1. Do security guards have a right, if any, to stop a member of the public and request a search of their bags and can the member of the public refuse?
  2. Does the public have any right to deny to talk to a guard?
  3. Do security guards have any right to touch, hold or grab a member of the public when not detaining them?
  4. Does the SIA have any formal complaints procedure against security guards that have performed against their duties (for example, detaining somebody without reason)
  5. For this question, I will create a scenario and ask the question regarding the scenario:

    John is shopping in a supermarket. He has not been seen acting suspicious by the security guard, nor has the security guard or any security staff been tracking his movements on camera. John walks through a gated alarm system which sounds, prompting the security guard to ask him to come back in. John walks in and refuses the search, to which he is detained by the guard for theft. The police arrive and perform a legal search on John and find nothing suspicious and release him.

    - Does the guard have any right to escort John back into the store?
    - Is the security guard acting maliciously if they detain John on the basis that he set the alarm off?

 

Short Answer

Response

The short answer to your questions is that SIA licence holders are not awarded any additional powers over and above any other member of the public in terms of powers of arrest. I would recommend that you contact the police for clarification of the areas of the law relating to citizens arrest. You may find the following link useful: https://www.askthe.police.uk/Content/Q508.htm.

The answers to your specific questions are as follows:

  1. Do security guards have a right, if any, to stop a member of the public and request a search of their bags and can the member of the public refuse?
    Security operatives may be required to request to inspect bags as part of their duties. A member of public retains the right to refuse to have their bag searched.
  2. Does the public have any right to deny to talk to a guard?
    Members of the public are under no obligation to speak to a security operative if they choose not to.
  3. Do security guards have any right to touch, hold or grab a member of the public when not detaining them?
    SIA licence holders are awarded no powers or rights over and above any other member of the public.

 

 

 

  1. Does the SIA have any formal complaints procedure against security guards that have performed against their duties (for example, detaining somebody without reason).
    If you believe that an SIA licence holder has acted unlawfully, we would like to know about this. This information would be treated as intelligence, and we would investigate this with reference to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) and initiate any enforcement actions we feel appropriate. Reports of such instances can be made to us here. We would not however be able to feed back on the actions we take. Details of our enforcement procedures can be found here (PDF, download size: 418kb). If a member of the public feels that they have been assaulted, abused or otherwise harmed by an SIA licence holder, they should report this to the police who have the power to investigate if they feel a criminal offence has been committed. If a member of the public is unhappy with the general conduct of a security operative, they should submit a complaint to the relevant venue or security company.
  2. I hope that the information I have provided above is sufficient to answer the questions raised in the example scenario that you have given.

 

 

Source: https://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/info-responses.aspx?FOI=2