12 year olds being stopped and bags searched.

[Howdoidoit100]

My daughter and her friend were today stopped in a large store and told (not asked) to hand over their bags. They were absolutely terrified so just did as they were told. They hadn't put anything in their bags but one child had something in her hand that she planned to buy. The security officer then told another member of staff to take them to the tills to ensure they paid for the item in the girls hand.

At the time they were searched they were in the middle of the store still browsing (not trying to leave)

No apology or explanation was offered and one of the girls disolved in to tears after leaving. They were absolutely humiliated with everyone in this large store staring at them whilst they were searched.

Am I unreasonable to feel they were treated unfairly? At the very least I would like the security to have called me before searching them and provided an explanation of why they were being searched. I would have been able to guide the girls on what to do and perhaps made it less frightening for them.

I do understand kids do steal....I just don't like how this was handled. Not sure if I'm being over protective.

In that case, children won't be allowed into the shop at all unless they're accompanied by an adult.

You don't seriously think shops will just let children in to steal with impunity, do you?

They can approach them if and when they have a reasonable suspicion that they are stealing something. Which is not when you are in the middle of the store with an item in your hand.

As for the idea of leaving your rucksack at customer services. Really? So I go in with a rucksack which I often do because it's easier to carry stuff home, I can expect to be stopped and searched in the middle of the shop? Yeah right.

Deal with the actual shoplifters and stop treating the rest of us as if we are idiots.

The responses on this thread beggar belief really. You've got all the fall out from the Horizon scandal playing out around us, and you STILL think shops can do what they want and we should just accept authority.

And as if any of you have "trained" your young children about security guards etc. The sanctimonious smugness on MN is something to be believed at times.

It’s been a very long time since I worked in retail but in those days we received extensive training on stock management and teenagers were not the largest demographic of shoplifters. The main demographic was drug addicts, followed by career shoplifters, usually smartly dressed middle aged people - the ones than no one would look twice at.

From my experience, being put in the interview room and having to give their parents phone number is way more scary for teens than simply having their bag peeked in. And often, no parent is available, therefore it becomes a police matter.

and you STILL think shops can do what they want and we should just accept authority.

"Could I take a look in your bag?" is not comparable to prosecuting someone on trumped-up charges. It's really not a big ask if you've done nothing wrong.

SIA Training Factsheet - Vulnerable Individuals

Security Guarding is a licensable activity, and there’s actually a large amount of course content that needs to be covered and signed off on.

No to mention that for some children, even being wrongly accused would be enough to get them in serious trouble with their parents if they get a call from the shop.

I know when I was a teen, I’d be out shopping (not shoplifting!) and my parents would be at work. They would be absolutely mortified to have to leave their jobs to come and collect me from the shop because I was behaving sufficiently suspicious to be accused of theft.

Many parents may even have lost out on pay in this type of scenarios.

I thought about this thread when I was leaving Decathlon yesterday and a security guard by the door was asking everyone to see their receipt as they left.
I said no and walked off.what fucking right do they think they have?

Good for you

Might have come from Costco. You have to show your receipt before leaving.

I'd want the manager to have a look at the CCTV to see if the security guard had reasonable cause to search. There's many male security guards who like the power over young women.

So you think it is acceptable to scapegoat youth because of your previous position in retail?

But the OP's daughter and friends had not done anything wrong, they had not attempted to exit, why is acceptable to humiliate teenagers who have some nothing wrong except be teenagers, that is profiling and completely unacceptable in other walks of life.

@Goldenbear where did I suggest they were scapegoats ? T

he reality is stats on lifting will show higher level per age group in youths 🤷 Add in a big bag, possibly acting nervous and you literally have the 101 of when security guards are meant to notice.

As I said what are the policies and rules on requesting a search ?

As I said I am torn I hate paying more because shop lifting is rife. But what is your alternative suggestion?

I don't "have to" do anything!

You would if you shopped at Costco. It's in the T&C's though.

I am not going to raise my teen to pick on every little minor thing in life that is not fair and stamp his feet. Live is to short to sweat the small stuff. It is not ideal having your bag searched if you have done nothing wrong, but if they are old enough to go shopping without an adult then they are also are capable of understanding why it was done.

Yes it is absolutely profiling, and I don't have a problem with that. Teens commonly make bad choices. That is why they get watched in shops, why they get stopped by police at night for welfare checks, why their insurance costs are higher, why some holiday destinations will not accept them, etc etc. It is also why (hopefully) if someone saw them looking vulnerable or if they needed help they would offer support.

A security guard thought they were acting suspiciously for whatever reason and asked to check inside their bags. If a teen finds that so humiliating they are left traumatised or in tears they are probably better waiting until an adult can accompany them to the shops.

Perhaps the security guards could have handled it better, but we are hearing the story 3rd hand via a teenager so who knows if he was a bit OTT or if the girls just got a fright because they had other intentions, or it their parents had not prepared them for what happens in shops. Surely anyone who lets their 12 year old go shopping with friends gives them some words of advice first about temptation, consequences, peer pressure and the possibility of being challenged by security staff.

Excellent post @SeemsSoUnfair

I would go to the shop, find the security guard and challenge him/threaten him to his face if he did anything like that to my kids.

shop security guards have no powers of search. In fact they have no powers at all of any kind and have zero right to touch never mind search another person’s property.

they are there as deterrent only. Nothing else.

We aren’t talking about that though. We are talking about on the shop floor in a retail setting with other people and cctv present. The child has the right to say no; however the consequence will then be that they are placed in an interview room with a member of store staff present and held until the police arrive.

I don't understand this comment really - are you saying that a shop has the right to detain a child?

Yes it is absolutely profiling, and I don't have a problem with that

Well you really should...we all should

I would have been positively incandescent with rage if something like that had ever happened to my dd. Intimidation of 12-year-old girls by an adult male, and total humiliation in the middle of the shop, with no proof whatsoever that they had tried to conceal anything in their bags?

No way would I put up with that, I'm afraid. I would have marched straight down there and insisted on speaking to the store manager. And if that wasn't enough to sort it out, I would have put in a formal complaint to their head office by email, and printed it out and sent a copy to every single one of the directors. I suspect I would also name the store on here, and on social media.

I've seen security guards stop school kids ...I will always stand there and watch

So you "profile" too? Or do you stand and watch adults that have been stopped? It is assuming all teens are trustworthy and all security guards are arseholes which is simply not the case.

Your previous posts are all about shielding children from any minor challenge from an adult while out and about. If a teen is not ready for someone to ask to check their bag, keep them in or go with them until they are.

It is not good for their development, or learning how to navigate in the real world if they are taught they are untouchable and never experience any challenge. No wonder kids have such poor resilience nowadays if a security guard who clearly works for the shop, in an open area where there is no threat if they have done nothing wrong asking to check their bags is traumatising/humiliating.

I'm not profiling anyone... don't be daft

I once saw a few kids buy something at the self checkout. They didn't get a receipt. I saw them pay though . The woman monitoring the self checkout got on her walkie talkie literally screaming they haven't got a receipt. 100% I'd stand up for them. No I wouldn't stand up for an adult unless they were disabled or particularly vulnerable looking. I once saw a chugger stop an incredibly elderly confused looking gentleman. Luckily he wandered off and ignored him. But yes, I'm happy to stand up for people who are vulnerable. We all should be.

I would have been positively incandescent with rage if something like that had ever happened to my dd. Intimidation of 12-year-old girls by an adult male

Well exactly.