| (1) |
Any merchant who has probable cause to believe that a person has committed retail theft may detain such person, on or off the premises of a retail mercantile establishment, in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time for all or any of the following purposes:
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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-6-603- Merchandise: means any personal property displayed, held, or offered for sale by a merchant. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Merchant: means an owner or operator of any retail mercantile establishment where merchandise is displayed, held, or offered for sale and includes the merchant's employees, servants, or agents. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Minor: means any unmarried person under 18 years of age. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, government, partnership, or unincorporated association. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
- Premises of a retail mercantile establishment: includes , but is not limited to, the retail mercantile establishment; any common use areas in shopping centers and all parking lots or areas set aside for the benefit of those patrons of the retail mercantile establishment. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Retail mercantile establishment: means any place where merchandise is displayed, held, or offered for sale to the public. See Utah Code 76-6-601
| (a) |
to make reasonable inquiry as to whether such person has in his possession unpurchased merchandise and to make reasonable investigation of the ownership of such merchandise; |
| (b) |
to request identification; |
| (c) |
to verify such identification; |
| (d) |
to make a reasonable request of such person to place or keep in full view any merchandise such individual may have removed, or which the merchant has reason to believe he may have removed, from its place of display or elsewhere, whether for examination, purchase, or for any other reasonable purpose; |
| (e) |
to inform a peace officer of the detention of the person and surrender that person to the custody of a peace officer; |
| (f) |
in the case of a minor, to inform a peace officer, the parents, guardian, or other private person interested in the welfare of that minor immediately, if possible, of this detention and to surrender custody of such minor to such person. |
|
| (2) |
A merchant may make a detention as permitted herein off the premises of a retail mercantile establishment only if such detention is pursuant to an immediate pursuit of such person. |
Amended by Chapter 306, 2007 General Session
