Private Corporate Justice: Store Police, Shoplifters, and Civil Recovery

Among the ways corporations use their enormous wealth is to support private justice systems complete with investigative, adjudicatory, and sentencing powers. The present paper advances a sociological analysis of a private corporate justice system and the private police who run it. Our research setti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social problems (Berkeley, Calif.) Calif.), 1991-08, Vol.38 (3), p.395-411
Main Authors: Davis, Melissa G., Lundman, Richard J., Martinez, Ramiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business & industry
Criminal arrests
Criminal justice
Criminal sentences
Justice System Bias
Law enforcement
Merchandise
Offenders
Police
Police, Private
Private police
Private Sector
Restitution (Corrections)
Retail trade
Security measures
Security personnel
Shoplifting
Shopping malls
Social research
Socioeconomic status
Statutory law
Stores
Theft
United States
ZIP codes
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Summary:Among the ways corporations use their enormous wealth is to support private justice systems complete with investigative, adjudicatory, and sentencing powers. The present paper advances a sociological analysis of a private corporate justice system and the private police who run it. Our research setting is a full line store of one of the nation's largest corporations. Our focus is private justice for shoplifters in a civil recovery state. Analysis reveals that retail value of the item taken, neighborhood social class, and physical resistance are among the factors determining private corporate justice for shoplifters in a civil recovery state. The findings suggest the part played by private justice systems in shaping public images of crime and criminals.
ISSN:0037-7791
1533-8533
DOI:10.1525/sp.1991.38.3.03a00060