Security Guards Given Police Power?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Bad Decisions
Listen, since privately-hired security guards don’t get true police training and don’t go through the academy…do note the category I’ve placed this story under.
Private security guards have outnumbered police officers since the 1980s, predating the heightened concern about security brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. What is new is that police forces, including the Durham Police Department here in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, are increasingly turning to private companies for help. Moreover, private-sector security is expanding into spheres — complex criminal investigations and patrols of downtown districts and residential neighborhoods — that used to be the province of law enforcement agencies alone.The more than 1 million contract security officers, and an equal number of guards estimated to work directly for U.S. corporations, dwarf the nearly 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. The enormous Wackenhut Corp. guards the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and screens visitors to the Statue of Liberty.
“You can see the public police becoming like the public health system,” said Thomas M. Seamon, a former deputy police commissioner for Philadelphia who is president of Hallcrest Systems Inc., a leading security consultant. “It’s basically, the government provides a certain base level. If you want more than that, you pay for it yourself.”
Yeah, and we should hire rent-a-doctors to do the job of official doctors.
Listen, I think our men and women in blue deserve the appropriate respect and honor their positions demand, and not only will these moves cheapen that, they also have the potential to lessen their authority in the public’s eyes.
There’s no doubt that more people trying to make us safe is a good thing, but when you give amateurs the same powers as police, that’s just a bad move. Especially when we’re talking about our freedoms.
And yes, I can definitely see some advantages to this policy, especially when private police have helped apprehend criminals, etc. But ultimately we’re not talking about isolated cases here…we’re talking about the long run and that future doesn’t make me feel safer.
How about you?
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January 4th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I am curious to know how the legal system and the judiciary view law enforcement by private companies. How evidence is handled by untrained security guards can be challenged in court. Also, most security guards carry weapons; what are their legal standing if they kill someone? Police and the military have certain legal protections that private security employees may not.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I am a security trainer and I take strong exception to your prejudicial comments about my industry. Certainly, security officers are not peace officers. Neither are peace officers qualified to be security officers.
I encourage you to go through a Citizen Police Academy and see for yourself what law enforcement training is — and what it is not. If academy training is so good, why is the first advice given to police rookies by their FTOs (Field Training Officers) so often to “forget all that stuff they told you in the Academy.”
If you have a medical emergency, your life is in the hands of a “rent-a-doctor” — i.e. an American Medical Response (AMR) paramedic, employed by Laidlaw Transportation — or in rural areas, a citizen-volunteer EMT. So what exactly is your objection to private workers getting paid to save lives and protect property?
No state agency is willing to give unqualified persons peace officer powers. My company employs everyone from the basic guard (40 hours of training over six months) to the fully qualified nuclear protection and bank protection officer, often recruited directly from the Army’s 95Bravo military police / security MOS.
I agree that security officers need strong state oversight to prevent abuse. However, the average security officer is under much better supervision than the average peace officer, especially given the kind of corrupt police officers who engaged in such shameful displays in New Orleans.
January 5th, 2007 at 11:13 am
I have worked in the Contract security field for over 25 years. This misconception of Ex police making good security officers is not true… at leat in the time i have been dealing with it. They tend to be know it all’s and could care less about the job… It’s nothing more than spare change for them… This whole attitude of Police officers who resent security officers makes me laugh… They make twice the money as security officers… and for good reason… The two jobs are nothing alike. So this rent a cop thing means nothing to me… i have never wanted to be a police officer… i am proud to do what i do. maybe one day people will wake up and give the security industry the PAY and respect it deserves.
January 5th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
These criminals and mercenaries (for that is what they truy are despite any other official designation) are NOT making us safer – they are making us less safe while they exploit, extort and blackmail the American Taxpayers..
These thugs (bestest friends of Our Lil Georgie – they all engage in torture for sexual thrills) are NOT interested in providing “securuty” – except for providing financial security to their investors.
January 5th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I have done some research on the subject for my Web site. First, the figures I have for rent-a-cops vs. real police range from range from 2½-to-1 to 4-to-1. I guess it depends on how you count.
To address Confused’s concerns, the Washington Post story points out that civil libertarians are concerned that private police are not required to abide by, for example, the Fourth Amendment prohibition against warrantless searches. As a security trainer, Andrew might be able to shed some light on the extent to which private police are required to abide by the Constitution when they are acting as an arm of bona a fide police department, as well as their legal right to detain or arrest suspects. It might be good when rent-a-cops’ jurisdiction is extended to the streets, which the Post story mentions, since they then might be required so abide by Fourth Amendment requirement of probable cause.
