Do security guards always have to ask for permission before searching your possessions?

Question: Do security guards always have to ask for permission before searching your possessions? I visited London a few weeks back I found it odd that the guard kept asking for permission to check everyone’s bags before being allowed inside the mall.

Answer: By law, security guards in the UK are not allowed to search your property without your permission. They are, however, allowed to deny you entry into an establishment if you refuse to be searched. Some exceptions to this rule are when property has been left unattended under suspicious circumstances and when the property owner is unconscious and searching their property aids in identification.
Furthermore, there are no laws against male security officers from searching female civilians, as long as permission was given. But from what I’ve seen from the security guards in London, where I used to work, that rarely happens, if at all.

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