Private Security Laws
Name
SEC 350
Date
Instructor

The laws in governing legal authority and licensing requirements fro private security companies and officers vary from state to state. When looking at private security at the international level in those as an example working with Department of Defense or Department of State and many other government agencies, private security must adhere to federal mandates in regards to training, continued training which could be testing to ensure that employees are meeting the standards based on the contract, and the assurance that employees are abiding by company and federal guidelines. However, the focus of this paper is exploring the legal authority and licensing requirements for the private security in the state of Virginia.
Overview of the Department of Criminal Justice Services for the State of Virginia
The commonwealth of Virginia created the department of criminal justice services for the purpose of providing guidelines for the private sector in regards to state mandates based on the type of security whether it be unarmed, armed, executive protection, K-9 units, and many more security assets not listed. The department of criminal justice services also provides a guideline for law enforcement in identifying what the private sector can legally act upon as well as how they can be utilized for assisting law enforcement officers as a whole.
Training and Standards
“The purpose of Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) policies is to ensure compliance with all statutes and Administrative Codes, Committee on Training (COT) approved performance outcomes and requirements pertaining to; administration, personnel and instruction of standards to be met by Certified Training Academies and Criminal Justice entities served by the department”. (Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, 2012, Pg. 9). While state requirements are in place for the appropriate training required in order to perform private security officer duties, private security employers have the right to instill their own additional policies and requirements for training such physical fitness programs and an expanded knowledge of a variety of firearms in the performance of their duties.
Comparison of the Limitations of Authority Associated with Private Security Personnel and Public Officers.
When looking at the comparison of the limitations of authority associated with the private security personnel in the private industry and the law enforcement officers that perform the duties and responsibilities of maintaining the peace for the state of Virginia, there are similarities but there are many differences as well. With the private industry, certificates from firearms training and licensing certificates are issued based on what the performance of their duties and tools utilized need to be recertified after a given time. Law enforcement on the other does not adhere to certifications but instead provides retraining to ensure qualifications for the tools and techniques they use are up to speed and with in state guidelines. When looking at the financial budget of law enforcement, they are given a department budget provided by the department of state. No budget is the same as departments of law enforcement in the state of Virginia vary in size and capability. The private sector however must use it’s own resources in order for companies to train their employees or for individuals to utilized their own personal finances in order to obtain appropriate licensing or order to obtain a security type occupation. When looking at the comparison of arrest and detainment, there is a significant difference. “A detention, from the word "detain," is a limit on the person's freedom by temporarily preventing his or her leaving”. (D. Hills, 1999). Arresting on the other hand is the measure after a person has been convicted or suspected of a crimination of a crime by the decision of a law enforcement in which suspects are then processed through the legal system. However suspects do have the right to challenge the case by means of the court system after arrest in order to confront the possibility of wrongful conviction at a later time. The private sector is a temporary base form of law enforcement with limitations while law enforcement has full limitations of enforcing the law while not overstepping the boundaries of the rules and regulations they are authorized to perform and enforce.
Conclusion
Both the entities of law enforcement and the private sector play vital roles to security. While many of their duties and responsibilities are equal in the performance of upholding state statues and codes, their capabilities, knowledge, and enforcement allotments differ. However, in the event of an emergency status such as Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath for maintaining the peace, private security personnel can be dubbed as temporary law enforcement officers. An example of this would be when Blackwater USA was temporarily brought in by the Department of Homeland Security in order to temporarily raise the amount of security and law enforcement required to maintain the peace in such cases as a state of emergency.

References
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, (2012), Virginia Criminal Justice Training Reference Manual. Retrieved from http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/standardsTraining/compulsoryMinimumTraining/cjsmanual-LAW.pdf
Hills, D., (1999), From the Incident Through the System Legally: Knowledge Base Conepts. Retrieved from http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/detent.htm