Someone was once trying to break into my house and I rang the police and was on hold for ages it kept putting me through to barrow which is like an hour from where I live it's across the bay and barrow police were telling me that I rang the wrong team me and my wife were in the locked toilet very scared(this was way before we had kids don't worry) and noone was responding. I eventually rand my dad and brother in law who chased the guy away. The police turned up after annoyed that there wasn't a job for them to do. This was Morecambe police. Maybe it's time The bay TV show showed what Morecambe police are really like....

I mean, I did... you close the store to other customers, move behind the counter, stop interacting with them, and persist with trying to get the police to attend. If you stop giving interaction, they usually just leave within about 15 minutes or so.

The fact remains that you can't take physical action without a security license... that's why they exist in the first place. I would add to that that even IF you felt you absolutely had to (and that's a big "if") ... he didn't take her by the arm and calmly-but-firmly attempt to escort her out the door, he's lost his temper, he moves behind her and pushes her. That wouldn't be the right thig to do even if he was security staff; but then, he might not know that, because again, he isn't security staff and isn't trained in removing someone by force "properly".

As I said before though if the place is new then there may well be an element of inexperience involved, I'm speaking from a position of a decade of retail management in a "hard" retail environment (disgruntled gamblers are not a nice bunch). I started in that environment when I was 23 and will fully admit that the first few times I encountered "unusual circumstances" like these I absolutely **** my pants. It sadly takes some getting used to.

Oh if someone is in YOUR HOME by all means dropkick them down the stairs, that's a very different scenario!

The police are lucky it ended well though. When I was about 11 there was an attempted robbery on my street and the dad of the house in question was stabbed and died :umm2:. It was a "nice" area too, a HUGE shock for the street. Also, a late-teen from across the street was charged with GBH because he chased the perp down the street and hit him across the head with a golf club. He was cleared in court thankfully because of the circumstances (what with the GBH victim himself being up on a murder charge and all) but it does show some of the inherent risks of taking things into your own hands. He (technically) shouldn't have pursued and attacked the fleeing perpetrator.

Yep I agree with you TS. I think they should have apologised to the other customers and asked if they could leave and then come back for free next time. Just have the woman in there but the police wouldnt have come that night but I suppose if she is ignored she would have left eventually.

It's taught them and other businesses valuable lessons and hopefully they will be given appropriate training now.

I hope it doesn't affect the business

Yeah there was no way I was gonna be able to protect us though I'm a tiny and weak guy. Didn't know if the guy was violent etc so I locked us in the toilet. Prob not the best plan looking back

I do wonder had the police came would they have just done pretty much the same?

They'd have removed her & moved her on but it would be one officer on each side, by the shoulder (no risk of falling)... I've seen this maneuver more times than I care to count :joker:. They then basically can't do all that much other than order them not to back in (and I think can arrest if they then don't comply) and they try to move them on. In this case I think they could possibly have arrested because of the spitting being assault.

In general though they don't arrest and you'll see the same person wandering about town later the same day. A really unfortunate situation and really that's why I'd say the major failings here aren't even the police, if it's been going on with this person for a long time then there's a much more serious failure of local services further up the chain.

But then, of course, you can get into the politics of it and local services being woefully under-funded...

They would have used manual handling techniques, they wouldn't have pulled her out by the leg :joker: