- Security police
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In some countries, including the United States, security police are those persons, employed by or for a governmental agency, who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties.
Security police protect their agency's facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations. Most security police have at least some arrest authority. The law enforcement powers of security police vary widely, in some cases limited to those of private persons yet in others amounting to full police powers equivalent to state, provincial, or local law enforcement.
As distinct from general law enforcement, the primary focus of security police is on the protection of specific properties and persons. This causes some overlap with functions normally performed by security guards. However, security police are distinguished from guards by greater authority, often higher levels of training, and correspondingly higher expectations of performance in the protection of life and property.
In other countries, 'security police' is the name given to the secret security and intelligence services charged with protecting the State at the highest level, including responsibilities such as personal protection of the head of state, counter-espionage, and anti-terrorism.
Contents
Types of security police and similar organizations
Security police may include:
- Campus police, who are often hired and sworn in as state law enforcement officers, such as the Los Angeles School Police Department or City University of New York Public Safety Department
- Housing police, such as the New York City Housing Authority Police Department, who protect publicly owned housing or "housing projects"
- Airport police such as the Los Angeles Airport Police
- Hospital police such as the New York City Department of Health and Hospitals Police
- Park police, with full state police officer powers such as the New York State Park Police, who primarily protect the often vast properties of their employing agency
- Certain federal police agencies such as the U.S. Capitol Police, whose officers are sworn in as federal law enforcement officers with the duty to provide police and security services to federally owned buildings
- Capitol police, who protect state properties such as legislative and executive buildings, which can also include executive protection functions
- County police, such as the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety, who provide full, limited or restricted services to local governments
- Special police, in the protection of public properties, such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which is protected by sworn Special Police Officers as authorized by D.C. Code, § 4-114 (1981)
- Court officers, such as New York State Court Officers, who provide police and security services at court houses
- Company police to provide security police services on company or private property by contract, where local law permits private organizations to contract for police powers; this for example includes railway police
Legal authority of security police
All security police derive their authority from two sources:
- the laws of their nation, territory and/or municipality
- the property rights of their employing or contracting agency or activity, which may be public or private or a mixture of both
These powers might include the power to detain, arrest, investigate criminal offenses, carry weapons, employ force, and/or take other actions to protect life and property beyond that of the ordinary citizen. One key distinction is between "sworn" (or bound by oath or affirmation to uphold the laws even at personal risk), and "non-sworn" or "civilian" who are ordinary employees with normal obligations to an employer.
Some security police are full-fledged peace officers with the same powers as regular police. Others have enhanced powers which are limited by law to the properties they protect, or a specified radius or distance. In some cases these powers are expanded by a Memorandum of Understanding or other legal document where other policing agencies delegate additional powers to enforce local law.
Some security police have the more limited powers of security guards in compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction.
These distinctions are of particular importance to security police and their employers.
Security police around the world
India
CISF is The Central Industrial Security Force (established in its present form: June 15, 1983) is a paramilitary security force in India.To protect public properties and private properties
- CISF duties :
- CISF to protect public sector.
- CISF to protect private sector.
- Airport Security
it is one of the largest central paramilitary forces in India. Strength is nearly 105,000 and with perhaps no parallel in the entire globe for a Government agency providing security to such a large number around 269 industries with thousands of million rupees worth of assets.
Japan
Main article: Security Police (Japan)In Japan, Security Police, also known as "SP" are law enforcement officers that provide security for domestic and foreign dignitaries. Their role to dignitary protection is similar to that of the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service.
Sri Lanka
During the 1990s the Sri Lanka Police created a sub unit with its members known as Police Security Assistants. They were mostly limited to protection of police and governmental facilities.
Sweden
The Swedish Security Service is known as the Security Police.
United States
In the United States, the laws concerning peace officers vary widely from state to state within a larger federal system. Each state legislature with approval from the governor has the ability to modify the powers of peace officers in their state through legislation.
Most if not all of the federal government's uniformed police officers are security police who primarily serve to protect federal property and personnel. An example would be the Federal Protective Service who protect federal buildings. See Federal law enforcement in the United States for a list of US Government security police forces.
Some major cities such as Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston have a security police service separate from their city police. These may be employees of a public agency or private contractors.
