In some countries, including the United States, security police are those persons, employed by or for a governmental agency, who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties.
Security police protect their agency's facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations. Most security police have at least some arrest authority. The law enforcement powers of security police vary widely, in some cases limited to those of private persons yet in others amounting to full police powers equivalent to state, provincial, or local law enforcement.
As distinct from general law enforcement, the primary focus of security police is on the protection of specific properties and persons. This causes some overlap with functions normally performed by security guards. However, security police are distinguished from guards by greater authority, often higher levels of training, and correspondingly higher expectations of performance in the protection of life and property.
In other countries, 'security police' is the name given to the secret security and intelligence services charged with protecting the State at the highest level, including responsibilities such as personal protection of the head of state, counter-espionage, and anti-terrorism.
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Security police may include:
All security police derive their authority from two sources:
These powers might include the power to detain, arrest, investigate criminal offenses, carry weapons, employ force, and/or take other actions to protect life and property beyond that of the ordinary citizen. One key distinction is between "sworn" (or bound by oath or affirmation to uphold the laws even at personal risk), and "non-sworn" or "civilian" who are ordinary employees with normal obligations to an employer.
Some security police are full-fledged peace officers with the same powers as regular police. Others have enhanced powers which are limited by law to the properties they protect, or a specified radius or distance. In some cases these powers are expanded by a Memorandum of Understanding or other legal document where other policing agencies delegate additional powers to enforce local law.
Some security police have the more limited powers of security guards in compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction.
These distinctions are of particular importance to security police and their employers.
CISF is The Central Industrial Security Force (established in its present form: June 15, 1983) is a paramilitary security force in India.To protect public properties and private properties
it is one of the largest central paramilitary forces in India. Strength is nearly 105,000 and with perhaps no parallel in the entire globe for a Government agency providing security to such a large number around 269 industries with thousands of million rupees worth of assets.
In Japan, Security Police, also known as "SP" are law enforcement officers that provide security for domestic and foreign dignitaries. Their role to dignitary protection is similar to that of the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service.
During the 1990s the Sri Lanka Police created a sub unit with its members known as Police Security Assistants. They were mostly limited to protection of police and governmental facilities.
The Swedish Security Service is known as the Security Police.
In the United States, the laws concerning peace officers vary widely from state to state within a larger federal system. Each state legislature with approval from the governor has the ability to modify the powers of peace officers in their state through legislation.
Most if not all of the federal government's uniformed police officers are security police who primarily serve to protect federal property and personnel. An example would be the Federal Protective Service who protect federal buildings. See Federal law enforcement in the United States for a list of US Government security police forces.
Some major cities such as Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston have a security police service separate from their city police. These may be employees of a public agency or private contractors.
The complexity of special policing and special police authority is illustrated by these examples, which are not meant to be exhaustive.
In California, peace officer powers are granted by the California Penal Code under a number of different code sections. Cities, counties and special districts are authorized to form their own law enforcement agencies. Peace officer training is regulated by a state agency, Peace Officer Standards and Training or POST. This training can consist of as little as a 40 hour PC 832 course (for park rangers, probation officers or fire investigators who might make an arrest in the course of their duties), or as much as a 700 hour POST Basic Academy (for entry level peace officers).
Security guards (including off duty peace officers) may only carry firearms in private employment if licensed by the state licensing authority, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Persons regularly employed by public agencies as security guards, however, may be exempt from BSIS regulation, if they have completed POST-certified training in accordance with PC 832 or other Penal Code sections. However, security guards employed by a private employer are still regulated by BSIS even though the client may be a public agency.
Orange County Sheriff's Department Special Officers are duly sworn and dedicated California Peace Officers under California Penal Code section 830.33/36, who provide law enforcement and policing services for the department in connection with the county bus system, airport, the operations of the local courts and the custody of local prisoners. These Sheriff's Special Officers attend a 16 week training academy at the Orange County Sheriff's Regional Training Academy that instructs new Officers on laws of arrest, firearms training, arrest and control techniques, physical fitness, field and patrol tactics, first responder medical training, and corrections/custody training. Being duly sworn California Peace Officers, Orange County Sheriff's Special Officers maintain peace officer authority both on-and-off duty.
In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, there are numerous examples of security police with different levels of authority and responsibility.
Many Transit Security Officers have advanced training to serve in specialized functions, such as that of a dispatcher, K-9 handler, rangemaster, or armorer. Furthermore, several officers represent the department in IPSC and USPSA competition through their officially sanctioned shooting team.
Transit Security personnel often work in conjunction with deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Transit Services Bureau, which has been the exclusive contract provider of dedicated law enforcement services for Metro since 2003.
The Co-op City Department of Public Safety (CCPD) is a security police force in the Bronx borough of New York City whose duties are to protect the property and citizens of Co-op City, and to enforce state and city laws on Co-op City property.