There is a lot of confusion among customers as to what a store like Walmart can or can’t do to stop shoplifting. For example, many don’t know if Walmart can detain a person for stealing.
In short, Walmart can only hold you until the police arrive. They’ll likely take you to a security room to retrieve the stolen items, collect your basic information, and take your photo.
Keep reading to discover more about Walmart and how it handles shoplifters, including what it can and can’t do when detaining anyone suspected of the crime.
Can Walmart Detain You For Shoplifting?
Yes, Walmart can detain you if they catch you shoplifting in their stores. They’ll likely take you to a security room on-site and keep you there. However, they can only detain you for a short period while they wait for the police to show up and arrest you.
Still, you must know a few important things about Walmart and how they detain shoplifters.
Remember: Walmart’s employees are not law enforcement officers. That means their power to detain you is incredibly limited compared to that of the police.
For starters. Walmart’s shoplifting policy doesn’t allow regular employees (like its associates) to approach or try to stop a shoplifter. Most of their employees are trained to stay back and observe shoplifters, even if they’re openly stealing.
At most, a Walmart worker can only watch the shoplifter from a safe distance and gather information that might be useful to the police later. That might include taking photos and videos and writing down descriptions of the shoplifter’s vehicle.
That hands-off approach is done for many reasons. Firstly, it helps to keep employees and customers safe. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where shoplifters become violent when others try to stop them.
Besides that, the policy is made that way at Walmart to prevent any false accusations against people who aren’t stealing. Those false accusations could lead to bad publicity and lawsuits, both of which Walmart avoids.
However, Walmart has specially-trained employees whose job is to stop shoplifters. They form Walmart’s loss prevention teams that can and will stop customers they suspect are trying to steal from the store.
These workers are often wearing official uniforms, though some work as undercover store detectives wearing plain clothes.
Loss prevention workers will start by watching shoplifters from afar with their own eyes or through the security cameras throughout the store.
Then, they’ll only approach a shoplifter once they see enough proof that the person intends to steal merchandise.
Read also >> Does Walmart Know When You Steal From Self Checkout?
Read also >> Does Walmart Build Cases On Shoplifters? (All You Need To Know)
Read also >> How Long Can Walmart Detain You For Shoplifting?
Read also >> How To Go Back To Walmart After Shoplifting?
What Happens When A Shoplifter Gets Detained At Walmart?
As you read earlier, Walmart can only detain a shoplifter for a short period, typically until the police arrive. During that time, several things will happen that include:
1. Retrieving Stolen Items
First and foremost, shoplifters are taken to a secure room. Then, they’re asked to return all the items they’ve stolen.
The store’s manager and loss prevention team might search the person’s bags and clothing for any other stolen items that might be hidden.
There will often be a camera recording during this part of the process to gather evidence to be used later.
2. Photographing The Shoplifter
Next, the employee will take photographs of the shoplifter. Those pictures will be added to a system or database that tracks Walmart’s shoplifters.
As a result, staff can easily identify shoplifters if they return to a Walmart location in the future.
3. Recording The Shoplifter’s Details
Walmart employees will also record the shoplifter’s personal details. That includes their name, address, and contact information.
Those details are used to identify the shoplifter and potentially send them a legal letter demanding payment for the items they’ve stolen and any associated costs later.
4. Banning The Shoplifter
Walmart has a zero-tolerance policy towards shoplifters and will ban them from their stores. That’s often done using a no-trespass order that allows Walmart to call the police again in the future if the person returns to their stores.
Banning the shoplifter also makes it much easier for other workers to identify them if they come back, even if they’re not stealing again.
5. Sign A Letter Admitting Guilt
Quite often, shoplifters at Walmart are also given a document to put their signature on. Signing the document means that the shoplifter admits to their guilt and promises to never return to a Walmart location ever again.
This goes hand-in-hand with the store ban to prevent shoplifters from walking into a Walmart in the future.
6. Handover To The Police
Lastly, Walmart employees will hand the shoplifter over to the police, along with any available evidence of what they were doing.
Will Walmart Press Charges Against Shoplifters?
Yes, Walmart will often press charges against shoplifters. However, they tend to approach it on a case-by-case basis.
Generally, a shoplifter is more likely to be arrested and charged in court if the value of the stolen items is high.
The same is also true if the person is a serial shoplifter that has been caught many times or if they are part of an organized criminal group that targets stores like Walmart.
On the other hand, first-time offenders or those who only steal small items might escape without being charged. Instead, they’ll be banned and placed on a list alongside other known shoplifters.
You should also know that shoplifters can get caught even after they’ve left the store with stolen goods.
The store’s loss prevention team might not have noticed the shoplifter stealing, but they will have video evidence thanks to the store’s security cameras.
How Does Walmart Catch Shoplifters?
Walmart uses several tools and methods to catch shoplifters in action.
Firstly, as you read earlier, the store employs loss prevention specialists who patrol the floors looking for suspicious behaviors.
These workers can identify would-be shoplifters based on their body language and will monitor them from afar.
Besides that, the store also has closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras watching all sections, especially those with high-value items. These cameras are always recording and will gather evidence of anyone stealing.
Like most stores, Walmart also uses electronic tagging on most of its items. Even if the shoplifter hides items with those tags in their bags or under their clothing, they will trigger alarms at the store’s entrances and exits.
Those alarms get the attention of the loss prevention team, who will step in and stop the person from leaving.
These days, Walmart is also investing a lot more money into technological solutions to stop shoplifters. One example is the use of facial recognition technology that can identify shoplifters from the store’s list of banned customers.
When the system finds a known shoplifter in the store, it’ll alert security guards and the loss prevention team to escort the person outside.
While those things catch shoplifters, Walmart also uses several strategies to discourage stealing before it even happens.
They include things like warning signs that remind customers of the security cameras and that they’ll be prosecuted if caught stealing merchandise.
Final Thoughts
In simple terms, yes, Walmart’s loss prevention team can and does detain shoplifters. That typically involves taking them to a security room to record their details, retrieve the stolen items, and ban them from the store.
However, Walmart can only detain shoplifters for a short period. The store’s employees aren’t law enforcement officers, so they can only detain and hand them over to the police when they arrive.
They’ll also pass over any evidence of the crime to the police to press charges against the shoplifter.
Reference Sources
https://attorney911.com/what-happens-if-you-get-caught-shoplifting-from-walmart/