Many New York residents who have been asked to stop by security guards may wonder: “Can security guards detain you?” In most cases a security guard’s authority to remove an unwanted visitor from private property is much more expansive than their legal standing to insist anyone remain. Security guards do not have the same authority to use force as police officers might have in otherwise comparable circumstances, but generally speaking a licensed security guard will have the same rights to perform a citizen’s arrest as any other member of the public in a jurisdiction where this action is permitted. Learn more, and gain a more detailed perspective tailored to your situation, by conferring with an experienced criminal defense attorney at the Law Office of Benjamin Greenwald. Call (845) 567-4820 today to schedule a consultation.
Role of Security Guards
Although most American adults are likely to encounter security guards at least occasionally, individuals who have never worked in private security themselves often have only a hazy understanding of what these professionals do. Additionally, many people rarely see a security guard performing the more confrontational parts of his or her duties except as a plot point in the fictionalized contexts of films or television serials. While almost everyone recognizes the term “security guard,” far fewer people have a substantial understanding of what security guards are and are not typically in a position to do – many may not even fully grasp why security guards are hired in the first place. Understanding why businesses hire security guards can make it easier to gain some perspective on the factors that may determine the answer to “Can security guards detain you?” under a particular set of circumstances.
Loss Prevention
Loss prevention is a very common reason why many businesses hire security guards. Uniformed security guards are a familiar sight at many shopping malls. Standalone retail stores may be less likely to keep security guards on-location during shopping hours, when “floor” employees are often expected to monitor for signs of potential shoplifting or other suspicious activity, but it is not unusual for a retail business to hire a security guard to monitor the premises overnight, reducing the risk of after-hours burglary.
Non-retail businesses whose offices or storage facilities contain valuable equipment, stock, or other materials may also hire private security guards to patrol their premises whenever the company’s regular daytime employees are not on-location. Security guards, whether hired by the business directly or dispatched by arrangement with a security contractor, can play an important role in deterring property crime in vulnerable or especially attractive locations.
Premises Liability
Sometimes businesses hire security guards as part of an overall plan for managing their risk exposure for a specific type of liability known as “negligent security premises liability.” Very briefly, in a premises liability lawsuit brought on the grounds of negligent security, the plaintiff will argue that the property owner (or other party responsible for managing the premises) knew, or reasonably should have known, that there was a substantial risk of crime on the premises and failed to take appropriate steps to secure access to the property.
Hiring private security guards is not the only risk management strategy companies sometimes use to avoid this particular liability (lighting and locks, for example are also very common), but it may be one of the options considered, depending on how high the responsible parties anticipate the risk to be. This particular motive for hiring security guards can also overlap with loss prevention – but generally speaking, in premises liability risk management the loss involved would be the loss of personal property belonging to customers, visitors, tenants, or other parties visiting the property for legitimate purposes, rather than items belonging to the owner of the real estate property directly. Security guards can also help to discourage the potential for violent crime; in some instances, the mere knowledge that a guard is present and watching can act as a deterrent.
How Do Security Guards Work?
Many businesses that hire private security guards do so less because they expect the security detail to defend property and prevent crime at all costs than because the awareness of being observed can often cause people to modulate their conduct – making them less likely to engage in obstreperous or combative interactions with others present and more likely to pass up the opportunity to take items that do not belong to them. Even when such deterrents are ultimately ineffective, a security guard can often prove to be an invaluable resource for law enforcement in search of a suspect, and in many cases for prosecutors as a witness during trial.
When Can Security Guards Detain You on Private Property?
For anyone wondering, “Can security guards detain you?” it may be helpful to remember that in most cases a security guard’s “authority” derives from property rights, rather than from New York’s laws pertaining to police and enforcement of the state’s criminal code. In other words: While security guards may wear uniforms that are strikingly reminiscent of those worn by law enforcement officers, and may even carry intimidating equipment such as a heavy, long-handled flashlight, the scope of a private security guard’s authority for detaining anyone is significantly narrower than that of a duly deputized officer of the law.
Differences Between Police Requirements and Private Security Expectations
Importantly, as well, even uniformed police officers displaying their badges may only detain citizens under certain limited conditions. Police officers may interrupt a potential witness to request information, and they may stop someone briefly on merely “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity, but to perform an arrest and take a suspect into custody a police officer must be able to identify probable cause, which is normally defined as a clearly articulable suspicion based on tangible factors already in evidence. Security guards are, of course, not legally authorized to determine probable cause – many of them also may not be trained to do so, although some individuals employed in private security do have a past history of work in law enforcement.
Differences Between Personal Security and Property Security
Sometimes there may be practical differences between how private security guards hired for personal protection work vs. how guards hired to patrol or monitor premises at a specific location may approach potential conflicts. For instance, private security hired as “bodyguards” for public figures who have received credible threats may have licensures that do not apply to security guards patrolling commercial property during hours when the business is not open to the public; personal security personnel are also likely to coordinate with local law enforcement to ensure that authorities are aware of any ongoing threats and any measures taken by the security detail.
There can also be differences in how encounters between guards hired for personal protection vs. premises security and any individuals the guards identify as suspicious unfold. Security guards monitoring a specific location will usually have the authority to ask an individual they consider suspicious to leave if the property is privately owned. Personal protection security are much more likely to encounter individuals they consider potential threats in public settings where property rights do not apply, and for this reason are more likely to ask anyone they perceive to be “crowding” the protected person to provide additional space.
Security Guards Can Escort You off the Premises
Because a security guard’s authority usually comes from property rights, generally speaking security guards have far more latitude when on a property they are hired to protect than in a public space. Even security personnel hired for personal protection rather than as a defense against property loss or damage will typically be in a position to act more assertively on the property of the person they are protecting than in public areas such as streets or sidewalks.
Unsurprisingly, then, while on private property security guards will normally have the right to ask guests (or trespassers) to depart the premises, and it is not unusual for security guards to escort an individual, or even a group, to the nearest exit in order to be sure that the uninvited or disinvited parties actually depart the property, and that they leave without doing any damage. A security guard who suspects criminal activity may ask someone to stay and await the arrival of law enforcement personnel, but in most circumstances they are not legally authorized to use force to prevent an individual from leaving a property in the same way that they may use force to prevent entry.
Security Guards Receive Specialized Training
What many individuals may not know is that working as a security guard in New York State requires registration with the New York Department of State and, unless the prospective guard qualifies for an exemption, specialized training. Beyond these general rules, security guard licensure procedures are divided into two tracks depending on whether the individual obtaining the license wishes to qualify for armed security work vs. working in a strictly unarmed capacity.
Learn More From a New York State Criminal Defense Attorney
Many New York residents who have been asked to pause and verify their purpose at a location, or asked to stop where they are and await the arrival of law enforcement officers, may have questions about the legitimacy of a security guard’s requests. If you have been wondering, “Can security guards detain you?” the answer is generally that a security guard can ask you to remain, but in most circumstances is not authorized to use force in the same way as an officer of the law. If you have been detained by a security guard in New York who overstepped his or her authority, this may in some instances affect how your case takes shape. Consider scheduling a consultation with an experienced New York State criminal defense attorney to discuss the specifics of your situation. Call the Law Office of Benjamin Greenwald today at (845) 567-4820 to set up a time.
