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Electromagnetic Fields and Strip Searches

17:06 / 16.10.06

I can't figure this out. Everytime I leave a store the alarms go off. I am then seached by security guards. In most stores my purse is checked for stolen goods. I have had to remove clothing and my shoes, and the darn thing still went off! This is becoming quite strange. Luckily, the pharmacy I go to regularly, knows me and my little problem and they just let em pass. However, some other stores have me strip down to my stocking feet, t-shirt and jeans with my hands above my head. Some security are nicer than others, but this is all still rather embarrassing.

I am not certain what the problem could be. I know that some Barbelithers have a prediliction towards the weird and mysterious, however, here may even be a simple explanation to this. Has anyone else experienced this as a common occurrence, or is there some freakiness going on here? What could possibly cause this?

Help appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

Sincerly,

False Alarms

17:10 / 16.10.06

Just to fill in a bit...this has been going on for about 6 weeks or so.

Also, here is that other sincere "e".

unheimlich manoeuvre

17:18 / 16.10.06

The obvious questions to ask are, do you have any piercings and have you had any tests in Hospital recently?

17:35 / 16.10.06

Good questions. No piercings, not even earrings and no medical tests have been done on me.

17:48 / 16.10.06

This happens quite a bit to me as well. Some of my friends will even make me go in before or after them. But then again I also destroy computers just by being near them. They called me anti-tech at my last job, and wouldnt let me use the computer. Our skills will be appreciated once Skynet goes online.

17:50 / 16.10.06

Do you have any kind of good-quality outdoor (eg Gore Tex) jacket or fleece? Lots of these have RF tags sewn into them or stuck somewhere unobtrusive which set alarms off. Many wallets and bags do also.

17:54 / 16.10.06

Also, have you asked what type of alarm you're setting off? Store alarms are very choosy about what sets them off.

some other stores have me strip down to my stocking feet, t-shirt and jeans with my hands above my head
If you've had to go that far (and I suggest you ask them to call the police next time if they suspect you've stolen somthing; no security guard outisde airports should ever require you to do this) then the only place the tag can be is inside your body. I'd insist on an x-ray.

17:58 / 16.10.06

OH yes, Keggers! Didn't we have a fun time going through the checkout together once?

Do you have any kind of good-quality outdoor (eg Gore Tex) jacket or fleece?

Yes, I do. However, I did take this off and pass through the system again. It still went off. It happens in other jackets as well. I will look for this, to lessen the likelihood of this happening. Thank you for the tip, cube. Why on earth would they sew something like that into a jacket and not make it reasonably removable?

18:01 / 16.10.06

then the only place the tag can be is inside your body. I'd insist on an x-ray.

*blink*

I have no idea what to say to that.

18:06 / 16.10.06

If you ask nicely and find someone who is really clued up (in a bookstore, say), they may even know how to set their tag wipers to "test" so that any tag which sets off that shop's alarms which comes within range makes them beep. When you find them you can deactivate them using the same pad. Your purse/wallet is my best guess. They put them in the lining because experienced thieves know what to look for and most RF tags are a piece of piss to remove ( the most common are like a little square sticking plaster or a thin strip). Oh, my years in retail have been of some use.

18:15 / 16.10.06

No security guard outisde airports should ever require you to do this.

Seconded really. I'm not sure where you're based, but wherever it is, it seems unlikely that private store security's legally entitled to carry out that kind of search, which doesn't doesn't sound that far off assault. I suppose as well as phoning the police the next time it happens, you could, in a more general sense, try calling your local newspaper.

Kiltartan Cross

18:36 / 16.10.06

Thirded, certainly as far as the UK goes. No member of the public has the right to search you without consent unless they believe you're about to cause harm to someone. So far as I know. They can, of course, suggest that you voluntarily strip to demonstrate your innocence, and I think they can make such a search a condition of entry to (wherever), but they can't (without better reason than "I think you stole something") compulsorily search you. I fear it might be possible for companies to make submitting to searches a condition of employment, but that's a different kettle of fish.

18:59 / 16.10.06

Gee, I was so caught up in not trying to act suspicious and be compliant, that I hadn't really thought about it. I thought they were just doing their job. I have voluntered to remove my jacket, but I have also been asked to remove my shoes, in one case and my cardigan in another.

This has happened in an airport this summer as well. They nearly strip searched me for real.

