Monday, January 26, 2015

Summary response

Excessive force by security guards is a very controversial concept, some say security guards are a good thing, and some say they act like they have more authority than they really do. Security guards are a good thing for sure, because they can protect the property they are payed to protect. The problem with some security guards is that they do these things in an illegal way. Unlike police officers, security guards are not allowed to ever make an arrest. Most security guards are only allowed to see, report and call the police if a crime occurs in their presence. However, when a security guard or security officer needs to take someone to an actual law officer, needs to do it within their restrictions. The law varies from security guard to security guard but generally does not allows them to make an arrest and use force in doing so. One common definition of reasonable force is simply not to be excessive, under the circumstances. This means to consider the seriousness of the crime, the risk of harm for everyone, and the immediacy of the situation. In any situation more than a minor offence to the property being protected by the security guard should be reported to a legal law officer.

Security guards are a good thing for certain reasons, such as escorting a “hoodlum” off the property. But, many security guards illegally use force to enforce their laws. This is such a controversial subject because this sort of thing escalates to law officers as well.