Question

While shopping at a store, a citizen witnessed a male concealing item's on him. The citizen watches him from a far and doesn't take his eyes off of him. Once the male walks past the point of entry and outside, the citizen alerts the store loss prevention guard on the incident. After explaining the situation to the loss prevention guard, the citizen and loss prevention guard arrest the male. The citizen then hands the arrest over to the loss prevention guard. The male admits to stealing and is sorry.

You as the police officer arrive on scene and test the arrest to determine if it was lawful. What is your next move?

Answer 1

A police officer must verify the legality of a citizen's arrest when a theft is reported. If it was lawful and the suspect has admitted guilt, the officer will continue with the official arrest process. The scenario examines authority in law enforcement and the application of anti-theft laws.

Step-by-step explanation:

When arriving at a scene where a citizen's arrest has been made by a store loss prevention guard, a police officer must determine the legality of the citizen's arrest and then follow legal protocol for handling the situation. This includes assessing whether the arrest was conducted according to local laws which typically require that a theft must be witnessed from the point of initiation to beyond the point of sale. Since the suspect has admitted to the theft, the officer can then proceed with usual arrest protocols, such as reading the suspect their rights, and transporting them to the station for charging and booking procedures.

The incident involves authority and theft, which relate to the way people respond to legal authority figures and the enforcement of anti-theft laws, respectively.