Can I refuse to have security search my bag if I sound the alarm when leaving a store? DEAN DUNHAM responds

I sounded the alarm when leaving a department store, even though I hadn’t bought anything.

The security at the door insisted on searching my shopping bags. I felt indignant. Could I have refused?

RG, via email.

Dean Dunham responds: Security staff have limited powers compared to police and can generally only enforce store policies, such as denying you entry or asking you to leave if you refuse to comply with a search request.

Security can only take limited actions in relation to a possible theft or security situation.

If they have reasonable grounds to suspect that you have stolen or carried prohibited items, they may ask you to search your belongings, but you still have the right to say no.

However, if you refuse, the guards can detain you through a citizen’s arrest, based on their reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime.

If they decide to take this step, they must explain why they are stopping you and contact the police immediately. They can only use reasonable force.

I could have refused the registration but, in my opinion, that would not have been advisable.

The best thing you can do if you’re faced with a request to search your bag when leaving a store is to ask why.

Then you should ask what reasonable grounds they have to believe that you have stolen something or are carrying a prohibited item.

In that case, security authorities will have to act very carefully, as a mere “suspicion” based on a “hunch” will not be enough.

They’ll need something more concrete, like a witness who says they think they saw him drinking something.

If you are detained unnecessarily and security personnel cannot provide you with a valid explanation as to why they had reasonable grounds to believe that you had committed a crime, you should file a complaint with both the store owner and their security company (if it is a separate entity). .

The likely result will be a voucher or some other form of compensation. The amount will depend on the level of distress caused.

This will increase if there was any discrimination, for example if you were stopped based on race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.