§ 11-41-21 - Shoplifting – Enforcement.
SECTION 11-41-21
§ 11-41-21 Shoplifting – Enforcement.– (a) Any person reasonably believed to have committed or to be committing thecrime of shoplifting as defined in § 11-41-20 shall be subject todetention by a police officer in accordance with § 12-7-1.
(b) Any merchant who observes any person concealing orattempting to conceal merchandise on his person or amongst his or herbelongings or upon the person or amongst the belongings of another,transporting merchandise beyond the area within the retail mercantileestablishment where payment for it is to be made without making payment for it,removing or altering price tags on merchandise, or switching the containers ofmerchandise may stop the person. Immediately upon stopping the person, themerchant shall identify himself or herself and state his or her reason forstopping the person. If after his or her initial confrontation with the personunder suspicion, the merchant has reasonable grounds to believe that at thetime stopped the person was committing or attempting to commit the crime ofshoplifting on the premises, the merchant may detain the person for areasonable time sufficient to summon a police officer to the premises. In nocase shall the detention be for a period exceeding one hour. Detention must beaccomplished in a reasonable manner without unreasonable restraint or excessiveforce, and may take place only on the premises of the retail mercantileestablishment where the alleged shoplifting occurred. Any person so stopped bya merchant pursuant to this section shall promptly identify himself or herselfby name and address. Once placed under detention, no other information shall berequired of the person and no written and/or signed statement, except asprovided in subsection (c) of this section, shall be elicited from the personuntil a police officer has taken him or her into custody. The merchant may,however, examine for the purposes of ascertaining ownership any merchandisewhich is in plain view which the merchant has reasonable grounds to believe wasunlawfully taken or otherwise tampered with in violation of § 11-41-20.
(c) A merchant may request a person detained for shopliftingto sign a statement waiving his or her right to bring a civil action arisingfrom the detention in return for a signed statement from the merchant waivingthe right to bring criminal charges based upon the alleged shoplifting. Anystatement shall state in writing in large print at the top of the form that theperson detained has a right to remain silent and a right not to make or signany statement and a right to call an attorney.
(2) It shall be unlawful to circulate or cause to becirculated any signed statement or the name of any person signing the statementto a person or persons not employed by the retail mercantile establishmentwhich obtained the statement, other than in defense of a legal action arisingfrom the detention. Any person circulating or causing to be circulated thisinformation shall be civilly liable to the person who signed the statement.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "reasonable grounds"includes knowledge that a person has concealed unpurchased merchandise of theestablishment while on the premises, or has altered or removed identifyinglabels on merchandise while on the premises, or is leaving the premises withunpurchased concealed or altered merchandise in his or her possession.
(e) In detaining a person whom the merchant has reasonablegrounds to believe is committing the crime of shoplifting, the merchant may usea reasonable amount of non-deadly force when and only when that force isnecessary to protect himself or herself, or to prevent the escape of the personbeing detained or the loss of his or her property.
(f) In any civil action by a person detained under thissection against the merchant so detaining him or her arising out of thedetention, evidence that the defendant had reasonable grounds as defined insubsection (d) of this section to believe that the plaintiff was at the time inquestion committing or attempting to commit the crime of shoplifting as definedin § 11-41-20 shall create a rebuttable presumption that the plaintiff wasso committing or attempting to commit the crime.