Use of private police continues to grow www.privateofficer.com

DAYTON OH SEPTEMBER 20 2012For more than thirty years,some states have given private security limited police authority for specialevents, or commissioned them with arrest authority while conducting securitybusiness on private property and while that authority was limited and onlygranted in a few states, private policing is fast becoming a hot button andbeing well received in a number of states.About twenty eight stateshave current state statutes allowing security personnel the same authority as amunicipal police officer or a deputy sheriff while "on privateproperty". Some states also recognize the formation of private policedepartments, often used in hospitals, private colleges and corporate settings.Some of these states like South Carolina and North Carolina,Maryland, Pennsylvania,Virginia, Massachusetts,Ohio and New York also allow for these private policeofficers to write citations, conduct motor vehicle stops, execute warrants andtransport their own prisoners to the nearest magistrate.
In a news article today inthe Dayton Daily News, this reporter writes:
Peace officers who workseparate from traditional city and county forces are playing a significant rolein Ohio lawenforcement, providing what one police chief calls a "necessary"service.Those officers, whose ranksare growing, are employed by organizations such as hospitals, colleges,airports and even a regional transit authority.The Ohio Peace OfficerTraining Commission can certify 24 types of peace officers, who reach thatdistinction after finishing a minimum of 579 training hours and securing aposition at an authorized agency.Qualified peace officers canmake arrests, write criminal citations, apply for warrants and carry guns.As of last week, there were 33,603peace officers in Ohio,including employees at the most well-known agencies: city police and countysheriff's offices. That is a 12 percent increase from 2009.Many of those officers workfor company - or area-specific police departments certified by the state.Municipalities also have the power to grant a "special peace officer"distinction to qualified officers who serve businesses such as banks, hospitalsand amusement parks that don't have state-recognized police departments.Officials and observers saythat a variety of officers is necessary to patrol complex and crowded areasthat would significantly strain city or county departments.
"It's not only helpful,it's necessary," said Richard Biehl, Daytonpolice chief, who began his career as an officer at the University of Cincinnati.Officers can work for policedepartments at entities ranging from the Ohio Department of Taxation and theOhio Department of Natural Resources, to port authorities and metropolitanhousing authorities. The latest addition to the list is gaming agents for thestate's casinos."We're not thebouncers," said Karen Huey, the Ohio Casino Control Commission director ofenforcement. "We'll be working in a covert capacity and also have certainpowers."The number of private securityofficers in Ohioalso has increased, from 21,420 in 2010 to 25,453 as of last week. Theirrequirements include passing a background check and an examination and paying alicensing fee. To carry guns, security officers must pass firearms training.Some are concerned that thegrowing number of agencies and officers could make accountability difficult."If we're entrustingpeople to protect our community, we need to be sure they are able to do theirjobs adequately," said Mike Brickner, spokesperson for ACLU of Ohio."And if they're not, can we hold them accountable?"State officials said theirbiggest concern is making sure officers are thoroughly trained under the samesystem. They can handle incidents like car break-ins and other minor incidentswhile aiding other agencies in more complicated investigations."Our job is to make surewhen officers do get certified they are in the best position to serve thepublic safely and admirably," said Robert Fiatal, executive director ofthe Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission. "We constantly reviewcurriculum as well as lesson plans to make sure we're doing that job."Forming Departments

The Greater Cleveland RTAformed a police department in the late 1970s and employs 134 officers with abudget of about $12 million. As the only regional transit authority in thestate with a police department, the unit patrols the RTA's property, includingits trains and buses.A main benefit of anentity-specific department is the ability to mobilize quickly."I was talking to anagency in another city, and the response time (from city police) to an incidenton their buses is very poor," said John P. Joyce, chief of the GreaterCleveland RTA police. "The police who would be responding are verybusy."Grandview Medical Center undertook the police department certification process three years ago;Chief David Miller said it helps the department, which serves other propertiesin the Kettering Health Network system, recruit talented officers. Because itcan now commission its own officers, the Grandviewpolice can recruit directly from one of the Ohio Peace Officer TrainingCommission-certified programs or other departments, Miller said."I've been at this for38 years, and the number one reason people give for why they do this is to helppeople," Miller said. "In this field, we get to live that every day,and we can do it in a lot of different places."
Some of the entities that employ their own peace officers, such as parkdistricts, hospitals and colleges, serve a number of visitors, which can createa variety of issues"The more crowdedtogether they are, the more ornery they get," said Jim Campbell, executivedirector and chief ranger for the Clark County Park District.Ohio law allows municipalities to form agreements withorganizations including banks, hospitals and amusement parks that have notreceived state certification as police departments to employ OPOTC-trainedpersonnel as special police officers. Julian Davis used to sign thoseagreements as the City of Day-ton's director of police. About three years ago,he joined Miami Valley Hospitalas director of security and moved forward with a plan to increase the trainingand authority of its security staff.Davis said the hospital formed an agreement with the cityallowing his officers to be special police officers. He requires that they beOPOTC-trained and receive a commission from a state-recognized department."We have over 6,000employees who work here, and we have a patient population that exceeds 500 moreoften than not," Davissaid. "We have a lot of activity here. It's like a small township orcity."The same could be said for Kings Island,which has the ability to employ special police officers as an amusement parkthat exceeds an annual attendance of 600,000. It mixes special police officerswith security guards to patrol its grounds."It certainly givesthose folks the ability to take care of some of their own problems," saidRon Ferrell, the City of Masonpolice chief and former executive director of OPOTC. "Timeliness may be anissue, so it's helpful for everyone to have people with authority onsite."Continued Attention

Sinclair Community College, one of the state's approved peace officer trainingacademies, enrolls four classes per year with about 24 per class. Trainingcoordinator Ellis Willis said he gets significant interest from militaryveterans, but not all want to undertake the hundreds of hours of training tobecome a peace officer."You can't do it withouthaving that required training," Willis said. "It's necessary for allthese fields."Some are hoping to increasethe training. OPOTC is undertaking a two-year review of its curriculum, whichit expects to update by late 2013. Chiefs in the region say they have also seenmore private security at work, and many in that industry would like to addtraining requirements.
In recent studies by severaluniversities, they have stated that most law enforcement duties that do notinvolve feloniouscrimes such as murder or bankrobbery will be handled through private service contracts and that due tomanpower shortages, budget constraints and the ability of private businesses todo a better job, cheaper, this will become the standard in private policing.Whether you're pro or con onthis subject, the fact is that some services including patrolling towns,communities, enforcing traffic and parking laws and other police duties arealready being contracted out to private security agencies.Certainly, law enforcementdepartments will continue to provide most emergency and criminal investigativeduties but it does appear that the private sector will continue to play a muchlarger part in keeping people and property safe.There are liabilities issues inproviding this type of service, but with the right training, supervision andstaff, these duties can be provided safely, professionally and cost effectively.