Rights Violation or a Complete Jerk?

[Roland]

You put magnetic security tags on merchandise, which may or may not be removed upon checkout. Then all customers go through the machine on their way out. Is it not also a loss prevention search? The person could own something that would trip the device, possibly including something they just legally purchased. It is probably less intrusive and more effective, but legally I do not see any distinction whatsoever. Like you said, people don't put their own posessions into a store bag other than what they just bought. What they just bought is already known to the store, so what privacy rights should they against the store double-checking?

Technically, that's not a search. It's little more than an electronic leash. Now, if the person trips the alarm upon exiting, generally people are told to just go (we did regularly at Circuit City, but not at Wilsons). Otherwise, they'll usually stand there and wait for you to come to their aid, or to be motioned over to rectify the problem. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it's a false alarm, caused by a missed tag, or interference from certain objects on the person (cellphones are a hot suspect). I have never witnessed someone resist having an employee rectify the situation to prevent the alarm from going off, and I've seen more false alarms than I can count in a day. However, if one were to resist having your items checked due to sensors, then that would construe suspicious behavoir, and thus warrant a search.

See the difference?

If someone walks into a store with a backpack on, they are generally asked to remove it. Is that unlawful seizure of property? Are store employees, who are not acting agents of the government, even bound by the fourth amendment? It seems like this may be more of a common law issue regarding property ownership and the way business is conducted.

Actually, it's rare that people get asked to remove backpacks, in all honesty. They may be put under extra surveillance, but I've yet to see someone be asked to remove their bags, otherwise where do you stop? Purses? Diaper bags? Wheelchairs?

Forgetting about whether something is in a bag or not, let's say a person carries a TV to the exit of a store. Is it within the rights of a store employee to walk up to the person and ask them to show a receipt, or can a person walk out of a store with a TV any time they feel like it under the presumption that it was purchased? You know as well as I do that people are bold enough to do it and get away with it depending on the store layout.

I do indeed. I also know that all the TVs I've ever seen stolen were done by employees, not customers. Although, I think I heard of one story where I guy tried to grab a plasma TV off the wall and run... but that was mounted to the wall, so he didn't get anywhere.;)Yes, I do see your point about that, but there's a simple solution (a common sense one that businesses already practice, save for BJ's Wholesale Club:P) that doesn't require mandatory searches: keep the merchandise locked up. Simple, effective, non-intrusive. The only thing you have to worry about is, again, employee theft, which you ALWAYS have to worry about and is the number one cause of shrink in retail. Customer searches do nothing against that, too, by the way.:P

Not trying to shoot you down, per se, just arguing you point by point. I don't necessarily have a problem with such methods of theft-deterrent. I do, however, question its effectiveness, and thus necessity, as well as the legal ramifications (if only for curiosity's sake).