Constitutional Issues in Private Security
Course
Security
Services
Unit IV
U.S. Constitution
and
Constitutional
Issues
Essential
Questions
What is one of
the jurisdictional
differences
between private
security and
police and how
do the 4th, 5th
and 14th
Amendments
impact private
security?
TEKS
§130.298(c)
(3)(B)(D)(I)(J)(K)
Prior Student
Learning
None
Estimated Time
2 to 4 hours
Rationale
This lesson provides the background needed to prepare for certification in
security services with a focus on security measures used to protect lives,
property, and information.
Objectives
The student will be able to:
1. Analyze the impact of legal issues relevant to security services
2. Analyze the connections between constitutional law and private
security operations by referencing relevant constitutional
amendments
3. Analyze the importance of the Fourth Amendment with respect to the
security officer powers of arrest, search, and seizure
4. Analyze and summarize the due process rights granted to individuals
by the Fifth Amendment during an interrogation
5. Analyze the impact of the Fourteenth Amendment as it relates to due
process and equal protection of the law
6. Analyze the rules of evidence
Engage
As a class discuss the following questions:
 What civil and criminal liability issues can impact private security?
 What are the Regulations of Private Security?
 What is meant by “The Protection of Others” under constitutional law?
Use the Discussion Rubric for assessment. To extend the activity have the
students use the Internet to research and answer these questions.
Key Points
I. Legal responsibilities of private security professionals
A. Follow state and federal law
B. Understand their duties in light of U.S. Constitutional Amendments
1. The Fourth Amendment is about privacy and security
a. Protects the right of people to be secure in their person,
house, and papers
b. Protects against unreasonable search and seizure
c. Not absolute – a person loses the right to privacy if there
is a strong, justifiable reason to invade that privacy
d. Private security professionals may ensure the public’s
safety against individuals who would use their privacy to
harm others
2. The Fifth Amendment is about protection against selfincrimination
a. Protects against forced confessions
b. Raises fundamental questions about how to balance
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individual liberties with society’s need for security
c. Protection extends beyond the courtroom to custodial
interrogation; however, these rules do not apply to on-thescene questioning
3. The Fourteenth Amendment is about due process and equal
protection of the law
a. No person is above the law
b. The guilty have the same constitutional rights as the
innocent
C. An illegal action by a security professional could be both a criminal
act and a private tort (civil)
II. Rights and responsibilities of private security professionals
A. The right to arrest and detain
1. “Citizen’s arrest authority” is the recognized authority of
private individuals to detain an actor of a crime for the police;
however, it does not provide the authority for search and
seizure of personal property
2. Arrests made by private security professionals are normally
considered arrests by private persons
3. An arrest by a private person requires that the crime for which
the arrest is made has been committed or attempted in the
presence of the arresting person
4. When an arrest is made, the person making the arrest must
inform the arrested person of the reason for the arrest
5 Most private arrests by security professionals are in response
to shoplifting and employee thefts
6. General rules for security personnel to detain
a. Security professionals may temporarily detain an
individual suspected of shoplifting or entering a property
without proper authority or consent
b. They can arrest someone who commits a felony or
misdemeanor in their presence, however they must report
it to the police immediately; prolonged detainment may be
in violation of civil rights
7. Avoid felonious restraint – restraining another unlawfully
and/or exposing him to risk of serious bodily injury may result
in civil and criminal liability
8. Application of proper evidence handling techniques are vital—
improper handling of evidence may result in contamination of
a crime scene, impact on an arrest, and loss of pending legal
cases or trial
B. Right to conduct searches
1. Individuals not connected with a law enforcement agency are
considered private citizens, and may not have the power to
search unless under the posted authorization by the employer
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and or property owner—for example, a government building or
hospital
2. In most situations, if the individual does not agree to allow you
to look in his or her pockets, it is wise to detain the individual
and request law enforcement assistance. However, the
security officer may direct the person to leave the property or
area for noncompliance
3. Avoid excessive force; private security professionals have an
obligation not to injure another person or damage property
C. Rights regarding due process during interrogation
1. Interrogation is an expected part of security personnel’s job
when a criminal is detained
2. Probable cause is required before interrogating
3. Many court cases have allowed on-the-scene questioning
without being subject to the Fifth Amendment; however,
forcing a confession is not good practice (i.e. prevent further
harm to a person or damage to property, prevent further loss
of property, ensure safety, avoid escalation of a terrorist
attack, etc.)
