Wife an I were in an upscale mall today,(well for jax fl anyway). We witnessed some shop lifting going on, the guy from store was begging these pack of women and a small child to give back the mechindise as they continued to walk to there car, an drive away, mall cop did nothing.I decided to stay out of it for I would have done something I might not been able to play insanity for.

 

In a situation like that, the only thing to do is get a good description of the shoplifters, their car, their tag number and direction of travel to provide to whatever passes for law enforcement that responds to the scene.

If you try to stop them, you could be charged with false arrest, illegal detainment or at worst kidnapping.

Leave cop stuff to the cops......that's probably why the mall cop didn't intervene.
(But he was probably making note of the above mentioned information)

 

I have always heard most stores tell their employees to do exactly that. get the best description possible and let them do their thing.

of course, the traffic reporter here in des moines thought differently not too long ago, he apparently is well versed in ju jitsu, and took down a rather violent shoplifter, and pinned him till the cops came. the video from the survailence cames was pretty funny.

 

I'm sorry. You were scared of a pack of women and a kid????

 

Probably more scared of what would have happened if he had got in the middle of it.

Plus, whoever attacks my OL is going to be in a world of hurt, cause I taught her how to fight dirty...

 

There is some big women out there buddy, they would probably make that 1 ton in your signature squat.

 

I hear ya on that, My wife and I have been thrown out of a couple of bars in our younger days for fighting. I sure as heck wouldn't have just stood there and watched some thieves roll out. I hate thieves with a passion. It would have been on.

 

I am going to waste a few hours tomorrow watching Mall Cop at the theater.

 

In Texas, any citizen can arrest/detain another if the susp is committing a Felony, a Theft, or a Breach of the Peace (public intoxication, Fighting in public, etc.). Im sure the laws vary from state to state, but in most cases I suspect detaining someone for Theft is fine.....if Webbfoot was so inclined to get involved and had the means to stop them.

The "mallcop" is probably a security guard who was either to ignorant or scared to act as he should have.

..

 

Taxas is pretty open about folks acting against other folks who are on the wrong side of the law.

Most other states aren't quite that passive.

I'm not sure about Florida........

Maybe more afraid of a possible lawsuit.

OR

Who's to say the shoplifters might not have been armed, and taken great offence at someone preventing them from leaving with their ill-gotten booty.....it wouldn't be the first time......

 

If you see it and the management doesn't, go ahead and bring it to their attention, but don't confront them yourself. Too many retailers don't take it serious enuff to even prosecute anyway, so your putting yourself at risk for nothing. Even if the employees seem to take intrest, quite a few still fail to follow up and rely on the person to plea. The stores that do care, have plenty of security.

 

I'll take my chances standing up and doing something about it. That is what is wrong with people today, just stand there and do nothing.

 

ask the rich folks families on those planes precipating 9-1-1 why they just sat there.

ask the working folks families on the mid west bound plane why they are so proud....

old quote: evil reigns when good men do nothing.....1770s time period.

just not worth the hassle for their distant relatives to torch your house. it does not matter to them. they do not run with the legal system.

you did exactly the right thing. call the store and ask about it. it will make you feel better.

 

The problem is, the victim often doesn't even care. They fell a certain amount of loss is acceptable and cheaper than paying for security. The mall cop probably knows which stores aren't worth attempting an apprehension for. Most likely, he's there for the property owner to keep patrons safe on the property. I was trying to make you cognicent of that before you risk putting yourself in harms way over a piece of property. I'm not saying don't report it, but whether you're packing or not, you don't know what that person is capable of and it certainly isn't worth turning a simple misdemeanor into an assault or worse. You'd be surprised how quick an old lady could pull out a knife and come at you and how long it takes to fish out your weapon if you have one. Be good witness, but don't use force unless someone is in danger.