NCJ Number
147066
Date Published
1992
Length
246 pages
Annotation
A distinction is made between private security and law enforcement in terms of legal issues, rights, and duties, and consideration is given to employer-employee relationships in the context of private security and to Federal constitutional law, labor and discrimination laws, arbitration, State constitutional laws, and statutory and tort laws.
Abstract
The author looks at the increasing number of State tort claims, such as unjust employee discharge, in an environment where union organization and influence have declined. Business property rights are balanced against those of nonemployees, such as customers, trespassers, shoplifters, and demonstrators. Legal trends in private security are examined, and particular attention is paid to areas where business is being assigned more responsibility. As an example, the author points out that some courts hold merchants located on quasipublic properties, such as shopping malls, liable for injuries inflicted by strangers on customers. New legal avenues concerning theft of trade secrets and other properties are discussed, as well as assaults on employees, wire fraud, security-related matters in collective bargaining, arbitration, the protection of intangible property, and the special nature of some security functions. References and notes