4. If a crime has been committed, request law enforcement
assistance immediately
D. Rights regarding due process and equal protection of the law
1. Both the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments protect people
from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law
2. The security professional’s job is to protect people and
companies from being deprived of life or property
a. If a criminal is unlawfully taking property or threatening the
lives of others, it is the security professional’s duty to
intervene
b. The security professional must remember that “equal
protection of the law” applies to the potential criminal as
well as the security professional’s employer
E. Right to use of force to protect property
1. Security professionals have only limited authority to use force
2 The force must be reasonable under the circumstances
3. Security professionals may use deadly force only when it is
reasonably necessary to protect a life
4. If the force used is excessive, the action will be considered an
assault or battery, or both
Activities
1. 4th Amendment Rights, Schools, and Private Security – have the
students imagine that a security officer takes one of the effects that they
have with them during class (for example, a notebook). Have them
further imagine that a police officer comes in and wants to read the
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notebook. Have the students write their answers to the following
questions:
 Does the security officer have the power to search and seize in a
school environment?
 Do you, as the student who owns the notebook, expect that what you
wrote will remain private?
 Do you, the class, think that what is written is reasonable to keep
private and disallow the security officer the search? Why?
After the students have completed the writing assignment. Use the
following questions for a class discussion:
 What are the values that are important in keeping the notebook
private? (Here are some potential answers: privacy, autonomy,
creativity, individuality, freedom, etc.)
 On the other side, what are the reasons a police officer might want to
read it? Think about the notebooks released by the Columbine
massacre students. What if there was a concern about violence in
the schools? (Here are some potential answers: to find evidence of a
crime, to find reasons to suspect you.)
 If security officers do not have any real reason to suspect you, should
you have a reasonable expectation of privacy?
For an extended discussion ask the students the following questions:
 Instead of an item (like a notebook, backpack, or book), what about
the expectation of privacy you have in what you say to each other?
Should you have an expectation that what you say will remain
private?
 Which of the following seems like a situation that would give you the
most privacy?
– A conversation between two people loudly yelling in a packed
school auditorium
– A conversation between two people speaking in a normal tone
alone in the bathroom
– A conversation between two people whispering on stage in the
school auditorium
– A conversation between two people whispering in class
– A conversation between two people in the middle of the football
field with no one around
 Why are your answers different? Is it where you are when you are
talking or how you are talking that should control your “expectation”?
 Or take another slightly different example. Think about the
conversations you have on the phone – do you have a reasonable
expectation of privacy that what you say on the phone will remain
private? The Supreme Court addressed such an issue in a criminal
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case called Katz v. United States.
U.S. Supreme Court Case Reflection – have students read about Katz v.
United States and then complete the Katz v. United States Reflection
Handout. (A copy of the case summary can be found by doing an
Internet search for the following: Findlaw Katz v United States. The
answers should be the students’ opinions. Use the Writing Rubric for
assessment.
Assessments
Constitutional Issues in Private Security Exam and Key
Constitutional Issues in Private Security Quiz and Key
Discussion Rubric
Writing Rubric
Materials
Constitutional Issues in Private Security computer-based presentation
Constitutional Issues in Private Security Key Terms
Katz v. United States Reflection Handout
Resources
9780205592401, Introduction to Private Security: Theory Meets Practice,
Roberson & Birzer, Prentice Hall, 2010.
Our Rights, David J. Bodenhamer, Sunnylands Classroom, 2008.
http://www.sunnylandsclassroom.org/Asset.aspx?Id=1329Private
Security & Police Officers Arrest Powers: TX Department of Public Safety
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/psb/testing/leveltwo_review.htm
Do an Internet search for the following: Findlaw Katz v United States
Accommodations for Learning Differences
For reinforcement, the student will define and illustrate key terms and
training activities in a journal. Use the Writing Rubric for assessment.
For enrichment, students may be assigned pre-reading of summarized
versions of Private Security Officer Training, U.S. Constitutional Issues
applicable to General Requirements related to the search and seizure
authority in Texas and other jurisdictions. Use the Writing Rubric for
assessment.
State Education Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical Education
§130.298. Security Services (One to Two Credits).
(3)
The student analyzes the impact of ethical and legal
responsibilities relevant to security services. The student is
expected to:
(B)
analyze the impact of legal issues relevant to security
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(D)
(I)
(J)
(K)
services;
analyze the connections between constitutional law
and private security operations by referencing relevant
constitutional amendments;
analyze the importance of the Fourth Amendment with
respect to security officer powers of arrest, search, and
seizure;
summarize the due process rights granted to
individuals by the Fifth Amendment during an
interrogation; and
analyze the impact of the Fourteenth Amendment as it
relates to due process and equal protection of the law.
