Privatizing Police Powers

[N. A. Corbier]

Look at South Carolina. Any person licensed as a security guard has all the powers of a deputy sheriff by state statute. They are not considered law enforcement officers, but do have the authority to issue citations on private property that subjects itself to state traffic code, can make arrests in the name of the state, can give lawful orders... If a Sheriff can do it, then a security guard can.

They can't use the term "police," or "sheriff," but lets face it. Why would you need to? You can use your law enforcement powers to enforce the laws of the state, county, or city on your property when needed, as a security person.

Now, an interesting thing is because they have law enforcement powers, the state requires under statute that any non-criminal/non-traffic citation issued (you know, the ones that we normally issue as non-sworn civilians) must adhere to a few rules, such as you must post the rules at every entrance and note security personnel will enforce them, and the citation must be "constructive" in nature.

This is most likely to ensure that the public understands the difference between a speeding citation issued as a law enforcement officer, and a speeding warning issued as a security agent of the owner.

One results in fines and may result in criminal charges (careless driving, etc). The other serves as notification of the owner's intent to prevent speeding, and may be grounds for dismissal of the speeding employee.

[BadBoynMD]

I am leery of such a proposal. Although the private sector has demonstrated efficiency in the way it utilizes resources, financial and otherwise, it has also produced a history of abuse that can be more difficult to expose and root out, IMO. Should SOME police powers be privatized? Yes. However, I prefer that it remain at the infraction/misdemeanor level.

In Maryland, an SPO (special police officer) have full arrest power. However, to have full 100% police powers, the SPO must attend a police academy and graduate.

[Mr. Security]

I am leery of such a proposal. Although the private sector has demonstrated efficiency in the way it utilizes resources, financial and otherwise, it has also produced a history of abuse that can be more difficult to expose and root out, IMO. Should SOME police powers be privatized? Yes. However, I prefer that it remain at the infraction/misdemeanor level.

[Christopherstjo]

If a police officer makes a wrongful arrest, or any other type of wrong doing, the department will be represented by the the city, county, etc's attorney. That attorney is mainly there for the municipality and department. If a officer is named seperately in a lawsuit it's the FOP that will appoint an attorney to represent that officer.

Yes, if the officer's conduct is deemed by the department to have violated the law - the city will not provide an attorney for the officer, nor will the FOP, in at least some cases, for example.

The two officers, here in KCMO, who recently made national news by their causing the death of an unborn infant by refusing to permit the mother access to medical attention, have to find their own attorney's because neither the city nor the FOP are providing them one in lieu of the department determining that their conduct violated the law.

[BadBoynMD]

If a sworn police officer makes a sketchy arrest and is sued for false arrest the municipality that he works for will stand behind him and adsorb the court cost. If I had the power of arrest and got sued my companies first words would be Chucky!! Chucky who?

This isn't totally correct. Atleat in my area it isn't. If a police officer makes a wrongful arrest, or any other type of wrong doing, the department will be represented by the the city, county, etc's attorney. That attorney is mainly there for the municipality and department. If a officer is named seperately in a lawsuit it's the FOP that will appoint an attorney to represent that officer. However, you have to contribute to the legal funds (usually a certain amount of your check goes towards a legal fund account). If not, you will be getting black ink from the phone book trying to find your own attorney. Their are some police officers that already have their own attorney on speed dial.

As for security companies, yup that's pretty much what they will say.


[QUOTE=Once again it boils down to the bottom line and most contract companies do not have that kind of deep pockets. Arrest do not bring money to the security table. Who will pay for the employees court time? Who will fill in for the employee while he is in court. Frankly I have viewed many security web sites and can't ever remember seeing how many arrest the company has made. Even the red stripe companies don't advertise it. My point is what is the point?[/QUOTE]

Well I, totally agree to a point. Arrests made show proactive policing to the client. Shows you are doing what you're suppose to and not goofing off, etc etc. Apartment property managers share information and if you're out lockin' people up and getting the morons evicted, that brings money to the table, because your aquiring another account. You won't find stats on company websites. You won't find that on alot of police department websites either, however some may post them. As far as who will fill in.. in my area it takes 2 sometimes 3 months before you hit the court room, therefore you have plenty of time to find someone to cover for a couple hours, or swich days off..etc. Court compensation is billed to the client.

[Christopherstjo]

If a sworn police officer makes a sketchy arrest and is sued for false arrest the municipality that he works for will stand behind him and adsorb the court cost. If I had the power of arrest and got sued my companies first words would be Chucky!! Chucky who?

You got that right - though generally, it is the employer that is sued or both the employer and the security officer who are sued at the same time. I have not come across any suits that were only against the security officer.

Once again it boils down to the bottom line and most contract companies do not have that kind of deep pockets. Arrest do not bring money to the security table. Who will pay for the employees court time? Who will fill in for the employee while he is in court. Frankly I have viewed many security web sites and can't ever remember seeing how many arrest the company has made. Even the red stripe companies don't advertise it. My point is what is the point?

While I share your concerns, as I point out in my thesis it can be deemed a criminal offense for the security officer not to exercise his or her police powers. Likewise, it can be deemed a criminal offense for the employer or any supervisor therein to try to prevent or obstruct a security officer from exercising his or her police powers. This of course is dependant upon the specific laws in each state - though, every state has comparble laws, insofar as generalized "hindering prosecution" and "concealing an offense" laws.

[Chucky]

If a sworn police officer makes a sketchy arrest and is sued for false arrest the municipality that he works for will stand behind him and adsorb the court cost. If I had the power of arrest and got sued my companies first words would be Chucky!! Chucky who?

Once again it boils down to the bottom line and most contract companies do not have that kind of deep pockets. Arrest do not bring money to the security table. Who will pay for the employees court time? Who will fill in for the employee while he is in court. Frankly I have viewed many security web sites and can't ever remember seeing how many arrest the company has made. Even the red stripe companies don't advertise it. My point is what is the point?

[Christopherstjo]

I have posted the thesis I recently wrote on the subject of privatizing police powers into the hands of security officers, on other web sites. So, I thought I would do the same here for conversational purposes and since there is a good flow of member traffic on this web site, especially since I finely got my google documents ability to work correctly.

http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dfjksk8c_0g9ppc3&revision=_latest