Self-checkouts in retail establishments facilitate customers’ ability to quickly take their products and leave, and their use is growing both domestically and internationally.
Carrie Jernigan (@carriejernigan1), a criminal defense lawyer and TikTok user, believes that utilizing self-checkouts might be dangerous because you run the risk of getting wrongfully detained for theft.
Jernigan describes how three different kinds of people run into problems when they’re in self-checkout mode in a TikTok video.
She classifies, stating that professional shoplifters make up the first group. She refers to the second group’s actions as “theft by mistake.”
According to Jernigan, this is where innocent people can get into trouble. The third group, according to her, refers to the people who did not take anything at all.
She adds that it is nearly impossible to detect the crimes committed by those in the first category since they have grown quite skilled at self-checkout theft.
Big box businesses’ asset protection policies are consequently less forgiving to individuals who had no intention of stealing.
When the company eventually discovers they are low on inventory, it starts to target customers who have already bought an item.
The attorney continues, “They have lost all sympathy, and they are just taking a ‘Tell it to the judge’ approach.”
As the video goes on, Jernigan talks about a scenario in which consumers mistakenly fail to scan an item as they are checking out at a store.
Even if the customer didn’t intend to steal, this could result in prosecution in the future.
She notes that big-box retailers, such as department stores and supermarkets, might not have the time or resources to distinguish between theft that occurs accidentally and theft that is premeditated.
She went on to describe how these large companies apprehend the alleged thief, saying in full, “So, they will begin watching hours of video to see the last person who checked out with the Mario Lego set because they’re two short. And, for some reason, they pinpoint that they think you did it.” She continues, “And because of who these big box stores are, they usually have to present very little evidence to get an affidavit for warrant signed, the charges that could land you up to a year in jail get filed, and then you are fighting for your life trying to determine what day you were at Walmart, what all you bought.”
According to Jernigan, the result of such harassment is time-consuming court appearances and expensive lawsuits, which aren’t worth the risk.
TikTok users responded to her video by sharing their horror stories of using the self-checkout counter. “It took me 7 months and cost me $6,000 to clear my name after I was falsely accused, and the evidence should have exonerated me immediately,” wrote @karengilesalabamabeaches. @beckoreily added: “My mom accidentally left a tiny $3 lemon oil in her cart after buying $300 in groceries. She was charged with theft and had to do community service.”
