Permit for in-store detention of shoplifters
Private nationals may not lawfully hold individuals against their will. Doing so opens the way to civil and criminal obligation for false detainment. Many states have established statutes particularly approving stores and their workers to keep presumed shoplifters in specific conditions. These laws serve to shield the stores from claims asserting false detainment or false capture. In spite of the fact that these laws differ, store proprietors and their representatives for the most part are permitted to confine a person when they have reasonable justification to speculate shoplifting.