What a security guard may do on spotting a shoplifter

Under the Greek Criminal Code, theft is taking another person’s movable property from someone’s possession in order to appropriate it unlawfully (art. 372 §1). A guard does not judge intent; they see actions. So they act only on what they can describe precisely.

• Saw the selection: which item, which shelf, what time.
• Saw the concealment: into a bag, clothing, a pram — not “it looked like”.
• Continuous observation: never lost sight of the person; otherwise the item may have been dumped somewhere.
• Passed the last point of payment without paying: not before. Inside the store, a customer can still pay.

A camera or a colleague who “saw something” does not replace your own continuous observation. Without certainty: no approach with hints, only a record and a word to the store manager.

1. Introduce yourself as the store’s security guard. You wear the badge and carry your ID card, as Law 2518/1997 requires (art. 6 §1). Never say you are police or act on the police’s behalf — the law expressly forbids it (art. 4 §2γ).
2. Ask, don’t declare: “Did you perhaps forget to pay for this?” Not “I saw you steal”.
3. Low voice, distance, hands visible. One person talks; a second colleague, if present, stays back as a witness.
4. Offer a way out: pay at the till or return the item.
5. Never lead anyone into a closed office or stockroom. An open, quiet spot within camera view.

A security company must not infringe citizens’ constitutionally protected rights in its activities, and neither may its guards (Law 2518/1997, art. 4 §1στ and §2α). A public accusation that turns out wrong is not undone by an apology.

The Code of Criminal Procedure says that for felonies and misdemeanours caught in the act, investigating officers and every police officer have a duty, and any citizen has the right, to arrest the offender, respecting the Constitution and article 279 (art. 275 §1). Outside that case, no one is arrested without a warrant or a judicial council decision (art. 276 §1).

• In the act only: not for something that happened yesterday, not for something only found on camera later.
• Offences prosecuted on complaint: where an offence is prosecuted only if the victim files a complaint, arrest is not allowed unless the complaint was made first, even orally, to the person entitled to arrest (art. 275 §2). Whether a given case falls here is a legal question — not a split-second call for the guard.
• Low value is still theft: the Criminal Code provides a fine or community service for theft of small value, and the court may leave it unpunished if it was done out of need for immediate use or consumption (art. 377 §1). The guard does not decide guilt or punishment; the courts do.

Arrest is a right, not a guard’s duty. Whether it is ever used in your store is written in advance in the post orders, with legal advice. In a real incident the police decide; for a real case, take legal advice. The wider picture is in what security guards can and cannot do.

Anyone arrested in the act is taken without delay to the competent prosecutor, at the latest within 24 hours (art. 279 §1). For a guard that means one thing in practice: the police are called immediately and the case passes to them.

• No search: no provision gives a guard the power to search a person or a bag. If the person does not take the item out themselves, wait for the police. More in the guide to bag checks.
• No questioning: don’t ask for a confession, explanations or a signed “statement”.
• No detention: no locked doors, no one kept in a stockroom, no taking of ID cards or phones.
• No shaming: no photos, no phone video, no posts, no remarks in front of customers.
• No force beyond what is necessary: self-defence covers the necessary protection of persons from a present, unlawful attack (Criminal Code art. 22). See the guide to use of force and self-defence.

• Violence or threats: step back, move people away, call the police.
• A weapon or anything that can injure: no approach, no negotiation.
• A group: one guard against several people endangers everyone.
• The person runs: no chase — not outside the store, not in the street or car park.
• Children, older people, people in crisis: calm, the store manager, the police — no physical contact.

If things turn into an attack, self-defence concerns protecting yourself or another person from a present, unlawful attack, with the necessary measure (Criminal Code art. 22). Exceeding it is punishable (art. 23). For a guard the point is simple: protect people, not the shelf. The law also bars security companies from means and methods that endanger citizens’ safety (Law 2518/1997, art. 4 §1ζ).

Letting the person go is not a failure. It is the right call when intervening would put people at risk. The description, direction of travel and camera footage work for the police afterwards.

• Description: clothing, height, direction, vehicle if seen — facts, not labels.
• Timeline: when you saw it, when you approached, when you called the police, when they arrived.
• Witnesses: who else was present, with their consent.
• Video: tell the manager so the clip is secured; it goes only to whoever the procedure names, never to social media.

How to write a report that holds up is in the incident report guide, and how long footage is kept in CCTV footage retention. For store-wide prevention, see retail loss prevention and supermarket security. OVIT records patrols, incidents and reports on the Guardly platform, in one live picture the client sees too.