Your Dolls and Security Officers-ever a problem?

This is interesting because it is a common misconception. The fact is that what private security personnel can do depends on the laws of your state. Some states have minimal (or no) requirements to get a job as a private security agent, and as a consequence, they are not allowed to do much. Oklahoma, for instance, has extremely stringent requirements and if the employer wants it, mall cops are not only allowed to carry weapons, they are actually required to.

And they can detain, sometimes in a lockdown area, in order to hold people until government law enforcement gets there.

Furthermore, often off-duty police officers take part time jobs as mall or other private security, and by law, they must wear their weapons when off-duty, and they have the authority to do an immediate arrest.

 

Ahh! That's slightly frightening. I've never thought about mall cops like that.

 

Well you should see the requirements for armed security officers. While it isn't exactly Police Academy, they have to take hours and hours of instruction, plus certification, plus they MUST take many hours more of instruction every year.

 

I take my MSD to the mall all the time.. auctually a group of friends and I took all our dollies to the Park City mall. WE rented a stroller (which looked like a school bus) and took pictures with Santa Clause. it was glorious!!! the thread is online on this site. i'd have to find it ^_^

haha the link is here

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264278

 

I just came back from Otakon and I heard about a girl's doll being TOTALLY disassembled because of a bomb threat. Turns out that the security there were just being rude and actually almost disassembled another girls doll on top of the first one because they thought there were bombs in them. WTF?! I would have raised h**l if it had been one of my babies.

Otherwise I take my kids pretty much everywhere with me and people love it. Had many people come ask me about them.

 

If I was ever flagged down for carrying a doll like that and I have...I would say this "If you can tell me where these dolls are in your store, then I would be more than happy to actually take your concern in consideration." I have said this to some lady in a store, and she tried to look around and find where the dolls were sold! XD Not only that, but she tried to take it anyways. I asked to speak with the store manager and I was eventually allowed to walk out. But the lady...well...let's just say she was in big trouble for hassling a customer.

 

I get what you're saying...but honestly! My dolls cost anywhere from $200-$600 yeah...I'd be pretty over protective myself! That is a ton of money and should an officer or a security guard damage my baby, I would demand that they pay for the damage, or I'd threaten to take him to a claims court that will MAKE him pay for it!

 

...wow. I've never had problems, ever. I use to carry my doll EVERYWHERE during his first year, he went to school, to the mall, camping, and on vacation. He's even gone through baggage check at the airport 8/ They didn't even stop to open my bag and look at him.

Hell, if they didn't stop my friends and I from having a watergun fight, I doubt they'd stop me from carrying a doll around. Kids do it all the time, I don't see the problem with carrying one. You could even consider them to be purse-puppies...

 

you're lucky!!! At the mall in my area the security people threatened to have us "banned from the mall" because my friend fell off a bench ((shes a bit of a spazz)). If anyone carries anything they consider 'odd' they watch you everywhere you go.

 

I have never had any problem like those you are writing O_o I have carried my dolls in my arms in lots of publics places with no problems. The bigger reaction I had was some giggles or curious glances, but never a security officer told me anything.

For heaven's sake, they are just dolls! xD

 

I took my boy through thr airport check point, I was carrying him so he rode in a bin by himself. No one said anything. And then the plane was empty so he sat next to me in his own seat , that only got a couple of strange looks but no one said anything.

Earlier in the thread (in the first couple of pages) someone said there was a rumor that someone's doll got disassembled at a con because of a bombthreat (which they implied was false). Is that true or was that just a rumor?

 

I once took my white LATI (since adopted out) to a shopping mall. She is so tiny she fitted into a padded sunglass pouch I made. We were buying a camera and when I took her out - the guy behind the counter was so captivated by her - he kept posing her so that I could try out the new camera (he was very gentle with her). It made buying a camera a really fun time.

 

The only experience I had with security and dolls was at a meetup at the Air & Space museum in DC. I put my dolls in their bag through the xray machine and the guard did a double take. Noticing his expression, I opened the bag so he could see. He asked me, "Are those puppets?" and I just laughed and told him no It was pretty cool to see the elastic and s-hooks on the xray screen!

Ah, I could not imagine taking my dolls on an airplane with me!

 

Only one time have I ever even been approached by a security officer. It was when my family and I were moving from FL to AZ. [like 3 weeks ago lol] We had stopped at a rest area in Mississippi and I took Kyoharu to a table to take a picture of him, so he could have his own travel photos. Just as I finished he came up to me and asked me what "it" was. I of course told him and everything was hunky-dory. lol

Never had a problem at any mall I've ever been to.

I'm getting ready to take him to Sky Harbor Airport here in AZ on an up coming trip, I really hope I don't have any trouble with security there. ;__;

 

I just took my doll to the Magic Kingdom, and I had to go through security before I could get in. I was carrying her in my arms, and I had her carry bag open so he could look in it. I just showed him the bag and said "It's for her." He let me go without a second glance. Disney is awesome.

I dragged her all over the toy store in Downtown Disney as well looking for props, and nobody bugged me there either, even when I was messing with the jewelry and the My Little Pony accessories they had out. (She didn't get any of those, but she did get a necklace with little Disney Princess figures on it later. I really need to put those pics up.)

But then again, that's Disney, and they are all insanely nice/tolerant over there.

 

well the mall i normally go to is pretty laid back, though my friend got kicked out of the mall
cause they thought he was skateboarding when it was another guy who happened to look like him -.-
and i don't dress in trend but sometimes it can be dark (mostly its just random stuff with my raccoon tail) and when i walked into Holister cause my friend likes it there they told us very rudely, "sry freaks Hot Topics over there." and the weird thing is holister is more dark and scary (its very compact and im closterphobic = scary) than hot topic >.<

but the secirity there is pretty okay with the weirdness and dont normally say anything as long as
your not distroying anything or stuff like that

 

I recently got back from a holiday up north. Both by DOT Camine and Soom Glati travelled with me on my 3 flights up, then 3 flights back. Both travelled with me in flight, Glati in his little zip up pouch in my handbag, and Camine was in my arms. I received so many curious looks while going through checkpoints. They each went through in their own container through the x-ray. The security guards would constantly call others over to look at their images on the screen then pull them both out of the tray. None of them 'manhandled' my boys, they could see the dolls were quite delicate and fragile.

So I have had No problem from security through Australia's busiest airport. They all seemed more fascinated than anything.

 

I've walked a couple of different malls in the Seattle/Tacoma area and have never had a problem. I have been stopped once or twice by different security people, but it was out of curiosity, there has never been a problem.
I have been stopped by a cop once and harassed a little, but I know the cop on a personal level and he was giving me the "big brother" treatment- so it was to be expected

 

I honestly can't even fathom security at a mall telling you what to wear let alone what to carry around with you as long as it's not a weapon. That is just ridiculous. How is that even possible? At a place as public as a mall? Then again, I live in Portland, where ANYTHING GOES... >.> lolz