Can Loss Prevention Handcuff You? (Here Is Why)

You might have heard about Loss Prevention teams working in retail stores to reduce theft, but what powers do they have?

Can Loss Prevention handcuff you? No, Loss Prevention can not handcuff you, they do not have the authority that police officers do but they can detain you and, in some cases, they are allowed to carry and use handcuffs to do so, though it is highly unlikely that they would. Members of the Loss Prevention team are employed by the store or establishment. They operate in a similar way to other types of security staff.

Read on to discover what you need to know!

Table of Contents

Who Is Loss Prevention?

To understand what kind of powers these members of staff might have, we need to know who they are first of all.

Loss Prevention, sometimes known as “asset protection”, is a field of employment that has been on the rise in recent years.

Many stores and other retail spaces will hire a full-time Loss Prevention team whose primary role is to reduce what is known as “shrinkage” (the industry term for financial losses associated with things like theft and fraud).

Loss Prevention staff are responsible for the physical security of an establishment and their basic job is similar to what might traditionally be thought of as a security guard.

Originally, most Loss Prevention professionals would be placed at the entrance/exit of a store to watch for shoplifters, but the field has been expanding considerably recently and staff now have a lot more power and responsibility.

Loss Prevention is not the police. These are privately employed individuals that work for the store owner or retail company. They do not represent the civil authority of the government and, therefore, they cannot operate in the same way that police officers do.

What Does Loss Prevention Do?

There are a lot of different aspects to what a member of Loss Prevention does nowadays, beyond standing at the door and chasing down potential shoplifters. Loss Prevention is responsible for:

Guarding retail spaces
Recording and pursuing cases of theft by customers and employees
Managing data protection
Carrying out risk and safety assessments
Ensuring legal compliance
Auditing inventory
Contributing to theft-prevention plans and strategies
Handling all matters relating to retail crime and fraud

You will probably see a lot of Loss Prevention employees while you’re out and about without even realizing it.

One of the primary daily responsibilities of these professionals is to patrol retail stores in plain clothes so that they are not obvious to the public, watching for suspicious activity as well as recording and reporting any pertinent evidence.

Are Loss Prevention Staff Allowed To Detain You?

Now, while Loss Prevention staff are not members of law enforcement and do not have the same authority that police officers have, they do still have some powers that they can exercise when pursuing a potential shoplifter.

Loss Prevention professionals are allowed to detain an individual that they suspect has committed a crime and hold them for a reasonable amount of time until the police arrive. What constitutes a “reasonable” amount of time varies but is usually around an hour. This is technically known as carrying out a Citizen’s Arrest, which any private citizen has the power to do.

However, this kind of detention is only legal if they have probable cause to believe that a crime has either been committed or that the individual showed clear intent to commit a crime.

Therefore, Loss Prevention will very rarely attempt to detain an individual unless they have either observed the crime directly or they have evidence that could be brought before a judge.

Due to the level of training that Loss Prevention staff receive, their position of responsibility, and their ability to gather evidence and observe potentially criminal activity, they are well informed about how and when this kind of detention is applicable, and they are well-equipped to make sure that they are following the law in how they carry it out.

It is important to note that the policies and powers of members of security, or other private citizens, do differ between companies, jurisdictions, and states.

Can Security Use Force To Detain You?

For private citizens, detaining somebody is a pretty complicated business as there are legal limits to the level of force that you can use to prevent somebody from leaving the premises.

Loss Prevention staff, or security of any kind, are allowed to use “reasonable force” while detaining an individual. This means that they can only use an amount of force that is reasonable and necessary to prevent the alleged shoplifter from leaving. If the level of force is deemed unreasonable, then the individual (and potentially the store) can be liable.

Some states have more strict regulations about what constitutes reasonable force, and the specific circumstances of the detention will play a major part in determining what “reasonable” means.

For example, some states prohibit the use of deadly force unless the person is under threat of serious bodily harm or the detained individual is immediately using deadly physical force against them.

In this case, deadly force is considered “reasonable” as it would prevent harm to themselves or others.

In order to avoid the question of liability and make sure that they are not opened up to any lawsuits, many stores will have a policy that prohibits their Loss Prevention staff from using force of any kind.

In fact, some stores do not allow their Loss Prevention employees to touch a member of the public at all.

Will Loss Prevention Staff Handcuff You?

Technically, then, a member of Loss Prevention has the same rights as any other private citizen to detain an individual using reasonable force while they wait for the police to arrive. The main difference, of course, is the level of training that they have and the type of equipment that they might use.

Many Loss Prevention specialists will be trained to carry and use a number of different types of security equipment.

This could include pepper spray, tasers, and even firearms. The exact kind of equipment that they can carry and use, and when they can use it, will depend on the laws of the state.

A significant number of LP professionals either have a criminal justice degree or specialized police officer certification, which means that they know their legal rights.

The use of handcuffs is a relatively complicated issue. In some states, security staff (like Loss Prevention) are allowed to use handcuffs to detain someone – but only if it is completely necessary and would be considered “reasonable force”. In other states, the use of handcuffs is only permitted by police officers.

The reality is that it is very unlikely that a member of Loss Prevention will attempt to handcuff an individual unless they have specific training to do so and are within their legal right to use them in the state.

Many stores will not allow their LP staff to carry handcuffs and other such equipment as they do not want to risk a lawsuit.

Summary

Loss Prevention staff can detain an individual they believe has committed a crime or has demonstrated intent to commit a crime.

This detention is technically a Citizen’s Arrest, and they are legally allowed to use reasonable force to prevent the individual from leaving.

In some states, this may include the use of handcuffs. However, since it could open the store and staff up to liability if this were deemed an “unreasonable” level of force, most companies do not allow their LP employees to do so.

Reference Sources

https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/citizen-s-arrest.html