Private police in the United States

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A private police force, or private police department, in the United States is a law enforcement agency that is:

Contents

Examples of Private Police Departments

Agencies which belong to Private Entities

Agencies which do not belong to Private Entities

Unlike supplementary employment where a law enforcement officer engages in off-duty contract work as a security guard, there are rare examples of entire police agencies being dedicated to contracting with various private entities to provide patrol and protection services from law enforcement officers. [6]

Private police services such as those listed above are sometimes referred to as a "Subscription-Based Patrol." [7]

Federal privately staffed agencies

These agencies are operated by the federal government but are staffed by employees of private companies on a contract basis. Officers of these agencies are privately employed but federally commissioned as law enforcement officers.

Legality of Private Policing

Unlike the authority and licensure of a security guard, law enforcement officers employed in private police departments are certified under the same legal requirements as those set forth for regular law enforcement officers (standards vary by location/state). [9] [5] [6] [10]

The ability to create a police agency is not freely available to any private organization or person. Whether a private police department can exist, or which institutions can create them, varies widely throughout different jurisdictions in the United States. As discussed above, the specific authorities and capabilities officers employed by these agencies are provided vary by location; though they are required to receive the same licensure and training of a typical police officer. [11]

Examples of Legality

Massachusetts

In the City of Boston, Massachusetts, many private entities and businesses formerly contracted companies that employed 'special police officers' (SPOs) whom were licensed via the City of Boston under the Rules and Procedures of the Boston Police Department (BPD), specifically 'Rule 400.' [12] 'Rule 400' SPOs were trained through a BPD-approved academy and had full arrest powers while on or near property they were employed or contracted to police. Boston SPOs were also granted the authority to issue civil citations through BPD-issued citation books. [13] However, as of 1 July 2021, [14] all Rule 400 SPOs were stripped of their police powers and the automatic right to carry a firearm on-duty, [15] due to the passage of Massachusetts bill S.2963, the 'Police Reform Act.' [16] The Act requires anyone exercising police powers, including Boston SPOs, to prove that they had graduated from a Municipal Police Training Commission-approved academy or the Massachusetts State Police-sponsored 'Special State Police Officer Academy;' The City of Boston is still permitted to issue special police officer licenses, but prospective officers must meet the aforementioned requirements. As of September 2021, only 6 licenses had been re-issued, all to officers of the Boston Housing Authority Police (and under BPD Rule 400A vice Rule 400). [Note 1] [14] As of 2024, it is unclear how many -- if any -- Boston SPO licenses have been so further-issued.

Private educational and medical institutions may also form their own law enforcement agencies to serve as security police, protecting their properties and personnel. The establishment of such agencies is outlined by Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title II, Chapter 22C, Section 63. [18] Public educational and medical institutions may also create their own law enforcement agencies, but are covered under separate legislation, and these are not considered 'private police' agencies.

Utah

In Utah, if privately owned colleges or universities are certified by the commissioner of public safety, they are allowed to have a law enforcement agency with officers being granted the same law enforcement authority as any other public law enforcement agency (police department). [19]

Arizona

In Arizona, privately owned colleges that offer bachelor's degrees, and have at least one dormitory, may employ a security police force. These officers have full police powers on the property of the university and must meet all certification and training requirements as established by the state. The law also indemnifies the state of any liability associated with 'acting or failing to act', and instead, places the financial responsibility on the respective college or university. [20]

North Carolina

In North Carolina, private police are certified company police agencies governed by the North Carolina Department of Justice chapter 74E of the Company Police Act. Under 74E Company Police in North Carolina can, and do make arrests, and write citations for violations of the law the same as any municipal police officer. Company Police jurisdiction is on any real property that they own, possess and control, or have been contracted to protect by the owner or person in control, unless they are in continuous pursuit for a crime that was committed in their jurisdiction or investigating a crime that occurred in their jurisdiction. Private police in North Carolina must meet or exceed all training and certification requirements as any municipal, county or state law enforcement officer.

South Carolina

In South Carolina, all Security Officers have the authority and power to make an arrest just as Sheriff's Deputies do (although this is unique for the USA). [21] In (Spring Valley HOA) Columbia, South Carolina, Private Officers respond to calls for service, run traffic radar, make arrests and use blue lights. [22] Security Officers in South Carolina are Law Enforcement under state law, case law and the Attorney General's opinions, and are authorized by the state to issue Uniform Traffic Tickets to violators and make arrests for violations of state laws. [23] Security Officers are considered Private Law Enforcement Officers. [24]

Relative Merits

Advantages

A cited advantage of private police is that they have a contractual responsibility to protect their customers. [25] In Warren v. District of Columbia , the court found that public police have no such responsibility. [26] Thus, they cannot be sued if they fail to respond to calls for help.

The use of private police, however, has particular appeal because property or business owners can directly contract for public safety services, thereby providing welcome relief for municipal budgets. Private police functions can be flexible, depending upon the financial, organizational, political, and situational circumstances of the client. [27]

Murray Rothbard noted:

Police service is not 'free'; it is paid for by the taxpayer, and the taxpayer is very often the poor person himself. He may very well be paying more in taxes for police now than he would in fees to private, and far more efficient, police companies. Furthermore, the police companies would be tapping a mass market; with the economies of such a larger-scale market, police protection would undoubtedly be much cheaper. [28]

Patrick Tinsley noted that some consumers might benefit from free police service:

There are products for which the bother of charging money outweighs the prospects for profit; these products are thus offered free of charge to the individual user, more or less in affiliation with the sale of coadunate goods. Examples of this phenomenon abound: book matches are given away with and without the sale of tobacco products; bathrooms, whether in restaurants or department stores or gas stations, are often open to customers and the general public alike. Police protection could operate likewise. [29]

Disadvantages

Some argue that a "dual system" of policing could be detrimental — one for the wealthy and one for the poor — and others see the provision of private security as the primary protective resource in contemporary America. [27] Other issues that arise in private policing include private property rights, electronic eavesdropping, and private police access to public records. Abuse of authority, false arrest, improper search, improper interrogations, and operating without a license have also been cited as potential dangers. [30] [31]

Distinguishment from Similar Services

Private Security

A private police department is not the same as a security company that employs security guards, nor is it the same as a police officer working as a security guard for the purpose of supplemental employment.

Security companies employ security guards and are contracted to provide security for organizations, businesses, events, etc.. The specific training requirements, legal authority, and responsibilities of a security guard vary by legal jurisdiction and employer, but their authority and employment qualifications are different from that of a police officer. [32] [33] [34] Private security firms patrol industrial facilities, commercial establishments, office buildings, transportation facilities, recreational complexes, shopping districts, residential neighborhoods, military complexes, power plants, and prisons. [35]

A law enforcement officer engaging in off-duty or supplementary employment as a form of private security is not a private police department. Individual police agency policies and procedures vary widely by jurisdiction with regards to: whether or not off-duty security employment is permitted, whether agency equipment (uniforms, vehicles, radios, etc.) may be utilized, and how the officer may exercise their authority when working off-duty. Some agencies require approval to perform off-duty security work. Certain jurisdictions also maintain established programs that allow private entities to coordinate the hiring of off-duty law enforcement directly through an agency-administered program. [36] [37] [38] There are documented instances where peace officers have engaged in moonlighting as private security without official approval from their primary employer. [39] [40] Licensed law enforcement officers may be exempt from requiring additional security licensure to be a security guard depending on their local or state laws. [41]

Non-Typical Public Agencies

A law enforcement agency that belongs to a public entity such as a public university system, transportation authority, transit agency, public airport, or public school system is not a private police department because the entity controlling the agency is publicly funded, elected, and/or part of a public government institution. For example:

History

By the late 1960s, the private security industry was growing at a recession-resistant rate of 10-15% annually. Estimates of the number of private guards, investigators, and so on ranged from 350,000 to 800,000. [42] From 1976 to 1981, there was a 20% increase in calls for police service. Demand existed for nonroutine services, such as police checks of vacationers' homes, escorts for merchants making bank deposits, extra patrols at business closing times, and so on. Around that same time, many police departments were facing budget freezes or cuts, and the number of police employees per 1,000 population dropped 10 percent between 1975 and 1985. Police adopted differential responses to requests for services, deprioritizing investigation of "cold" burglaries and larcenies. Private firms were employed to fill the gap. [43] Private police and their clients have compiled extensive records on certain crimes, such as department store pilferage. [44] [45] It has been suggested that the private sector of policing in the future may increasingly assume the role of the public guardian of society, leaving public policing to a more narrow role that focuses on personal violence. [46]

The origin of individual modern private police agencies vary in their original scope and purpose. For example, the San Francisco Patrol Special Police originally began as an agency intended to protect merchant operations from outlaws in the mid-1800's but, as of 2023, had shrunk down to only a single officer. [47] [48]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ BHAP officers are both Massachusetts SSPOs and Rule 400A SPOs, now. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police</span> Law enforcement body

The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers encompass arrest and the use of force legitimized by the state via the monopoly on violence. The term is most commonly associated with the police forces of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from the military and other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Police forces are usually public sector services, funded through taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway patrol</span> Police unit

A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countries as traffic police, although in other countries this term is more commonly used to refer to foot officers on point duty who control traffic at junctions.

Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad properties, facilities, revenue, equipment, and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police may also patrol public rail transit systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transit police</span> Law enforcement personnel employed by a transit agency

Transit police are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier, such as a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or another mass transit provider or municipality, county, district, or state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security police</span> Law enforcement agencies responsible for protecting specific properties

Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutions. Security police are generally considered distinct from security guards as security police personnel typically hold some level of law enforcement authority. The exact powers held by security police vary widely between jurisdictions. Examples of these types of agencies include the United States' DoD Police and FBI Police, the Indian Central Industrial Security Force, and the British Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other personnel within the same agency, although there is no consistent international definition. Generally, special police personnel hold some level of police powers; sometimes they hold the same powers and authority of other law enforcement officers within their jurisdiction, but at a minimum they will typically possess detainment and arrest authority. 'Special police' is also occasionally used when referring to an 'elite' law enforcement agency or unit, such as special weapons and tactics (SWAT) units or other similar paramilitary forces whom posses some level of police power. 'Special police' may also be used to describe individuals who are granted police powers incidental to their primary duties, such as welfare fraud investigators, certain security guards, child welfare investigators, and agricultural inspectors. Special police personnel may be armed or unarmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Protective Service (United States)</span> US Federal law enforcement agency

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is also "the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration (GSA)"—over 9,000 buildings—and their occupants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement officer</span> Public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws

A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, and other public safety related duties. Law enforcement officers are designated certain powers & authority by law to allow them to carry out their responsibilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Border guard</span> Government service concerned with security of national borders

A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard and rescue service duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in the United States</span> Major component of the American criminal justice system

As of 2020, more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers have been serving in the United States. About 137,000 of those officers work for federal law enforcement agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Municipal Protective Services</span>

The Boston Municipal Protective Services Department (BMPS) is a former police agency that patrols properties owned and controlled by the City of Boston, the successor agency to the Boston Municipal Police (BMP). The primary responsibility of the agency is to enforce all laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordinances of the City of Boston on and within all properties owned and operated by the City of Boston. It is an agency of Boston's Property & Construction Management Department.

Company police, also called private police, are privately paid law enforcement officers who work for private security companies or private military companies rather than a municipal, county, state, or national agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private police</span> Law enforcement bodies owned and/or controlled by non-governmental entities

Private police or special police are types of law enforcement agencies owned and/or controlled by non-government entities. Additionally, the term can refer to an off-duty police officer while working for a private entity, providing security, or otherwise performing law enforcement-related services. Officers engaging in private police work have the power to enforce the law. However, the specific authority they have, and the terms used for it, vary from one place to another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airport police</span> Law enforcement agencies dedicated to policing airports

Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and control and response to airport emergencies. Airport police provide enhanced safety to airport employees, and to passengers. Officers can be found at security gates, throughout the terminal area, and around the airport’s perimeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheriffs in the United States</span> Chief of county law enforcement

In the United States, a sheriff is the chief of law enforcement of a county. Sheriffs are usually either elected by the populace or appointed by an elected body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services</span> Guard force of the Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services, often referred to as the Smithsonian Police, is the guard and security police force of the Smithsonian Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department</span> Public Safety in New York City area

The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department (RIPSD) in New York City provides safety and security service to residents of Roosevelt Island, and the Manhattan and Roosevelt Islands stations of the Roosevelt Island Tramway, because of the contract that the State of New York made with New York City in 1968 which gave the state a 99-year lease on the land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security guard</span> Person employed to protect properties or people

A security guard is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets from a variety of hazards by enforcing preventative measures. Security guards do this by maintaining a high-visibility presence to deter illegal and inappropriate actions, looking for signs of crime or other hazards, taking action to minimize damage, and reporting any incidents to their clients and emergency services, as appropriate.

Law enforcement in New York State is primarily conducted by Police Officers employed by State, City, County Police departments. A number of State, City, Educational, and private companies employ Peace/special patrolmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special constable</span> Auxiliary or specialized law enforcement officer

A special constable or special police constable can refer to an auxiliary or part-time law enforcement officer or a person who is granted certain (special) police powers.