I think excesses are as common among private police as real police. However, an exacerbating factor might be the climate of paranoia generated by our generic “war on terror.� I’m convinced the private security people at entertainment venues such as The House of Blues, for example, dream of nabbing an al-Quaida operative or Colombian drug lord one day.
Back to constitutional issues, with a couple exceptions, rent-a-friskers at NFL games are violating–with consitutional impunity–fans’ right to privacy when implementing the league’s frisk-every-fan-at-every-game policy, because the pat-downs are on private property by private security people. One exception, however, is the Tampa Sports Authority, the public entity operating Raymond James Stadium where the Buccaneers play. The TSA was successfully sued by a high school civics teacher for violating his Fourth Amendment rights against unwarranted searches.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Why are images of Tackleberry (from Police Academy) running through my head?
January 10th, 2007 at 3:42 am
In New York State there are very strict and detailed official guidelines which must be followed by both the Security Service and the Security Employee.
Licenses are required for both armed and unarmed Guards, certification and re-certification courses are mandatory for renewals. Background checks are also mandatory and a state database must be consulted.
Heavy fines are allocated for any infraction, and each Security firm is audited annually in person.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Having read Robert Kaplan’s “In The Wilderness”, published in the late 1990’s and it talks about American tendancies on a variety of subjects. One of those tendancies is the hiring of private security firms to protect certain segments of society from other segments. These firms may in a decade or two become a cross between a military and law enforcement to protect those living in gated communities.
It is just a very interesting observation by Kapalan, and the duties assigned today to the firms will not be static; as time passes, they will pick up more and more responsibilities as public law enforcement becomes overstrained.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Sorry, the book is called “An Empire Wilderness: Travels into America’s Future” and not what I had said above. My apologies.
January 22nd, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Development Emergency Medical Service in America has received the second wave, improvement of quality of service and speed of reaction WBR LeoP
February 12th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I was a Deputy for 16 years, I left and worked in the security field for about three months too long I know some security officers do a good job but what I was working with was the bottom of the gene pool. Sorry no coparrison between the two jobs.
February 28th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Hi,
I am a certified security instructor in NYS. I teach General Topics am am also qualified to teach the new Enhanced Security Guard Training Course. Couple of things regarding the topics. First of all, in most states security guards or officers still don’t have the same powers as police officers do. Most security officers are private citizens, without law enforcement powers and their main responsibilities still include “Deter, Detect, Observe and Report”.
Yes, it’s true – a few companies such as Wackenhut, Blackwater and others have started a new breed of security professionals with law enforcement, medical and other powers, but the majority of private security firms still employ guards without these powers. Even if they carry firearms, they’re still private citizens. My company had actually started our own police division, we call it company police and all members are ex-law enforcement officers with the sheriff’s department and still undergo extensive training.
As far as you calling these folks “rent-a-cops”, you’re incorrect for the most part. Yes, we do have many security guards out there who try to act as they are cops, but the majority doesn’t and that’s why they should be called security officers. Also, in the next few years – the job of a security guard will change drastically as their responsibilities may very well include terrorism detection and prevention as the NYS is currently attempting to roll out a new “40 Hour Enhanced Security Guard Training Course”, which is very in-depth and intense and focuses a lot on biological, chemical agents, incident response and so fourth and everyone who takes it – will be certified in CPR and First Aid. In order to understand this business, you really have to work in it, that’s all I can say for now.
Until next time, so long everyone.
July 4th, 2007 at 1:40 am
I have worked in security for quite awhile now and have come to some startling conclusions about this field.
1. No matter how much training you receive, it’s never enough.
2. Clients, not the security company, dictate how much training their guards are going to have (via how much they are willing to pay)
3. Nobody, not the client and not the company have any idea about vicarious liability.
4. almost all security officers are just trying to do a job that has lousy pay, ugly work shifts, absolutely no respect, and legal pitfalls (we are not police officers but aren’t civilians either).
Most of us would jump at the chance of more training! We ask and are denied due to the fact that once we complete the training then we are more “marketable” and hence more expensive.
July 7th, 2007 at 2:53 am
lenghty airline security experience under my belt…….then, close to one year in the security guard field ! left for reasons beyond my control, but i can tell you that i have never in my life worked amongst such “bottom of the barrel” caliber of individuals (very few RARE exceptions), in many cases, the employers as well, more pride should be taken, better pay, and bennies, will entice a better, honorable and trustworthy, perhaps more motivated, individual. as with many so called “jobs”, you get what you pay for, sadly, i got to see it firsthand :( it sure was a learning experience, lack of drug testing and lack of better evaluation allows just about any moron to be a security guard, this should not be, this type of job should not be so easy to get, a 10 year old can pass the basic precert, the whole aspect of security needs to be taken alot more seriously and anyone that is now or has ever worked for a security company knows exactly what i am talking about ! each company claims to be better than the other, turns out, they’re all the same, high turnover, save the money on the drug testing, because it is expensive and the CEO gets to pocket more money, compromising security? it all should have much stricter mandates set forth federally to help weed (no pun intended here) out the morons! A
July 10th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
I work for a company that only does federal contracts and the back ground and application process is lengthy and in depth (we had to go though the same process that Customs and Border Patrol goes though). We also have to have basic qualifications just to apply. I believe this is a good thing.
