I set off the alarm when I left a department store, although I hadn’t bought anything.
Security on the door insisted on searching my shopping bags. I was outraged. Could I have refused?
R. G., via email.
Dean Dunham replies: Security personnel have limited powers compared to the police and generally can only enforce store policies, such as denying entry or asking you to leave if you refuse to comply with a search request.
Security can only take limited steps in relation to a potential theft or security situation.
If they have reasonable grounds to suspect you of theft or of carrying prohibited items, they may ask to search your belongings, but you still have the right to say no.
Humiliating: An innocent reader was left furious after a store security guard insisted on searching their shopping bags when the security alarm went off
However, if you do refuse, the guards can detain you using a citizen’s arrest, based on their reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime.
If they decide to take this step they must explain why they are detaining you and contact the police immediately. They can only use reasonable force.
You could have refused the search but, in my view, this would not have been advisable.
The best thing to do if you are faced with a request to search your bag on the way out of a shop is to ask why.
Then you should ask what reasonable grounds they have to believe you have either stolen something or are carrying a prohibited item.
The security will then have to tread very carefully, as a mere ‘suspicion’ based on a ‘hunch’ will not be sufficient.
They will need something more concrete, such as a witness saying that they think they may have seen you taking something.
If you are stopped unnecessarily and the security cannot provide a valid explanation as to why they had reasonable grounds to believe you had committed an offence, you should complain to both the owner of the store and its security company (if it is a separate entity).
The likely outcome will be a voucher or some other form of compensation. The amount will depend on the level of distress caused.
This will be increased if there was any discrimination involved – for example, if you were stopped on the grounds of your race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
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