California
The complexity of special policing and special police authority is illustrated by these examples, which are not meant to be exhaustive.
In California, peace officer powers are granted by the California Penal Code under a number of different code sections. Cities, counties and special districts are authorized to form their own law enforcement agencies. Peace officer training is regulated by a state agency, Peace Officer Standards and Training or POST. This training can consist of as little as a 40 hour PC 832 course (for park rangers, probation officers or fire investigators who might make an arrest in the course of their duties), or as much as a 700 hour POST Basic Academy (for entry level peace officers).
Security guards (including off duty peace officers) may only carry firearms in private employment if licensed by the state licensing authority, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Persons regularly employed by public agencies as security guards, however, may be exempt from BSIS regulation, if they have completed POST-certified training in accordance with PC 832 or other Penal Code sections. However, security guards employed by a private employer are still regulated by BSIS even though the client may be a public agency.
Orange County
Orange County Sheriff's Department Special Officers are duly sworn and dedicated California Peace Officers under California Penal Code section 830.33/36, who provide law enforcement and policing services for the department in connection with the county bus system, airport, the operations of the local courts and the custody of local prisoners. These Sheriff's Special Officers attend a 16 week training academy at the Orange County Sheriff's Regional Training Academy that instructs new Officers on laws of arrest, firearms training, arrest and control techniques, physical fitness, field and patrol tactics, first responder medical training, and corrections/custody training. Being duly sworn California Peace Officers, Orange County Sheriff's Special Officers maintain peace officer authority both on-and-off duty.
Los Angeles
In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, there are numerous examples of security police with different levels of authority and responsibility.
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employs Security Assistants (Security Officer I) and Security Officers (Security Officer II) who assist Deputy Sheriff's in the protection of various county government facilities. The LASD absorbed the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety Police on June 30, 2010.
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- Security Assistants are assigned to the Transit Services Bureau serve as fare inspectors. Security Assistants and Security Officers assigned to the Court Services Division provide weapons screening and general security of the county's superior and municipal courts. Security Officers assigned to the Community College Division provide campus security to the county's community colleges. Additionally Security Officers may also be assigned to provide security at other county facilities.
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- Sheriff's Security Officers in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as peace officer ("POST") training, have limited peace officer powers while on duty and are outside the authority of the state security guard licensing agency, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) with respect to their work for the County.
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Transit Security Officers are under the full Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/Transit Services Bureau supervision, uniformed, non-sworn personnel, who serve the MTA (Metro) by providing security for critical transportation infrastructure and internal revenue protection. Transit Security Officers undergo a selection process that is similar to that for police (including an identical background investigation, as well as a psychological review and physical agility test), as well as a 600-hour internal training program, which includes completion of (BSIS) Guard and Firearm training.
Many Transit Security Officers have advanced training to serve in specialized functions, such as that of a dispatcher, K-9 handler, rangemaster, or armorer. Furthermore, several officers represent the department in IPSC and USPSA competition through their officially sanctioned shooting team.
Transit Security personnel often work in conjunction with deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Transit Services Bureau, which has been the exclusive contract provider of dedicated law enforcement services for Metro since 2003.
- Others include the now defunct Los Angeles County Police and the Los Angeles General Services Police
New York City
The Co-op City Department of Public Safety (CCPD) is a security police force in the Bronx borough of New York City whose duties are to protect the property and citizens of Co-op City, and to enforce state and city laws on Co-op City property.
Obsolete uses
United States
- Security police is a term once used for the United States Air Force Security Forces, who function as the military police of the United States Air Force.
United Kingdom
- In the United Kingdom in-house security guard forces with no police powers were often referred to as "security police" until the 1970s.
Nazi Germany
- The Sicherheitspolizei, often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (criminal police) between 1936 and 1939. As a formal agency, the SiPo was folded into the RSHA in 1939, but the term continued to be used informally until the end of the Third Reich.
- List of protective service agencies
- Auxiliary police
- Campus police
- Company police
- Federal police
- Security guard
- Special police
- United States Air Force Security Forces
References
- "A NEW MEMBER OF THE LASD FAMILY" by John Herrera, Star News, September 2006
- The Privatization of Police in America: An Analysis and Case Study. McFarland & Company, 2003.
External links
Categories:- Security
- Crime prevention
- Law enforcement units
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