Private security guards, “loss prevention agents,” and “asset protection agents,” are making a citizen’s arrest when they bust you, since they aren’t really police. They typically keep you in custody and call the police to come pick you up. They’re allowed to restrain you physically, while they wait for the police to arrive. They can grab you, handcuff you, lock you in a room, etc. Like police, security staff are not supposed to use more force than is necessary to ensure that you don’t escape.

Naturally, private security staff are not required to read you your rights, since they’re not really police. However, anything you say to private security can and will be used against you in a court of law. Some businesses instruct their security staff to note, in particular, the “subject’s first words at time of detention” (because such statements won’t have been well thought out). But all statements, from first to last, made to private security staff are dangerous and likely to be quoted or misquoted in their reports. And it’s so very tempting to try to explain everything to the security staff. After all, once in a while this works. Some people have been caught engaging in some minor crime, and then talked and cried their way out of trouble. Obviously, this is more effective while you’re still young and cute; and it may work better for girls than for boys.¹ Unfortunately, on the occasions it doesn’t work, you’ll have sabotaged any hope of a legal defense, because what you’ve said will certainly be used against you court. That’s what happened to Kaitlin in the Five Finger Discount. Not surprisingly, for those who take this gamble, the odds always seem better than they really are. Both cops and casinos win big, betting on the gambler’s optimism.

In addition to getting you to make damaging remarks, security staff may also persuade you to give a statement in writing or sign a statement they’ve prepared for you (see Merchant Confession Forms).

Most businesses with professional security staff also have clear policies about when and whom to arrest. For example, a store may have rules such as: the security staff must not arrest a suspect unless the agent has had an uninterrupted view of her; or juveniles and first-time shoplifters are let go with a warning. But most businesses that employ security staff have a policy of arresting every valid suspect. And if the suspect runs or fights, or doesn’t have i.d., the security staff is virtually certain to arrest him. Security guards nearly always follow the store’s policy in deciding whom to arrest—it’s just not worth it to the guard to risk getting reprimanded or fired for taking pity on a suspect. Besides, after a few weeks on the job, security staff find that they’ve heard all the excuses over and over. So when suspects talk to security staff, they only make things worse for themselves.

In a case involving theft, it doesn’t matter whether or not the suspect leaves the premises. Once you’ve picked up someone else’s property and taken it to keep, without being entitled to it, that’s larceny. Usually, store security staff wait for shoplifters to leave before they grab them, so the suspects can’t claim that they were intending to pay for the goods before exiting. But security staff may also arrest shoplifting suspects before they’ve left the store, since concealing the merchandise indicates that there was no intent to pay.


1.  One drawback to the winsome approach is that occassionally a corrupt security guard or cop will demand sexual services for letting you go, which many people find distasteful.