Shoplifting - photo circulation

[pp1994]

Hi everyone

so a year ago I got caught shoplifting in Lidl. It was dumb and out of character and I知 really embarrassed about it. When the incident happened the security guard took photos of my and said they壇 be circulated. I was wondering if anyone knows how long these photographs are circulated for as I still have quite serious anxiety about going to any shops as I知 so humiliated with myself and I知 scared I値l be recognised. Any help would be appreciated thanks

[2222]

I suspect that the circulating photos thing is pure bluff on their part. In any case, the very worst that can happen is that they ask you to leave.

The only wAy you're going to find out is to pluck up your courage and try shopping there again.

[Amethyst]

No one is looking for you, if you were involved in a further incident then the record might be looked at to see if you had a history and confirm your ID info, but that's about it, and only for the 12 months of the ban / data retention period.

Normally information and images are retained for 12 months if the store is part of an exclusion scheme / crime reduction scheme the images are available to all stores within that scheme. If it was a stand alone Lidl store then likely it was just that store you were barred from. You can send a Subject Access Request to the store to ask what data they hold and who they have shared it with.

Example Exclusion Scheme policy on data retention etc. for interest https://iris.maidsafe.org.uk/assets/...umentation.pdf - you could look up if there is anything operating where your Lidl store was and see if there's similar info available online, and possibly ask Lidl if they are a member etc.

[2222]

I was thinking about the practical aspects. Particularly with photos being circulated amongst stores, there would be hundreds or even thousands of photos. It would be extraordinarily difficult for a security guard to memorise them all. I'm sure they don't bother.

What's more, suppose a security guard marches me off the premises on the basis of some half-remembered photo, and it's not me on the photo? Just someone who looks similar. There'd be hell to pay, both in terms of lost goodwill and damages for defamation.

In practice, all they can do with the half-remembered photos is keep an eye on somebody they suspect. If you do nothing wrong, there is absolutely nothing they will do, because they can never be 100% certain that the person on the photo and the person in the store are the same person.