It would not be a breach of data protection laws, as they specifically allow data to be passed for purposes of prevention and detection of crime. It would not be RLP contacting the op's employer, it would be the store security or other staff, and there is nothing, realistically, that can be done about it. Think of all the shopwatch schemes and the info they pass to each other. If it were against the law would they be able to function?

@ biggeorge, even if they involve the police, they will still refer it to RLP. I expect everyone is correct about the chance of being taken to civil court, i.e. very unlikely, but that still leaves you with the chance of a letter being seen by your mother. Perhaps a way of avoiding that would be to get your mail re-directed by royal mail. Perhaps someone else could confirm if that would be an option? I know it would cost on a monthly basis, but would be less than RLP would ask for, and could prevent any awkwardness with your family. Anyone else think this could work?

I don't think the police would bother with a crime report and number, if there was no case to answer. I would also expect RLP to be in touch.

Where I live, out of the 3 retailers you mention, only Sainsbury use contract guards. The others employ them directly.

How can you possibly guarantee that? I still remember shoplifters faces and names from 8 years ago!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if the police were going to give the store a crime number, then they are raising a crime report, which will be recorded. I would guess that what happened was their idea of restorative justice, you apologise to the store and pay for the goods taken, but they still report the crime. This may appear on a future crb check. Sorry!

Just to set some things straight, when store security ask for a NI number, it is solely for the purposes of indentification. There is no problem with giving this info. If they get other printed ID with address, then they won't be bothered about a NI number. Stores can, and do, call the police after the event. What is there to stop them? Also, they can show cctv to the police, and if they recognise the suspect, they will take a crime report and go arrest the suspect.

Why would you accept a FPN from police when you did not intend to steal? You can still opt to go to court instead of paying the fine, then it's up to the CPS to prove intentional theft. Be aware that a FPN will show on the police national computer.

This is not right, I think the police officer has made a mistake. Perhaps he has never dealt with a shoplifting incident before. The fixed penalty will not be issued by post, the time for a PND is at the time of the incident, and is instead of being charged with a crime. Your wife has been charged and fingerprinted, so either she is going to court, or the cps will throw it out. If you are lucky, it will be the latter.

Hi, retail premises are private property, and they can ban anyone they like. Some retailers will give a banning order or letter, and may ask people stopped for shoplifting to sign these, but they are not mandatory. They can and often do simply tell people that they are banned and not welcome there any more. As to will you be recognised?, well that would depend on the people who banned you, if they are still working there, and if they have a good memory. I work for a retail chain store, and I remember some people from several years ago. The cctv system may have a video printer, so they can make a still photo from that at the time. I always print photos of shoplifters, and these are attached to an incident report, and kept in a file for future reference. You could always try to change your appearance, a different hairstyle can make a huge difference. Sorry if it's not what you hoped to hear.

OP, this was a joint venture, and in RLP's own words you are jointly and severally liable. Since your friend has paid up, then RLP have no reason to pursue payment from you. Write to them and point this out.

The police officer was getting you to sign his notebook so that you could not later deny what was said. I know of one officer who always does this when he issues a PND. If you don't know, a PND is a penalty notice for disorder, and is basically an on the spot fine of £80, payable within 21 days. If you later contest the PND, then he has his notes, signed as true by you, to back him up as a true record of events. RLP are not connected to the police in any way, and the money they ask for is not a fine, it is an invoice for costs and damages. Sometimes the police will not issue a PND, satisfied that the punishment will be a bill from RLP, but the police are not familiar with civil law, and do not seem to realise that paying the bill is not mandatory. Some police officers will issue a PND regardless. As you have seen from the letters, RLP ask for a contribution toward the costs of cctv to monitor you, the operators time, security guards time and admin and management time in dealing with your wrongful act and detention etc. These costs seem to have a tentative basis in law, but have yet to be really tested in shoplifting cases. The advice on this board is usually to ignore, or to respond once, denying any liability, or maybe ask for a breakdown of the sums claimed. It has also been said that a case from Boots is continuing to litigation. I can state that RLP are asking for video evidence to be retained, in case they need it. Your legal knowledge, and your mother's, will probably have no relevance.

This was meant to convey that if ID is witheld until police arrive, then they will give that info to the victim, if they are satisfied that a crime has taken place. If someone has stolen, then it may be better to give ID and possibly avoid police attention and a possible PND.

Your friend is right in the first part, but wrong in the second. If details are refused, they will have to call the police. The victim, i.e., the store, are allowed to have the info for the precise purpose to pursue civil action. His advice therefore, is pretty poor, unless you have not stolen anything. If you have stolen something, then just give them the details/ proof of ID. You will get referred to RLP, but they may not call the police. If the police are involved, you may end up with a PND costing you £80, and then still be referred to RLP.

The national retailer I work for has tracked people twice recently, via their bank card details. The most recent one was a female who stole 3 voile curtains, leaving the empty packages on the shelf. This was a simple matter to track, firstly via cctv, which showed her removing the items and then shoving them into her bag. She then selected a couple of small items, which she paid for using a card, and also got £10 cashback! The card details were tracked by head office, and passed on to police locally. The value of items stolen was £27.