What about those of us who can’t afford private security guards??????????!?!?!?!

A matter of security: More and more, private security guards
Date: Oct 21, 2006 11:34 AM
PUBLICATION: Times Colonist (Victoria)
DATE: 2006.10.21
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Capital & Vancouver Island
PAGE: B2
BYLINE: Richard Watts
SOURCE: Times Colonist
ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Ray Smith, Times Colonist / SAFETY A
BOOMINGBUSINESS: Private guards watch the crowd at a recent Black Eyed
Peas concert at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
WORD COUNT: 997

————————————————————————
——–

A matter of security: More and more, private security guards are taking
on some of the roles traditionally filled by police officers

————————————————————————
——–

Private security is booming in Canada, with security guards now
outnumbering sworn police officers and even taking over roles
traditionally occupied by police.

In 2001, private security guards nationwide numbered 78,919, up from
46,651 in 1991. In B.C., the numbers more than doubled, from 4,804 in
1991 to 11,580 in 2001.

Meanwhile, the number of police officers in Canada in 2005 stood at
61,050. Statistics from the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor
General indicate there were 7,753 police officers in the province in
2004. Both numbers have remained comparatively stable over the past few
years.

The trend toward private security was identified in a 176-page report
delivered during the summer to the House of Commons by the Law
Commission of Canada, an independent law reform agency set up to advise
Parliament.

In Victoria, the numbers appear to reflect the same trend.

There are about 800 private security guards in Victoria, a security
programs official in the Solicitor General’s Ministry estimated.

Meanwhile, 495 police officers (according to a tally of numbers from
B.C. Statistics and individual reports) work in Greater Victoria’s
various municipal forces and RCMP detachments.

Security companies do everything from surveillance to patrols to
investigations. Even large-scale crowd control has been handed to
security firms. For example, big events at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena
are policed by private guards.

This move into traditional police work by private firms warrants
attention, the commission says in its report. It called upon all levels
of government to examine and create new standards, accreditation and
regulations designed to take into account the new reality.

“No Canadian government has yet systematically addressed the serious
challenge that [private security] poses for policing policy,” the report
said.

For example, the commission noted that existing laws and regulations do
not take into account the effect of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms on private security.

As an example of that oversight, the report asked: Should store security
guards detaining shoplifters before police arrive be required to read
them their rights under the charter? How long before a judge rules they
should and that requirement gets extended by legal default rather than
design?

One of the commission’s recommendations was that “all levels of
government [should] collaborate to develop legislation that introduces
charter-like rules for private security officers.”

Lorraine Pelot, acting executive director of the commission, said the
report’s authors did not express an opinion about the increasing role of
private security.

“We have simply just taken it as a fact,” Pelot said.

The report recommended that all levels of government take note of the
phenomenon and react appropriately, she said.

In B.C., security guards are governed by the Private Investigators and
Security Agencies Act. It was written in 1981 and hasn’t been revised
since 1996.

Solicitor General John Les said the government is aware the act is due
for a review to take into account the modern realities of policing.

“We would like to move forward to a modernization of the act,” Les said
in an interview. “It is something we recognize. It will need to be done
not too far down the road.”

The act requires all security guards to be licensed, and to have those
licences renewed every year. The licence requires security guards to
take a basic course and pass a test administered by the B.C. Justice
Institute. Other requirements include a criminal record check.

Exceptions exist, however. For example, the Corps of Commissionaires is
exempted — perhaps in recognition of its not-for-profit status and
because the corps traditionally hired only veterans or retired police
officers. That tradition, however, is changing as it finds it tougher to
meet its recruitment requirements, and is hiring younger people.

Floor walkers — store detectives as they are sometimes called (“loss
prevention officers” in official jargon) are exempt from the act. The
legislation, in fact, doesn’t apply to any security person employed
directly by a company like a department store or an organization such as
the University of Victoria.

This exemption affords greater flexibility, permitting in-house security
guards to use handcuffs. Security guards who work for companies that
contract out their services are forbidden to use handcuffs. (Under the
act, the only contract security guards permitted to carry firearms are
those who work on armoured cars.)

When it comes to making an arrest, all security guards operate under
section 494 of the Criminal Code. The section allows virtually any
citizen to make an arrest, provided he or she has witnessed a criminal
act.

The way Victoria criminal defence lawyer Robert Mulligan sees it, having
security guards detain shoplifters, for example, strays close to the
legal line in which they become agents of the state, like police
officers.

Mulligan argued that some kind of legal framework is necessary to ensure
private security guards conduct themselves lawfully and respect people’s
rights.

Despite the calls for modernization, most security companies appear
comfortable with the legal grey areas in which they operate.

Ken Hunt, assistant to the general manager at Royal Victoria Security,
with about 60 guards, said his people are told repeatedly they are to
act only as extra eyes and ears for police, and that works quite well.

For Hunt, the main concern is safety. Making an arrest or attempting to
detain somebody can be dangerous for an employee. And that could mean
dealing with Workers’ Compensation claims, which might not be
successful.

“I wouldn’t want to see one of my guards injured on duty,” he said.

John Gabel, director of administration for the Corps of Commissionaires
in Victoria, said he was aware a few years ago the Solicitor General’s
Ministry was intent on revamping the legislation.

Gabel said he and others reviewed a draft copy of a new act and weren’t
terribly alarmed.

“If it’s going to change, it’s going to change,” said Gabel.

Simon Fraser University criminologist Robert Gordon said private
security, as a business, is likely to continue to expand. Already in the
United States, where security is more of a concern, there is a move to
co-ordinate private security with police forces in something called
“Operation Co-operation.”

Downtown Vancouver has a smaller-scale Operation Co-operation underway
to provide more effective anti-crime coverage.

Gordon said it’s likely time for government to take a look at private
security, how it operates and its legislative and regulatory framework.

“It’s only a cause for concern if government doesn’t take a close look
at the issue,” he said.

Acting Insp. Les Sylven, of the Victoria police, said the relationship
and co-operation between his department and private security has always
been good. Time constraints on police officers mean the extra eyes and
ears of private security are very welcome, he added.

But Sylven said no one should think the growth in private security means
they can’t rely on police officers.

“You call 911 and we’ll be there, every time,” Sylven said.

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !