QLD Minor Caught Shoplifting - What to Do?

[Bill Murray]

She's 17. It's absolutely ridiculous that a 17 year old is even considered a juvenile in our criminal justice system.

If she was under 16 I'd agree with you. But again it depends on how it was done. People say "made" all the time and what they really mean is the person asked and they thought they had to. Queensland no longer requires informed consent for searches so I would be very surprised if an LPO has done anything wrong by asking a 17 year old to show them their under shirt.

Your first line - perhaps. But it's not worth the hassle. A caution means she has no criminal record so my recommendation is the easiest.

 

[Clancy]

Queensland no longer requires informed consent for searches .

Wow, i thought body searches was something taken more seriously than that....my mistake, well ok then i should open a store in Queensland so i can freely grope women and then say i suspected them of shoplifting, nice!

 

[Bill Murray]

You need to slow down. Do you even know what informed consent is?

Informed consent is where you need to get someones permission to search but you also need to tell them that they do NOT have to consent. So for example "Do you mind if I have a look in your bag - you do not have to say yes if you do not want to". Queensland only requires the first part "Do you mind if I have a look in your bag". If someone interprets that as them having no choice then that's on them.

An LPO asking someone to lift their outer shirt, or jacket, to show what is on under it is so far removed from "freely groping women" that your post verges on hysteria. A person has every right to refuse this request and if they do and the person then forces them it'd likely constitute assault. If the person refuses and the LPO then restraints them to prevent them leaving till the Police arrive this would be perfectly acceptable.

At no point did the OP say that the LPO/Store worker physically forced them to remove any clothing. Given your extremely irrational way of thinking and written communication I am not surprised you have bad experiences with the Police.

 

[Clancy]

A person has every right to refuse this request and if they do and the person then forces them it'd likely constitute assault. If the person refuses and the LPO then restraints them to prevent them leaving till the Police arrive this would be perfectly acceptable.

Above section makes perfect sense and is what i would have expected is the way it should be, the rest of your post was rubbish.

 

[Clancy]

Here is some free advice Bill Murray; Understanding hyperboles and their use in context can further one's ability to understand the messages being sent from the speaker.

 

[Oneman]

You know Taliah, you admit that you stole the T-Shirt and you say that you've never stolen before. You seem to regret your behaviour, so really, all you have to do is ask yourself do I admit the theft if confronted by the Police, (but from what I see nothing has been said by you that the Police have contacted you) or do I look for excuses for my bad behaviour. The store employee may not even pass the information to Police. I suggest you stop getting worked up about going to prison, because you wont, wait and see what happens and DON'T DO IT AGAIN because in the long run stealing isn't worth the worry it causes your conscience, is it?

 

[Clancy]

You know Taliah, you admit that you stole the T-Shirt and you say that you've never stolen before. You seem to regret your behaviour, so really, all you have to do is ask yourself do I admit the theft if confronted by the Police, (but from what I see nothing has been said by you that the Police have contacted you) or do I look for excuses for my bad behaviour. The store employee may not even pass the information to Police. I suggest you stop getting worked up about going to prison, because you wont, wait and see what happens and DON'T DO IT AGAIN because in the long run stealing isn't worth the worry it causes your conscience, is it?

Good advice, but in the long run it bothering your conscience is not the worst thing that can happen..... the worst thing that can happen in the long run is when stealing no longer bothers a persons conscience at all!