Do you object to BAG INSPECTIONS at stores

[nero_bolt]

?

Do you object to BAG INSPECTIONS at stores?

Do you object to staff asking to inspect your bag? (they are only doing their job) 

Will you shop at a  store that asks to inspect your bag or will you go elsewhere? 

Do bag inspections and security checks help to stop shop lifting and keep prices down?

If you object WHY?

Do you think that objecting to a bag inspection makes a person look guilty or they are guilty? 

Rememer that its a condition of entry at just about every major /medium/small store in Australia 

[mugssy65]

It's not like they tip the contents out on the counter, nor do they put their hands in they just peep inside for goodness sake. Lol

[cherry*135]

I agree mugs,, a cursory glance in your handbag (if in NSW, only if it is bigger than an A4 size)  or in a shopping bag. what a terrible experience.

I do feel sorry for those with full backpacks, who have to pull at bit of stuff out right there in the shop with other customers looking at them to see if they DID steal something.

[the_hawk*]

---

@am*3 wrote:

Take a 'special' type of person to go to those lengths.

I think meep asked above  - has anyone in Australia ever done that or is it just a  fantasy some people have?

---

Oh dear me why not do some research rather than write stuff you think is right.

Legal risks
It is important to understand that private security personnel possess no
greater powers than those of the owner, occupier, director or manager of
premises. Like any citizen, owners or their agents have the right to make a
"citizen's arrest" in circumstances where they perceive that a crime (such as
larceny in a shopping centre, for example) has been committed. The only
limitation is that owners and citizens have to be right about their suspicions
or face a civil suit (for false imprisonment or assault) if they are wrong or
unable to prove their case. By contrast, the public police's actions are
usually authorised by special legislation which provides a defence against
any such action, the defence of reasonable suspicion..

ref http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/conferences/business/sarre.pdf

and http://defamationwatch.com.au/?p=374

lots more if you look

[the_hawk*]

---

@am*3 wrote:

NSW FAIR TRADING

Bag checks are often carried out by retailers in an attempt to control theft. In fact, if they choose to, retailers can make bag checking a condition of entry to their shops.

Your rights as a customer 

As a customer entering a shop, you have rights when it comes to bag checking. They are:

• You have the right to know before entry that a shop conducts bag checks. Signage must be clearly displayed at the entrance/s to the shop.
  
  
• Store personnel are only allowed to look in your bag; they are not allowed to touch the contents of your bag. However, if you are asked to remove an object in your bag so they can see inside properly you are expected to cooperate.
  
  
• Personal handbags the size of a sheet of A4 paper or smaller should not be checked, unless the shopkeeper is certain the handbag contains goods from that shop which have not been paid for.
  
  
• A shopkeeper is only allowed to detain you and call the police in situations where they are sure an offence has been committed.
• If shop staff forcibly detain or search you and you have not committed an offence, you are entitled to make a complaint to the police, the store management or Privacy NSW.

Your responsibilities as a customer  

Although you have rights as a customer, you must also be aware of the guidelines that exist to protect the shopkeeper. They are:

• By entering a shop which has clearly displayed signs that bag checks are conducted, you accept the shopkeeper’s right to ask you to open your bags for checking. 
• The shopkeeper’s right to check your bags also includes checking cartons, parcels or any other container you are carrying that could reasonably conceal goods.
• If you refuse to allow shop staff to check your bags you can be asked to leave the shop and not return.

---

no where in that clap trap does it say you must comply or its a legal requirment , request and asked to leave does not say must

[**otoli**]

I do not allow it if I am carrying a bag that is under A4 size which is my legal right to do. You can only be detained if they 'suspect' you have stolen something and not merely for refusing a bag check.

I have refused many times and when argued with told them I am within my right to refuse and they know this too.

If I take a larger bag, I will only show it if I asked.

I don't allow my kids to search my bag, why would I allow a stranger to do so?

[azureline**]

Any time I have been asked if they can check my bags, it has always been shopping bags, I have never been asked if anyone can check my handbag. I comply........... no reason not to..... just 30 seconds of my time..........

as for Acacia's "shops pay for insurance against shoplifting"  well, why do you think insurance policies are so high??? and who can afford that? without passing it on to your customers?

[azureline**]

btw, what on earth do you people with "personal items" carry in your bag that you wouldn't want anyone to see? Mine usually has a purse containing notes, coins, cards........ a pen, a shopping list, receipts, maybe a pattern and a fabric sample or 2, lip balm, a phone, keys, perfume.

[punch*drunk]

---

@azureline** wrote:

btw, what on earth do you people with "personal items" carry in your bag that you wouldn't want anyone to see? Mine usually has a purse containing notes, coins, cards........ a pen, a shopping list, receipts, maybe a pattern and a fabric sample or 2, lip balm, a phone, keys, perfume.

---

Gee, thats a lot of stuff lol, mine has purse, phone, car keys and occasionally a few stray receipts or small change, and even that barely fits. Dont know what people are carrying around that is so secret.

I feel sorry for the staff having to deal with some of the difficult people, no wonder the young staff are embarrassed when they need to ask, they've probably been berated by people who think they have more rights than everyone else.

[the_hawk*]

---

@punch*drunk wrote:

---

@azureline** wrote:

btw, what on earth do you people with "personal items" carry in your bag that you wouldn't want anyone to see? Mine usually has a purse containing notes, coins, cards........ a pen, a shopping list, receipts, maybe a pattern and a fabric sample or 2, lip balm, a phone, keys, perfume.

---

Gee, thats a lot of stuff lol, mine has purse, phone, car keys and occasionally a few stray receipts or small change, and even that barely fits. Dont know what people are carrying around that is so secret.

I feel sorry for the staff having to deal with some of the difficult people, no wonder the young staff are embarrassed when they need to ask, they've probably been berated by people who think they have more rights than everyone else.

---

Its not a matter of having more rights than anyone else, its a matter of knowing what your rights are and exercising them.

Most people are conned into believing something is so when its not and blindly doing as they are told by anyone that claims to have some power.

[***super_nova***]

Actually, I do not think that checking bags does particularly reduce theft; professional thieves hide stuff in the way that it is not visible at the first glance.  I have not been asked to show my bag for a long time, but I do find it insulting.  Considering, that we all walk out of the store through the scanner, why do they need to peep into my bag?  In any case, large stores have high resolution cameras and they only look in bags of people they saw doing something suspicious.  If a store staff inspected my bag once I would still go back, but if they did it every time I shop there i would not.