References

  1. ↑ TM Becker (1974), "The place of private police in society: An area of research for the Social Sciences", Social Problems, 21 (3): 438–453, doi:10.2307/799910, JSTOR   799910
  2. ↑ Mark Button (2002). Private Policing. Willan Pub. ISBN   1-903240-52-2.
  3. ↑ "PENAL CODE - PEN PART 2. OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE [681 - 1620] ( Part 2 enacted 1872. ) TITLE 3. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING CRIMINAL PROCEDURE [777 - 883] ( Heading of Title 3 amended by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1674. ) CHAPTER 4.5. Peace Officers [830 - 832.18] ( Chapter 4.5 added by Stats. 1968, Ch. 1222. )". California Legislative Information. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "Types of Officers". USC DPS. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 "USC DPS Frequently Asked Questions". USC.edu. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  6. 1 2 "About MSPD". Metro Special Police Department. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  7. ↑ Gil Guillory & Patrick C. Tinsley (2009), The Role of Subscription-Based Patrol and Restitution in the Future of Liberty
  8. ↑ "Legal History of the Smithsonian". Smithsonian. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Union Pacific Special Agents & Police Dispatch (Requirements to be a Union Pacific Special Agent)". Union Pacific. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "Railroad Police Jurisdiction". Rock Island Rail. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "BNSF RAILWAY POLICE" (PDF). bnsf.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Rules & Procedures – Boston Police Department".
  13. ↑ Operation Partnership: Trends and Practices in Law Enforcement and Private Security Collaborations (PDF), Law Enforcement-Private Security Consortium
  14. 1 2 "Boston Police reforms: September 2021 community update | Boston.gov". 30 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "Reimagining Boston's 'other' police force - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
  16. ↑ "Bill S.2963".
  17. ↑ "Boston Housing Authority - Boston Housing Authority".
  18. ↑ "General Law - Part I, Title II, Chapter 22C, Section 63".
  19. ↑ "Utah Code Section 53-13-103". le.utah.gov. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10.
  20. ↑ "Arizona Revised Statues 15-1897". 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  21. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40, Chapter 18
  22. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56, Chapter 5 Section 170
  23. ↑ South Carolina, Attorney General's Opinion: Aug 01,1978; Apr 30, 1987; May 23, 1995; Aug 30, 2001; Oct 15, 2004 and State V. Brant (S.C.1982) 278 S.C. 188,293 SE2d 703
  24. ↑ South Carolina, Attorney General's Opinion: Aug 01, 1978 and South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56, Chapter 5 Section 420
  25. ↑ Benson, Bruce L. To Serve and Protect. p. 180.
  26. ↑ Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d. 1 (DC Ct. of Ap. 1981)
  27. 1 2 Pastor, James F. (2003). The Privatization of Police In America: An Analysis and Case Study. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-1574-8.
  28. ↑ Murray N. Rothbard. (1985). "The Public Sector, III: Police, Law, and the Courts". For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto. New York: Libertarian Review Foundation. p. 220. ISBN   0-930073-02-9.
  29. ↑ Tinsley, Patrick (1999), Private Police: A Note (PDF), Journal of Libertarian Studies
  30. ↑ J S Kakalik; S Wildhorn, Private Police — Security and Danger, RAND Corporation
  31. ↑ "St. Louis' Private Police Forces Make Security a Luxury of the Rich". PROPUBLICA. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  32. ↑ "DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SECURITY GUARDS AND POLICE OFFICERS". Allstate Security Company. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  33. ↑ "Security: What is the difference between a security guard and a peace officer?". AustinTexas.gov. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  34. ↑ "DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS Bureau of Security and Investigative Services POWERS TO ARREST AND APPROPRIATE USE OF FORCE TRAINING MANUAL" (PDF). Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. July 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  35. ↑ Slansky, David Alan (2006), Private Police and Democracy, vol. 43, Am. Crim. L. Rev., p. 89
  36. ↑ [3-01/060.33 - Outside Security Employment "3-01/060.33 - Outside Security Employment"]. Los Angeles Sheriff. Retrieved 4 May 2024.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  37. ↑ "Secondary Employment Unit". San Jose Police Department. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  38. ↑ "ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT DIRECTIVE MANUAL 512.03 Off-Duty Employment". powerdms.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  39. ↑ W C Cunningham; T H Taylor (1985), Private Security and Police in America - The Hallcrest Report
  40. ↑ W C Cunningham; J J Strauchs; C W Van Meter (1990), Private Security Trends, 1970–2000: The Hallcrest Report II, Hallcrest Systems, Inc
  41. ↑ "BSIS INFORMATION ON PEACE OFFICER EXEMPTIONS". Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  42. ↑ S Spitzer; AT Scull (1977), Privatization and capitalist development: the case of the private police, Social Problems
  43. ↑ JK Stewart (1985), "Public safety and private police", Public Administration Review, 45: 758–765, doi:10.2307/3135033, JSTOR   3135033
  44. ↑ M O Cameron (1964), Booster and the Snitch: Department Store Shoplifting, Macmillan
  45. ↑ ES Savas (2000), Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-08, retrieved 2010-05-05
  46. ↑ M Nalla; G Newman (1990), Primer in Private Security, Harrow and Heston Publishers
  47. ↑ "City Hall May Revive Gold Rush-Era SF Patrol Special Police, Who Look Like Cops But Technically Aren't Cops". sfist.com. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  48. ↑ "Serving San Francisco Neighborhoods Since 1847". San Francisco Patrol Special Police. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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