NCJ Number
108418
Journal
Journal of Security Administration Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1987) Pages: 29-37
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews some of the legal problems that coexist in the criminal justice system and the private security industry, with the focus on the authority or lack of authority of private security officers compared with that of 'moonlighting' police officers in the areas of arrest, search and seizure, interrogation, and the use of force.
Abstract
Although a few States allow security officers to be deputized or have special arrest powers while performing their special duties, most States do not give private officers special arrest powers beyond those granted private citizens. The same is true of the authority to use force. Generally, the rules of search and seizure do not apply to private police, including 'moonlighting' public officers acting as private police. This is because the fourth amendment protects against only unlawful governmental intrusions and does not pertain to the acts of private persons. Although the Miranda decision pertaining to suspect interrogation does not apply to questioning by private security officers, private security officers should not be coercive in their questioning, since due process of law may require the suppression of evidence obtained under coercive interrogation. Although the courts have not ruled on all aspects of a 'moonlighting' public officer's powers and responsibilities as a private security officer, it would seem that the same laws and constitutional safeguards that regulate the on-duty officer's conduct should also apply off-duty. 34 footnotes.