0 a person who works in a large shop, especially a department store, watching the customers so that they do not steal goods --
1 someone whose job is to watch people in a store to make sure that no one steals anything --
Figures thrown up by the 1971 census suggested that there were about 80,000 people employed as security guards, patrolmen, watchmen, gatekeepers and store detectives.
The position of store detectives is being considered as part of the current review of the private security industry.
They are involved in patrolling housing estates, shopping centres and factories as well as working as store detectives and private investigators.
Although that power is not especially favoured by the courts, it is possible for store detectives to affect a citizen's arrest.
These security people—store detectives, and so on—operate under the citizens' arrest procedure.
Experienced police officers would not prosecute in such cases, but stores often decide to bring prosecutions based on the evidence of store detectives.
A store detective, however, notices that a mistake was made by the cashier so that only seven items were actually priced.
What is a store detective?
