What is “Shopkeeper’s Privilege” in Florida?

Retail theft, known more commonly as shoplifting, is a theft offense for which a person can face charges under the Florida Statutes. If you are in a retail store and one of the employees or the store owner accuses you of shoplifting, can they detain you? You might assume that being detained against your will by a store employee would violate your rights under state or federal law, but Florida actually allows retail merchants — as well as certain other parties — to detain a person believed to have committed retail theft.

This law is known as “shopkeeper’s privilege,” and it is important to understand how it works so that you do not incorrectly assume that you can allege a rights violation as part of your defense strategy if you were detained (although you may be able to do so, as we will explain in more detail below).

Florida’s Definition of Retail Theft

Florida defines retail theft as “the taking possession of or carrying away of merchandise, property, money, or negotiable documents; altering or removing a label, universal product code, or price tag; transferring merchandise from one container to another; or removing a shopping cart, with intent to deprive the merchant of possession, use, benefit, or full retail value.”

This definition exists under Section 812.015 of the Florida Statutes, which also includes farm theft and transit fare evasion.

How Does the “Shopkeeper’s Privilege” Work?

Under Section 812.015(3), a merchant (i.e., a retail store owner or employee), as well as a farmer or transit agency employee, is actually permitted to take a person into custody or to detain a person who is believed to have committed retail theft, farm theft, or transit fare evasion under certain circumstances.

According to the Florida Statutes, if any of these parties have “probable cause to believe that a retail theft, farm theft, transit fare evasion, or trespass, or unlawful use of attempted use of any antishoplifting or inventory control device countermeasure, has been committed by a person and, in the case of retail or farm theft, that the property can be recovered by taking the offender into custody may, for the purpose of attempting to effect such recovery or for prosecution, take the offender into custody and detain the offender in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time.”

In short, a store can take a person into custody and detain them if they have probable cause to believe retail theft or shoplifting occurred.

When Alleged “Shopkeeper’s Privilege” Can Be Part of Your Defense Strategy

If you were detained under the “shopkeeper’s privilege” law, your detainment may have been unlawful if one or more of the following is true:

• No probable cause to take you into custody or to detain you existed;
• You were detained in an unreasonable manner; and/or
• You were detained for an unreasonable length of time.

Contact Our Tampa Criminal Defense Attorneys for Assistance Fighting the Retail Theft Charges You or Your Child Are Facing 

Were you detained and accused of retail theft? One of the experienced Tampa retail theft and shoplifting defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Daniel J. Fernandez, P.A. can begin working with you on your defense. Contact our firm today for assistance.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0812/Sections/0812.015.html