Pequenos Furtos: Dicas de Como Lidar (Petty Theft: Tips for Dealing with the Loss Prevention Officer)
Petty Theft: Tips for Dealing with the Loss Prevention Officer
Petty Theft: Tips for Dealing with the Loss Prevention Officer
San Diego Criminal Defense Attorney Benjamin Theule shares tips for handling confrontations with loss prevention officers who accuse you of theft. Many retail stores hire plain-clothes civilian loss prevention officers who use close circuit television cameras and other surveillance methods to prevent shoplifters. Because these loss prevention officers do not work for the government, they can sometimes get away with things that a police officer would not. After confronting a suspected shoplifter, they sometimes put a piece of paper in your face asking you to “acknowledge” a list of items they suspect you of taking. It is important not to sign such documents because they can be later seen as a written confession.
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In some cases, there’s video surveillance, there’s admissions which make legally defending a petty theft case very difficult.
A lot of petty thefts take place at retail stores, and so the first contact from that store is a loss prevention officer basically saying “I saw you walk outside of the store, past these open registers and you have property that belongs to us.”
The’ll take you into the back room and start asking you questions. The thing that people don’t realize is that the Fourth Amendment and Miranda Rights don’t really apply to private citizens. And loss prevention officers are not law enforcement, they’re actually private citizens and so they don’t have an obligation to read you your rights before asking you questions. They’ll accuse you and they’ll do all types of investigation prior to the police officers showing up.
Sometimes loss prevention officers will confront a suspect with the closed circuit television footage and say “That’s you, you took our stuff, now admit that you did it.” A lot of times they’ll have pictures taken of the suspect and say “You’re no longer welcome at our store, we’re going to post your picture on the wall and if we see you here we’ll call the cops and you could be arrested for trespassing.”
What loss prevention officers will also get which is really good for court for the prosecution is written admission saying “These are the things that I had on my person, these are the values of the property, and I admit that I took them.” Sometimes people will sign those documents hoping that the loss prevention officer will let them go with just a warning, but a lot of times the admission gets forwarded to the police and becomes very rock-solid evidence towards guilt.
What should you do if confronted regarding theft?
Just like with other law enforcement encounters, be cooperative to an extent. Don’t really answer any questions or give any written admissions. Don’t be argumentative and don’t give any admissions about anything, don’t say “If I pay for the item, will you let me go,” but do try to wiggle your way out of there without giving any admissions.
If you have any questions or need assistance with a petty theft case in Southern California, don’t hesitate to call Ben at (619) 236-9700.