Are security guards allowed to arrest you?

A lot of people see security guards in a business and they ask themselves which are the duties of that person

The reality is that not a lot of us know what a security guard is allowed to do and what they can’t do. One of the pressing questions is whether they are allowed to arrest you or not. So, can the security guards arrest you?

Let’s find out!

The arrest process is the actual restraint of a person, however, the restraint needs to be reasonable. That being said, the police officer can arrest a person if they believe that the person in question has committed a public offence. They can also arrest a person based on a warrant. If the public offence is a crime, then they don’t need to see the offence to make an arrest. However, if the offence is a crime, they need to see the offence in order to arrest a person, which can be tricky in the case of domestic violence for example.

But in the case of a security guard, things are even more complicated. This is a private person, even if he/she is wearing a uniform. That being said, the security guard is allowed to arrest a person when he/she committed a crime. However, they can’t arrest a person if the crime was not committed. Also, if the offence is not a crime, then the security guards need to be close if they want to arrest the person in question.

The security guards can’t arrest someone due to probable cause. They have to actually see the crime take place. Which is why many security guards check the cameras to see the crime in question. Once they see it, they will be able to solve the problem adequately, and obviously, it will be a great experience and some amazing results this way.

Also, the security guards can ask for assistance from other people when they make the arrest. They can also call the police and also ask the police officer to make the arrest as well. In case a person enters the premises of a building with a security guard, then all the security guards are allowed to disarm a person. They can also disarm, the person as he/she is arrested, that’s perfectly legal and also normal as well.

However, once a person is arrested, the security guard has to call the police to take the person. He has the power to arrest people, but once he does that, everything is out of his hands, and it will be handled by the police. They are the ones that will assess the situation and see whether the person was arrested improperly or not.

In the end, it’s easy to see that security guards are allowed to arrest you in case you commit a felony. But they have to see the crime, and they are rather limited in regard to what they can do and how they can react to all of that!