesting subject in of itself.

Personal experience: Two girls in Limerick settled with a company I used to work for for a few grand (less than 10) a piece for being followed by a security guard and stopped in the street after he thought they had nicked something.

It's almost never worth going after shoplifters. Better to confirm it on CCTV and tell them to go forth an multiply next time they are in the shop.

coylemj

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

It's almost never worth going after shoplifters. Better to confirm it on CCTV and tell them to go forth an multiply next time they are in the shop.

So you allow anyone who chooses to to steal from your store and you only do something about it if they show up again? That assumes that the same staff are on duty of course to recognise them.

Not a realistic options for stores in the city centre, esp. Henry St. where there is a large population of professional lifters. Most of them are women and are masters of disguise so throw in different security personnel and shoplifters wearing different styles of clothes and hair every few hours and you'd never stop them. The only solution for most stores is prosecution every time. If you get the name for being soft (and issuing verbal warnings would qualify you as ultra-soft), you will get cleaned out.

Don't know the situation these days but Penneys used to send the biggest number of lifters to Store St. up to a few years ago, surprising when you realise that their stock had the lowest value (per item) of the bigger stores in the city centre.

Procrastastudy

Having managed two stores on Henry St I would reiterate it's almost never worth going after them.

If you have security worth their salt they'll know who needs to be told to get lost - and will be manning the radio link properly.

If you have diligent staff they should be keeping an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously - good (seen as pushy by some) customer service is the best deterrent to shop lifting. Even a simple acknowledgement can put them off.

A store manager worth his salary will spend 80% of his time on the floor again meaning there is someone know knows the score.

Beyond getting yourself into all the nice kinds of legal troubles a stabbing with a needle full of HIV infected blood will ruin anyone's day. Especially if it's over a Mars bar.

Incidentally lets not forget that you could possibly end up sacked for going after a shoplifter as it's against most retailers policies, if for no other reason than you could end up putting their insurance costs though the roof. Also my bitterness makes me add that I'm not putting myself at risk for an employer who probably considers my office furniture more valuable than me.

ASOT

Cheers for all the responses, I'm not sure if this is against the charter but by any chance could anybody recommend solicitors who deal with these types of cases or something along them lines as my own in this case does not.

Procrastastudy

Its a bit basic but given the frequent solicitor bashing threads that pop up I think its worth saying.

Get a list of numbers, phone round - and get one that suits you in attitude and being upfront. Maybe try and waggle a free first consultation. Bear in mind, as with everything, you get what you pay for.

FreudianSlippers

Charter.