Assembly Bill No. 85–Committee on Judiciary

(On Behalf of Attorney General)

February 4, 1999

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Referred to Committee on Judiciary

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes concerning taking into custody and detention of person

suspected of shoplifting. (BDR 52-595)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to crimes against property; making various changes to provisions

concerning a merchant taking a person into custody and detaining him; and

providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 597.850 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 597.850 1. As used in this section and in NRS 597.860 and 597.870:

1-3 (a) "Merchandise" means any personal property, capable of manual

1-4 delivery, displayed, held or offered for sale by a merchant.

1-5 (b) "Merchant" means an owner or operator, and the agent, consignee,

1-6 employee, lessee, or officer of an owner or operator, of any merchant’s

1-7 premises.

1-8 (c) "Premises" means any establishment or part thereof wherein

1-9 merchandise is displayed, held or offered for sale.

1-10 2. Any merchant may request any person on his premises to place or

1-11 keep in full view any merchandise the person may have removed, or which

1-12 the merchant has reason to believe he may have removed, from its place of

1-13 display or elsewhere, whether for examination, purchase or for any other

1-14 purpose. No merchant is criminally or civilly liable on account of having

1-15 made such a request.

1-16 3. Any merchant who has reason to believe that merchandise has been

1-17 wrongfully taken by a person and that he can recover the merchandise by

2-1 taking the person into custody and detaining him may, for the purpose of

2-2 attempting to effect such recovery or for the purpose of informing a peace

2-3 officer of the circumstances of such detention, take the person into custody

2-4 and detain him, on the premises, in a reasonable manner and for a

2-5 reasonable length of time. A merchant is presumed to have reason to

2-6 believe that merchandise has been wrongfully taken by a person and that

2-7 he can recover the merchandise by taking the person into custody and

2-8 detaining him if the merchant observed the person concealing

2-9 merchandise while on the premises. Such taking into custody and

2-10 detention by a merchant does not render the merchant criminally or civilly

2-11 liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, slander or unlawful detention

2-12 unless the taking into custody and detention are unreasonable under all the

2-13 circumstances.

2-14 4. No merchant is entitled to the immunity from liability provided for

2-15 in this section unless there is displayed in a conspicuous place on his

2-16 premises a notice in boldface type clearly legible and in substantially the

2-17 following form:

2-18 Any merchant or his agent who has reason to believe that

2-19 merchandise has been wrongfully taken by a person may detain

2-20 such person on the premises of the merchant for the purpose of

2-21 recovering the property or notifying a peace officer. An adult or the

2-22 parents or legal guardian of a minor, who steals merchandise is

2-23 civilly liable for its value and additional damages. NRS 597.850,

2-24 597.860 and 597.870.

2-25 The notice must be prepared and copies thereof supplied on demand by the

2-26 superintendent of the state printing division of the department of

2-27 administration. The superintendent may charge a fee based on the cost for

2-28 each copy of the notice supplied to any person.

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