College and Career Readiness Standards
Cross-Disciplinary
I. Key Cognitive Skills
A. Intellectual curiosity
1. Engage in scholarly inquiry and dialogue.
2. Accept constructive criticism and revise personal views when
valid evidence warrants.
B. Reasoning
1. Consider arguments and conclusions of self and others.
2. Construct well-reasoned arguments to explain phenomena,
validate conjectures, or support positions.
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Constitutional Issues in Private Security Key Terms
1. Criminal offense – a wrong against the public that the state prosecutes; the violation of a
criminal law
2. Tort – an act that injures someone in some way, for which the injured person may sue the
wrongdoer for damages (civil wrongs as opposed to criminal offenses)
3. Tort action – an action by a private individual or entity in civil court for a wrong committed
against the individual or entity
4. Probable cause – honest and reasonable belief
5. Assault – a threat or attempt to use unlawful force by an individual
6. Battery – nonconsensual, offensive touching of another person, either directly or
indirectly. No actual bodily injury is necessary to constitute battery.
7. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the right of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
8. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – no person shall be held to answer for
a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual
service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall he be compelled in any criminal
case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
9. The Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution – section 1. All persons born or
naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
10. Arrest and Detainment – the arrest powers of private security guards is limited, and there
have been infractions when a security guard exceeded his powers and landed in jail or in
the defendant’s seat of a civil suit. There is something to be said for the “power plays” that
sometimes affect those who wear uniforms, and many security guards have overstepped
their bounds.
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Katz v. United States Reflection Handout
Directions: read the Katz v. United States case. Then on a separate sheet of paper write
your answers to the following questions:
1. What do you think of the Court’s decision?
2. Do you agree that someone who makes a telephone call to another person on a public
(or a private phone) has a reasonable expectation that the content of the call would
remain private?
3. What if someone had been lurking outside listening?
4. What if Katz had been yelling into the phone? The court’s decision is based on the fact
that the police did not get a warrant.
5. Why should they get a warrant to listen into the phone when they know the person is
breaking the law?
6. Why should the police have to ask a judge for a warrant when they had probable cause?
7. There have been recent articles about warrantless wiretapping in the name of national
security. It is thought that certain government organizations have been listening to some
conversations of suspected terrorists in America. Do you think the Katz case would be
decided differently in today’s era with today’s concern about terrorism?
8. What if Katz was using a cell phone?
9. When you speak into your cell phone, do you expect it to be private?
10. What if you are on a crowded bus?
11. What if you are in the hallway in school?
12. What if you are in a field in the middle of a prairie?
13. What if you are in a field in the middle of a prairie but someone has planted a listening
device next to you?
14. Does the person’s expectation change, or is it society’s expectation that controls?
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Name:
Date:
_________
Constitutional Issues in Private Security Exam
1. _____ The Fourth Amendment
A. Protects people from testifying against themselves
B. Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures
C. Is about equal protection of the law
D. Is about freedom of speech
2. _____ The Fourth Amendment
A. Is absolute: personal privacy is what this country was founded on
B. Is not absolute: a person loses the right to privacy if there is a justifiable
reason to invade that privacy
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
3. _____ The Rules of Evidence apply to
A. Evidence collected at a crime scene and whether it can be admissible in
court
B. The chain of custody for the evidence collected
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
.
4. _____ The Fifth Amendment
A. Protects against forced confessions
B. Protects the right to freedom of religion
C. Is about freedom of speech
D. Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures
5. _____ The Fourteenth Amendment says that
A. No person is above the law
B. The guilty have the same constitutional rights as the innocent
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
6. _____ An arrest by a private person (which would include a private security professional)
A. Is known as citizen’s arrest authority
B. Requires that the crime for which the arrest is made to is committed or
attempted in the presence of the arresting person
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
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7. _____ Which of the following is true regarding a private security professional’s rights
regarding interrogation?
A. Probable cause is required before interrogating
B. The security professional must read the Miranda rights to the arrested
person
C. Interrogation is not an expectation of security personnel with a detained
suspect
D. All the above
8. _____ Probable cause means
A. Forced against one’s will
B. Honest and reasonable belief
C. Beyond a shadow of a doubt
D. Held at force
9. _____ Which of the following best describes a security professional’s right to conduct a
search?
A. Make sure you have a witness
B. If the potential criminal does not agree to allow you to look in his or her
pockets, it is wise to detain the individual and request law enforcement
assistance.
