A Toronto Shopkeeper is facing criminal charges after apprehending an apparent shoplifter. The shopkeeper was sick and tired of having his trays of plants being stolen all the time so he set up his own surveillance cameras and watched.
A short time later, the shopkeeper witnessed a theft and pursued the suspect. Upon capturing him, you would think he would call the Police. Nope. He duct taped the guy's legs and arms and tossed him into his van and began to beat on him. Eventually when Police arrived, the suspect was charged but so was the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper also was in possession of an EXACTO knife. So he is now charged with assault, kidnapping, forcible confinement and carrying a concealed weapon.
Now many people are coming to the defense of the shop keeper. Having worked as a Loss Prevention Officer for several years and arrested many people, what this shop keeper did was not only ILLEGAL but incredibly stupid.
OK, the guy stole some things, that does not give you the right to beat the crap out of him. You may use as much force as deemed necessary to restrain an individual but have some common sense.
Let's reverse the role here. Suppose the shopkeeper was being treated like this, I do not think he would like it very much !
Matter of fact he would probably sue the shopkeeper as well.
Now I bring this up as my topic because there is a national debate on this. I understand shop owners are fed up with the thefts and in some cases go as far as criticizing the Police for not doing enough (Grand scheme of things, the Police have other issues to deal with other than a shoplifting case. It is not regarded as a MAJOR crime. And it is not unless violence is involved. ) .
It's amazing how many people are coming to the defense of the shop keeper. OK, he worked hard for most of his life to earn a living and providing for his family. I understand that. Having items stolen from a store is costly... but so is risking your life to apprehend someone !
I know every time I had a shoplifting case going and my suspect walked out, I never knew what I was getting into and my defenses were on alert for any sign of trouble ( a few punches to the face ya kind of learn what those signs are ).
The sad part of this is many shop owners have no idea on how to deal with shoplifters. I think it would be a great idea to have some sort of seminar to teach them the BASICS of apprehension techniques and what to do and what not to do.
In my early days doing Loss Prevention , we had to take a week long course on every aspect when it comes to shoplifters. Everything from law to detaining to paperwork.
There were times when I was dealing with someone and it got violent. Punched out a few times, nose broken, cracked tooth, twisted wrist, hair line fracture in the ankle , bruises, concussion ( I had a bottle of fruit juice smashed on my head ), and probably other injuries that I have had but can't remember them all.
Now I also have done some stupid things ( they were not at the time) like actually jumping in a suspect's driver's side door and grabbed the keys and dragged him out. My partner and I also chased an armed suspect through a store as well... which is really dumb ! Or chased a suspect across a busy street.
You also have to account that just because someone is detained,handcuffed does not mean it is 100% secure. I had one suspect whom I had handcuffed and thought was calming down only he got up and ran right at me, tackled me down and began fighting. He managed to get the cuffs from behind his back to the front ( how? I have no idea ). All I remember from that one is that it was pretty violent.
Now you think to yourself, is it worth the few dollars that the person stole? It is and it isn't. Some were just not that easy to catch and I had no choice but to cut the losses... that's the worst part.
So what is my point in all of this?
I , along with many others, were trained to deal with shoplifters. The average citizen is not.
A small time grocer, flower shop or any other should NEVER get involved with criminals who steal from them. Take my advice. Write down every thing you witnessed and call the Police. Don't flash a knife , duct tape and beat them to a pulp... you WILL be charged!
So concludes today's lesson. The test is on Wednesday ! I never want to say that again...
Just doing some blog-hopping before getting my supper on the go. Hope you've been having a nice weekend. 
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