Can someone clarify the legal rights of security guards?

[Colin]

As an ex store detective and police officer I can tell you that to have the right to stop and detain you which in effect is an arrest they must have seen you commit an arrestable offence, ie theft. They do not have the power to arrest on suspicion. If the door alarm goes off when you exit again they must have seen you take an item conceal it and attempt to leave with out offer of payment. It is wise to let them check your receipt to check you have paid, but they have no rights of search unless they have arrested you for commiting an arrestable offence. Only a police officer can arrest or search on suspicion. Any security officer who holds an sia badge should know this.

[Mr-Ice-Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin As an ex store detective and police officer I can tell you that to have the right to stop and detain you which in effect is an arrest they must have seen you commit an arrestable offence, ie theft. They do not have the power to arrest on suspicion. If the door alarm goes off when you exit again they must have seen you take an item conceal it and attempt to leave with out offer of payment. It is wise to let them check your receipt to check you have paid, but they have no rights of search unless they have arrested you for commiting an arrestable offence. Only a police officer can arrest or search on suspicion. Any security officer who holds an sia badge should know this.

Not sure how long you have been out of the police but the laws have changed so much lately.
If you have a door supervisor licence then you do have the right to search this came in at the start of the year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lildev666 I believe only the police can stop or restrain you for reasonabley suspecting you of a crime, or suspicion of any crime you may of commited. I might be wrong. I dont think PSCO's can arrest anyone for suspicion of a crime either they have to call for PC.

That is wrong not only police can stop you on suspicion but security can too aslong as you dont restain them. Also PSCOs can detain people but only for 10 minutes but security have the right to detain you till any time up untill he police arrive.

[80085]

Mr ICe Man,
As in stop I meant to arrest,sorry if i did not make that clear. A security Guard can not arrest anyone on suspicion of full stop. You have to see them do it and be 100 per cent sure. You have to follow SCONE. Else you dont have a leg to stand on.
I was not sure about the police side of things, thats why I did say I may be wrong, and which you have corrected me.

Oh I am sorry to hear about the fruit situation you have going on.... maybe get a dedicated guard on the fruit.... I beleive that is theft by consumption. Another annoying one is when they eat sarnies around the store then decide they will not pay for them and leave the wrappers in the trolleys or baskets, and say oh it was there when i got the trolley or basket lol !!

Regards

Lildev666

[Lietuvis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Babz They can not search you or your pockets they need police present to do this..

ACTUALLY they can... but they must ask for your co-op if you disagree you will be probably restrained and police called in,and they will search you in the police station. And as someone said before you will almost for certain be banned from those premises,i have just recently entered into market of this type.. i mean UK and Ireland,when guards have less power.. In eastern Europe security officers (nobody calls them guards) would handcuff you and probably you pay at the spot for the stolen item,if not they would not call police they would call for emergency response unit (security) and they would bring you handcuffed to nearest station..


In uk and Ireland security has less powers then anywhere else,but they still have some powers,and don't forget its your word against them,they are "on duty" and their word is actually worth more.

Anyways,its best for all to co-op .. besides security is thankless job,so try to understand those poor guards ho are just doing their job...

[jcrymer]

In my time in Security, as store detective and in training (inc SIA), I was taught that you can not search anyone (Im talking retail here not Door Super.), even with their permission. Should you do so it could be assault. You could ask them to emply their pockets / bags.

You can arrest for an arrestable offence, eg theft, criminal damage, and once arrested use reasonable force to keep the person there or take them to an office while you deal with the offence, be that calling the police or not. You would not do this unless you were 100% sure that an offence had been commited. As already stated SCONE, see the item selected, the item concealed (or not), observation (unbroken), non-payment (pass by the tills), and exit the store.

Should you not be sure an offence has been commited, ie the ETS system goes off at the doors, and you start to seach someone, drag them to a back office etc, you and the company you work for could well be up for assault, false imprisement and false arrest.

If you suspect something, no harm in calling the police and see if they will stop and search, otherwise, just hope the member of the public is innocent will co-operate.

[fightingrooster]

Private security can detain or arrest if a felony has been committed in their presences. This is the same as a citizen's arrest for any normal joe. The security officer has to actually see the crime being committed. If the person being accused of a crime uses force against the officer, then the officer can respond with force. So' be careful criminal, your lawsuit may not fly very far.

[fightingrooster]

Private security can detain or arrest if a felony has been committed in their presences. This is the same as a citizen's arrest for any normal joe. The security officer has to actually see the crime being committed. If the person being accused of a crime uses force against the officer, then the officer can respond with force. So' be careful criminal, your lawsuit may not fly very far.

[welshrod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Recently I got stopped at the alarm barrier at a supermarket because the cashier on the checkout didn't spot and remove a security tag. I was in a hurry but I cooperated anyway. Considering that I had paid for everything and was not committing a crime - did I have the right to just tell the security guard 'No - leave me alone!'? What rights do the guards have? Can they search me? Can they restrain me? Would that be considered assault and can I defend myself? Thanks, Richard. This was the first time I've posted on here - so I naively assumed that uk.answers.yahoo.com would put me in touch with English users. I've reposted with a clarification asking for advice on UK law.

Security officers have no more powers of arrest than any member of the public. In other words, the law says that ANY PERSON can arrest a person in the act of comitting certain offences (including theft), or where an offence has been comitted, arrest the person guilty of it. (very briefly). The security officer must be sure of the facts to make an arrest, where the police have reasonable suspicion to use. Most security officers will not make an arrest unless they have witnessed the offence take place and are sure they are right.
There is no legal right to search anyone, its done by consent only.
Force reasonable in the circumstances can be used to make an arrest, or to escort someone off the premises if the owner or his representative (manager) requests it.

[aimhigh]

Hay guys

As someone who has been out of the UK since the whole sia came fully into effect I am aware that things have changed, however prior to moving out here (ME) I was involved with training via the then SITO and one issue that was an issue in security was the powers of arrest.

Namely its title is 'citizen's arrest' and to do a citizen's arrest you should be a British citizen this of course was a major problem in the Security Guarding world due to the large amount of non citizens in the guarding game.

Is this still an issue or has there been changes to allow it or ways adopted to get around the issue.

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[irishdoorsupervisor]

We have the same rights as the customers no more no less.