Can a store stop me from leaving if they think I’ve been shoplifting?
Not usually…. But
Shop staff or security guards can forcibly prevent you leaving the shop only in two kinds of situations:
Expensive items – if the things they suspect you of stealing are worth $1,000 or more (a higher-end laptop for example, or say $4000 pants), or
Night time – if it’s between 9.00 pm and 6.00 am (when you’re in an all-night service station for example).
They also need to have “reasonable and probable grounds” for believing that you’ve stolen the items.
A vague suspicion won’t be enough.
$15,000.00 is expensive items.
We know there is NO vague suspicion as The Green Party viewed the CCTV footage and confirmed the person in the video was their own MP.
It looks like it’s an arrest at customs on arrival back to NZ.
