Walk It Through: The Store Detention
A switched price tag, a loss prevention officer, a citation, and the record after.
A shopper peels a clearance sticker from one item and puts it on a pricier one.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One item and one store. Civil demands from the store, higher value thefts, and a set aside after conviction are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Arrest without a warrantAn arrest a peace officer may make on reasonable cause to believe the person committed a felony, or a misdemeanor where the person would otherwise escape, may cause injury, may destroy evidence, or committed it in the officer's presence.
- Citation in lieu of arrestA citation issued in place of an arrest. For an offense classified as an infraction, a citation is issued rather than an arrest, apart from the exceptions the law lists.
- InfractionAn offense that is not a crime of any class. Where no other penalty is set, a first offense is a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
- Reasonable cause to believeThe standard that triggers the duty to report child abuse or neglect, which reaches physicians, nurses, school employees and any other person.
- Sealed recordA record removed from the public record. A person cannot be questioned about an offense whose record is sealed on an application for a job, license or education, and may answer as if it never occurred.
- Set asideA court order that nullifies a conviction and removes the civil disabilities it imposed, available after probation, a fine only, or a sentence of not more than one year.