Art. 215. Detention and arrest of shoplifters

A.(1) A peace officer, merchant, or a specifically authorized employee or agent of a merchant, may use reasonable force to detain a person for questioning on the merchant's premises, for a length of time, not to exceed sixty minutes, unless it is reasonable under the circumstances that the person be detained longer, when he has reasonable cause to believe that the person has committed a theft of goods held for sale by the merchant, regardless of the actual value of the goods. The merchant or his employee or agent may also detain such a person for arrest by a peace officer. The detention shall not constitute an arrest.

(2) A peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person when he has reasonable grounds to believe the person has committed a theft of goods held for sale by a merchant, regardless of the actual value of the goods. A complaint made to a peace officer by a merchant or a merchant's employee or agent shall constitute reasonable cause for the officer making the arrest.

(3)(a) A merchant or a specifically authorized employee or agent of a merchant who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed a theft of goods held for sale by the merchant, is not precluded from offering such person the opportunity to complete a theft prevention program in lieu of reporting the suspected theft to law enforcement. The provisions of this Subparagraph apply only to those merchants who employ at least twenty-five persons.

(b)(i) A provider of a theft prevention program may charge a fee of not more than five hundred dollars for participation in the program and may not exclude a person otherwise eligible to participate in the program on the basis of the person's race, national origin, religion, sex, or the ability to pay the fee.

(ii) A provider of a theft prevention program that charges a fee to participate in the program may reduce or waive the fee based upon the inability of a participant to pay.

(iii) A provider of a theft prevention program shall maintain records of the criteria described in Item (i) of this Subsubparagraph for a period of not less than three years without including personal identifying information. This report shall be made available to the district attorney upon request.

(iv) A provider of a theft prevention program shall provide to the district attorney, upon request, its criteria for a person's participation in its theft prevention program.

(v) A merchant or a specifically authorized employee or agent of a merchant that offers a person the opportunity to complete a theft prevention program shall provide a copy of the written offer to the district attorney upon request.

(vi) Nothing in this Subparagraph shall preclude a district attorney or court from offering a theft prevention program in compliance with the provisions of this Subparagraph.

(c) The participant shall not be required to sign an admission of guilt nor sign any binding agreement in connection with participation in the theft prevention program.

(d) Any person who successfully completes a theft prevention program pursuant to this Subparagraph shall not be subject to any additional civil penalties under any other provision of law.

B. If a merchant utilizes electronic devices which are designed to detect the unauthorized removal of marked merchandise from the store, and if sufficient notice has been posted to advise the patrons that such a device is being utilized, a signal from the device to the merchant or his employee or agent indicating the removal of specially marked merchandise shall constitute a sufficient basis for reasonable cause to detain the person.

C. As used in this Article, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Reasonable under the circumstances" shall be construed in such a manner so as to include the value of the merchandise in question, the location of the store, the length of time taken for law enforcement personnel to respond, the cooperation of the person detained, and any other relevant circumstances to be considered with respect to the length of time a person is detained.

(2) "Theft prevention program" is a pre-arrest program designed to address the underlying causes of theft, reduce the occurrences of theft, and promote accountability and reconciliation between the person suspected of theft and the merchant, and may be provided by the merchant or an independent third-party provider.

Acts 1983, No. 187, §1; Acts 1987, No. 632, §1; Acts 2018, No. 61, §1.