But I have also worked as a security supervisor at a shipping terminal, which is the bailiwick of the US Coast Guard. Let me tell you that was a bad joke all around. The Coast Guard are the most dedicated group of men and women I have ever had the pleasure to work with but they are WAY over extended and the politics of money and labor unions rule the ports of this country. So trying to secure or even control entry to a relativity open facility was a nightly sprint from one incident to another (at least I wasn’t bored all the time). What really burned me up was that the only reason the terminals had security was because that were told they had to or be closed down. It didn’t matter. We had NO authority to do ANYTHING including defending yourself from a pissed off union guy who thinks that you’re there to persecute him as a individual (like we cared or had the time to) and then the client would come back and complain that we followed the written procedure and wanted that guard gone. Thats one of a thousand reasons of extremely high turnovers. In ten months, I had to train 15 different guards on the graveyard shift because of this type of crap. Sometimes the guard would say “screw it” and quit or they would be removed.
All in all I have to say that, depending on the company and the client to help you advance or train you is a waste of time.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:18 am
i am a dog…
Definitely, the most sensible thing i have seen in a long time….
October 30th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Jack…
Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin…..
December 9th, 2007 at 9:05 am
In certain situation, police power for security officers may offer some help in strengthening law enforcement visibility but there are certain limitations that must be imposed.. Majority of security officers are not trained to handle situations that Police officers are trained to resolve.. In my country the Philippines, a security guard can easily acquire a security license without comprehensive crisis training… I don’t want to speak for your respective location but I guess this is generally the case elsewhere…
December 9th, 2007 at 9:10 am
By the way, we are receiving at least 1 American per month applying as a security officer who are very eager to relocate here in the Philippines..
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 am
I would just like to comment on this topic of “security Officers (rent-a-cops).
Yes there are those idiots out there who are in the security field, and want to be like police, but the fact is…most security officers respect there job, and do there job well. (If you work for a company that is willing to put money into you). Maybe I have it good. I work for a company called Metro Enforcement Merchants Police. They have great training, and are not scared to put money into you. They are an armed company, and have a lot of contract work working side by side with PD. There is Security Company’s out there who throw you a uniform, and tell you which gate to guard, but I do more daytime mobile patrol, and a lot of bars and clubs. I’m not sure about the pay other security officers make, but Metro Enforcement (after training) starts there officers at about $15-17 an hour. I know of two great security company’s in northern Illinois, and they are…Metro Enforcement, and S.P.I. (Security Professionals of Illinois). You can check them out at their websites. Merchantspolice.com and getspi.com. Like I said two great company’s that are highly respected as security officers here in Illinois.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:47 am
I’ve been a private security guard for the last 15 years and I too have learned a few things. First, we get paid alot less than POST certified people (law enforcement) because we are not as well trained and vetted. I’ve seen a whole lot of marginal people in this industry, and a few really competent ones. Personally speaking, I’m a security guard (note that I use the term “guard”, because that is what I am…I do NOT like the word “officer” attached to me or my job description because I believe it is misleading) because it’s what I’m good at. I would NOT be good at law enforcement work for any number of reasons. I have a badge and a sidearm just like police officers but that is where the similarities end. My mission is to protect my client’s interests, and I do this to the best of my abilities and to the extent that the law allows. If a situation arises where I believe the police should be involved, I’ll be the FIRST to call them. I’m not a hero, I don’t want to hurt anyone and I don’t want anyone hurting me, OR my client. In my opinion, security guards in most cases should NOT have police powers…we dont need them. If you are a security guard and you observe a serious crime being committed, particularly crimes against persons, you already have the power to make an arrest. Lets leave law enforcement and all of the pitfalls associated with it to the police, as that is why they have the “street cred” and make the big bucks and the guard duty to security.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
security officers are the frontline of homeland security, from nuclear power plants and military installations to malls and hospitals there is nothing that could make people feel safer than uniformed security officers checking your id’s or seeing one walk by your office every hour, people think we are felons or high school drop outs but that is a ridiculous accusation abd someday i hope we get the pay, training and appreciation that we deserve.