State of Illinois
91^st General Assembly
Public Acts

Public Act 91-0468

SB1121 Enrolled                               SDS/910011/JDdo

    AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code  of  1961  by  changing
Section 16A-5.

    Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 5.  The Criminal  Code  of  1961  is  amended  by
changing Section 16A-5 as follows:

    (720 ILCS 5/16A-5) (from Ch. 38, par. 16A-5)
    Sec.  16A-5.  Detention.  Any merchant who has reasonable
grounds to believe that a person has committed  retail  theft
may  detain  such  person, on or off the premises of a retail
mercantile establishment, in a reasonable manner  and  for  a
reasonable  length  of  time  for all or any of the following
purposes:
    (a)  To request identification;
    (b)  To verify such identification;
    (c)  To make reasonable inquiry as to whether such person
has in his possession unpurchased merchandise  and,  to  make
reasonable   investigation   of   the   ownership   of   such
merchandise;
    (d)  To  inform  a  peace officer of the detention of the
person and surrender that person to the custody  of  a  peace
officer;
    (e)  In  the  case  of  a  minor,  to  immediately make a
reasonable attempt to inform a peace  officer,  the  parents,
guardian or other private person interested in the welfare of
that  minor  and,  at  the  merchant's  discretion,  a  peace
officer,  of this detention and to surrender  custody of such
minor to such person.
    A  merchant  may make a detention as permitted herein off
the premises of a retail  mercantile  establishment  only  if
such  detention  is  pursuant to an immediate pursuit of such
person.
    A merchant shall be deemed to have reasonable grounds  to
make  a  detention  for  the  purposes of this Section if the
merchant detains a person because  such  person  has  in  his
possession  either  a  theft  detection shielding device or a
theft detection device remover.
(Source: P.A. 85-749.)