19:03 / 16.10.06

In my college library, people used to take the magnetic strips out of the books and slip them into people's unattended coats, backpacks, or shoes so that they'd be hassled when leaving. Usually it was to punish someone who was making too much noise while you were trying to study.

19:20 / 16.10.06

I thought they were just doing their job.

Unfortunately, most people in retail get so little training they have no idea what customrs' rights are. In the UK you have no right to stop someone unless they have left the shop. Even then you have to be careful to suggest they may have forgotten to pay for something, because if you're wrong, they can bring a defamation suit. You certainly can't detain them and searches must be fully voluntary.
Luckily, most people who are shoplifting are either doing it because they REALLY need money or have some kind of mental/emotional disturbance and break down and confess almost instantly, letting you just do a Paddington stare and demand they never set foot in your shop again (the polis have better things to deal with in my opinion). It works. Only ever encountered one prick who did it professionally and we never caught him. And don't get me started on the con artist with his £20 double-switcheroo.
Sorry, straying from the point.

20:30 / 16.10.06

There's no specific offence of shoplifting in England and Wales - offenders are usually charged with theft.

Shoplifting is theft and shops have the right to protect themselves against it. Because shops and some shopping precincts are private property, you can be kept out or made to leave if the owners wish. Store detectives, security guards and shop staff can all make a citizen's arrest (as can anybody else) if they have good reason to think that somebody has committed an arrestable offence. If the police are called, you can be held there until they arrive. If this happens, it's best to wait quietly and say nothing until the police arrive. Store staff cannot search you unless you agree. If you've been arrested wrongfully then you may be able to claim compensation.

A local advice centre or solicitor will be able to tell you about this.

False Arrest Shoplifting

This link is taken from an American site, it gives information about the correct procedure that a retail store must follow when making an arrest or search, if they do not follow these procedures then the individual will probably be entitled to compensation. Although this site is American it does explain the legal rights and wrongs of the situation and it fits in with what I believe to be similar laws in the UK protecting the rights of those falsely accused of shoplifting.

Dealing with the Police

This link gives information about the procedures that the police must follow when making an arrest or carrying out a search. If they do not follow procedures you may be entitles to sue for compensation.

22:35 / 16.10.06

although, electrix, you haven't said you haven't been nicking stuff!!

sorry to hear of your constant hassles. this is the point where commonsense and slavery to technology conflict - too often we find society wants to believe technology first. why is that?

23:34 / 16.10.06

Do you have a security pass from a place of work? My swipe card used to set off two particular shops in town.

15:12 / 17.10.06

Oh hell, it happened at my neighbourhood pharmacy, again. Today there was 2 new employees. They didn't know me, and subsequently, put me through the routine. I removed my jacket, myself. I must say, sometimes I just offere to do this. I don't think there is anything to be accomplished by being stubborn and refusing to allay their suspicions. I have nothing to hide, because I am not nicking stuff. I know you were just joking with that comment, astrojax, but that is exactly it appears like. It is wearing on me, and is ridiculously embarrassing, but I do not want to exacerbate the problem unless someone crosses my-level-of-comfort line with both feet, if you understand my meaning.

I just want to know what is making these things go off. I have checked my jackets, shoes, my wallet, purses, jeans...
I can't find any of those strip things that cube refers to. There has to be some logical explanation, right? How do these darn alarms work?

Gawd, I didn't even have my cell phone on me, so that's not it. And no, Ms Tripletsy, I don't have a security badge or any other electronic card. This is crazy-making. Having to deal with being a spectacle everytime I walk into and out of a store, (because this happens upon entry sometimes), the accusatory tones, (...Well, all the items you have in the bag have been checked out, it has to be on you...), this is getting just nuts.

Short of head to toe x-rays for foreign objects, what are some other possibilities that I can check out? Fillings, maybe? I have some from a long time ago. They haven't bothered me before.

Nutty, I tells ya!

15:34 / 17.10.06

You might want to think about removing that tracking device from your skull.

15:37 / 17.10.06

Does the alarm go off when you're coming into the store Electrix? Or just when you're leaving?

15:40 / 17.10.06

Much sympathy anyway, Electrix Six, can imagine it's very embarassing. Hope it goes away as quick as it came.

15:53 / 17.10.06

Liger, it happens upon entry in the mall shops. The entrance and exit are usually the same in those stores. Which is why, I believe, this sometimes happens upon entry.

Thanks, Ms Tripletsy. It is terribly embarrassing, and I would just like to figure out how to fix it, or explain it to people, logically.

15:55 / 17.10.06

i don't got no book-science, but my street-science tells me it might be an idea to lay some kind of wager on the outcome of all these searches, if they are not to be easily avoided and the result is so inevitable.

"
okay, sure.
you can search me again.
only if, however, when it turns out i'm not stealing, you allow me a ten minute trolley grab, no questions asked, no aisle off limits.
you game?
"

depending on the shop, ten minutes could well see you through chritmas.
fuckload of fun as well.

Jawsus-son Starship

15:57 / 17.10.06

Do you have a book on you that you've been reading for the last 6 weeks?

16:42 / 17.10.06

here's an option put a set of cloths and jacket and shoes in a bag. Pass the bag through the detector. Hopefully nothing will set it off. Change into said gear in a public restroom do not put anything on your person that was not in the bag and then try going through. If it goes off you know it is on your direct body/hair/glasses.

I've set off detectors because of my cell phone, belt buckle, boots, hair clips.

16:48 / 17.10.06

Electrix, sorry to hear about your trouble.

You say you've "checked [your] wallet" - does that mean you've taken your wallet out of your pocket and you still set off the security? Or do you just mean that you have looked through your wallet for anything that might be setting it off? I once read online a person bragging that they had pried apart their "friend's" driver's license, inserted a security strip between the layers, and relaminated it, as a "joke." Is it possible that someone might have deliberately done something like that to you? If someone (jerky housemate, disgruntled sibling?) did it on purpose, that would help explain why it's been so hard to find (i.e. it's not just accidentally stuck on something, but concealed inside).

Not to lead you too far down paranoia lane, but it might be worth thinking about if you know someone who would have had opportunity, and who might find this sort of thing entertaining.

17:03 / 17.10.06

Do you have a book on you that you've been reading for the last 6 weeks?

I might have had a book on ocassion, but not consistently. Also, in almost all cases, I am asked to go through the alarm gate once more without any objects.

Actually, something just occurred to me. It could be a ring I have. I have already tested a talisman, and it doesn't seem to be that, but it could be a ring I wear. I am going to run some experiments at my local pharmacy, (if they don't mind).

This is a good idea, xk. Even if I still cannot locate the cause, at least I won't come off as such a nutjob when I go see the doctor...if need be.

Toksik, good one!

17:19 / 17.10.06

No, no...it is not the ring. I have gone through without it before...ugh!

Lep, that's a terrible thing to do! Really, I haven't even been out very much. I have been almost a recluse for the past 8 months. The only time I have gone out was on a cross-country excursion in the wilderness.

Maybe it was that coyote I was photographing. I think I blew his ambush scheme while he was hunting. :P

18:09 / 17.10.06

well if you eliminate all the mundane possibilities in your physical gear and still can't find the cause you can bring up the coyote angle in Temple.
...such things do happen IMO.

EAS devices

EM

18:47 / 17.10.06

Hmm, "recluse" is a bit strong. More like "homebody". Heh.

My point is, I am only surrounded by loving, supportive people. There is no one who has access to me who is not a friend.

18:51 / 17.10.06

Trix, you may have gone through without the ring before but it may have been set off for a completely seperate, just coincidental, reason. Thus: you need to test everything, even if you think it's not going to be the cause.

"Sod's Law" is a given.

19:31 / 17.10.06

*sigh*

You are right, Tripletsy. It would be interesting if it was different combinations of items working together.

Anyway, the coyote option was just a larf, but at this point, I think I may prefer it over xrays and foreign objects.

Major "EEK!".

20:37 / 17.10.06

Oh, xk...good descriptions on that site. At least I will have a better idea of what I am looking for on my person.

20:57 / 17.10.06

There are a number of ways that you could be setting them off, this site has a story similar to yours about a guy who found a hidden security tag in his jeans.

Hidden security tags in Old Navy jeans

Old Navy jeans security tag

Old Navy jeans security tag

Alternatively there are a few different frequencies that Rfid tags operate at and some shop lifters were using jammers to interfere with the signal, the stores get round this by having a detector for the jammers, these detectors can be set off by mobile phones and some car keys. They may suspect you of having a jammer, though they have no right to search or arrest you, they could refuse you entry to the shop or ask you to leave the premises.

The security checkpoints are there as a deterrent, nothing more, security haven't seen you steal anything therefore they have no legal reason to stop you. If you accidentally set them off nobody can do anything about it unless they've got proof that you're stealing.