C. Proceed at your own risk
D. Use excessive force if needed to protect the company’s assets
10. _____ An illegal action by a security professional
A. Could be both criminal and civil
B. Could be criminal but never civil
C. Could be civil but never criminal
D. None of the above
11. _____ The security professional’s job is to
A. Protect people and companies from being deprived of life or property
B. Step in if a criminal is unlawfully taking property or threatening the lives of
others
C. Remember that “equal protection of the law” also applies to the potential
criminal
D. All of the above
12. _____ A search refers to
A. A government intrusion into an area where an individual has a reasonable
expectation of privacy
B. Government intrusion of a person’s property
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
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13. _____ Probable cause refers to
A. Both searches and arrests
B. Evidence collected in accordance with Constitutional Law
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
14. _____ Arrest authority for private security officers refers to
A. The authority to detain a suspect for allegedly committing a crime
B. Arresting an individual who commits a crime in their presence
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
15. _____ Chain of Custody refers to
A. Handling of evidence in accordance with continuity and documentation
B. A document or testimony that establishes the control of evidence
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
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Constitutional Issues in Private Security Exam Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
B
B
A
A
C
C
A
B
B
A
D
C
C
C
C
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Name________________________________ Date__________________________
Constitutional Issues in Private Security Quiz
_____ 1. The Fourth Amendment
A. Protects people from testifying against themselves
B. Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures
C. Is about equal protection of the law
D. Is about freedom of speech
_____2. The Fourth Amendment
A. Is absolute; personal privacy is what this country was founded on
B. Is not absolute: a person loses the right to privacy if there is a justifiable reason to
invade that privacy
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
_____ 3. The Fifth Amendment
A. Protects against forced confessions
B. Protects the right to freedom of religion
C. Is about freedom of speech
D. Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures
_____4. The Fourteenth Amendment says that
A. No person is above the law
B. The guilty have the same constitutional rights as the innocent
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
_____5. An arrest by a private person (which would include a private security professional)
A. Is known as citizen’s arrest authority
B. Requires that the crime for which the arrest is made to have been committed or
attempted in the presence of the arresting person
C. Both a and b
D. None of the above
_____6. Which of the following is true regarding a private security professional’s rights
regarding interrogation?
A. Probable cause is required before interrogating
B. The security professional must read Miranda rights to the arrested person
C. Interrogation is an expected part of security personnel’s job when a criminal is
detained
D. Both a and c
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_____7. Probable cause means
A. Forced against one’s will
B. Honest and reasonable belief
C. Beyond a shadow of a doubt
D. Held at force
_____8. Which of the following best describes a security professional’s right to conduct a
search?
A. Make sure you have a witness
B. If the potential criminal does not agree to allow you to look in his or her pockets, it
is wise to detain the individual and request law enforcement assistance
C. Proceed at your own risk
D. Use excessive force if needed to protect the company’s assets
_____9. An illegal action by a security professional
A. Could be both criminal and civil
B. Could be criminal but never civil
C. Could be civil but never criminal
D. None of the above
_____10. The security professional’s job is to
A. Protect people and companies from being deprived of life or property
B. Step in if a criminal is unlawfully taking property or threatening the lives of others
C. Remember that “equal protection of the law” also applies to the potential criminal
D. All of the above
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Constitutional Issues in Private Security Quiz Key
1. B
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. A
10. D
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Name_______________________________________
Date_______________________________
Discussion Rubric
Objectives
4 pts.
Excellent
3 pts.
Good
2 pts. Needs Some
Improvement
1 pt. Needs Much
Improvement
N/A
Pts.
Participates in group discussion
Encourages others to join the
conversation
Keeps the discussion progressing
to achieve goals
Shares thoughts actively while
offering helpful recommendations to
others
Gives credit to others for their ideas
Respects the opinions of others
Involves others by asking questions
or requesting input
Expresses thoughts and ideas
clearly and effectively
Total Points (32 pts.)
Comments:
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Name:____________________________________
Date:_____________________________
Writing Rubric
Objectives
4 pts.
Excellent
3 pts.
Good
2 pts. Needs Some
Improvement
1 pt. Needs Much
Improvement
N/A
Pts.
The writing has all required parts from
introduction to conclusion in smooth
transition.
The writing is interesting, supportive,
and complete.
The writing demonstrates that the
writer comprehends the writing
process.
Accurate spelling, grammar, and
punctuation
The content of paragraphs
emphasizes appropriate points.
The writer shows an understanding of
sentence structure, paragraphing, and
punctuation.
All sources and references are clearly
and accurately documented.
Total Points (28 pts.)
Comments:
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