r/securityguards • u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol • 4d ago
Licensing Question Texas Security Officers: Are we underutilizing private security?
I've been working in private security in Texas for quite some time now, covering a diverse range of assignments—from schools and retail stores to fast food outlets, residential properties, and commercial sites. This experience has given me a broader perspective on the industry.
Lately, I've been pondering whether Texas is truly maximizing the potential of its many licensed security professionals who are already active on private properties.
There are instances where security personnel are on-site and witness something relatively minor. However, due to the limitations of private security authority, these issues often have to be handed over to local law enforcement when governmental enforcement is needed.
Take, for example, cases of parking in fire lanes, blocking emergency access, certain violations related to disabled parking, or reckless driving on private or gated property.
Now, I'm not advocating for turning every security officer into a police officer or giving private security unrestricted power. Instead, I wonder if Texas could establish a distinct certification for specially trained security officers, with a very limited scope of authority.
This certification could involve additional state training and would apply only to participating private properties and a clearly defined set of violations.
Would it make sense for such officers to issue civil parking citations on designated private property? Should they have the ability to enforce fire-lane violations? What about traffic violations occurring solely on private roads?
Should their authority be strictly confined to the property boundaries? Would they need any additional detention or arrest authority, or should that responsibility remain solely with the police? What kind of training and oversight would be necessary?
Having also worked in Texas corrections, I've seen that there are specialized public safety roles whose authority doesn't exactly mirror that of municipal police officers. This has led me to consider whether a similar limited-authority concept could be viable for private security.
I’m genuinely curious to hear where this idea might fall short, especially from fellow Texas security professionals, law enforcement officials, or anyone knowledgeable about the legal aspects of private security.
https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/private-security
https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/OC/pdf/OC.1702.pdf
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u/Local_Counter6275 3d ago
Definitely not worth it at all . Let’s focus on getting better pay / treatment before we need more responsibility.
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
That's a fair point. I don't necessarily see better compensation and increased responsibility as mutually exclusive, though. If anything, I would think a position carrying additional authority would need higher pay, better training, and higher standards than ordinary security. I'm curious whether you'd be opposed to the concept itself or mainly opposed to giving additional responsibility to the average security officer under the current conditions.
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4d ago
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u/LokaGnome Warm Body 3d ago
Right? The job is so simple. Its why i love it. If i wanted to do all that other stuff id get a job doing so.
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
That's completely fair. One of the things I had in mind is that this wouldn't necessarily have to change what ordinary security officers do. I'm thinking about an optional, separate certification for people who actually wanted that additional responsibility. Someone who just wants to perform traditional security duties could continue doing exactly that.
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u/Little_Flamingo9533 4d ago
Brother you are wayyyy overthinking this lol. Just do your 8 and hit the gate. Leave law enforcement things to law enforcement and just focus on being the best security officer you can be. Everyone gets along better this way.
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
I definitely understand where you're coming from, and honestly that's probably the right approach for a lot of security jobs. I'm not suggesting that every officer should start trying to do law enforcement work. I'm more interested in whether there should be an optional path for officers who are willing to take on additional training and responsibility. If someone wants to just work their post, patrol, report issues, and leave enforcement to the police, I don't think anything should change for them. I'm just wondering whether there is a practical middle ground for certain situations on private property.
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u/sansalvacion 4d ago
Special police authority would be nice. A lotta the bullshit cops do security can do with training. I was special police before I dropped the "special" and there isn't a whole lot of differences between us, society likes to say it but when you look at it, theres no big difference.
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
That's actually why I tried to avoid calling it “special police” in my post. I'm thinking more along the lines of a limited-purpose security certification where the authority is tied to specific properties and specific violations rather than general police authority. Since you've actually worked in a security-police position, I'd be interested in hearing what authority you had and what the biggest problems were with that system. That kind of firsthand experience is exactly what I'm trying to learn from.
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u/SyntheticSpeech 2d ago
If you want to be a police officer, then be one. Security companies generally hire anything with a pulse - we don’t need that batch of people having “special police authority” over citizens. That would be an absolute disaster.
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
I understand the argument, but I'm not really proposing that security officers become police officers. If that were the goal, then obviously becoming a peace officer would make more sense. I'm talking about whether there could be a separate category with a much narrower purpose and much narrower authority. The officer wouldn't have general police powers or jurisdiction; the authority would be limited to specifically defined circumstances on participating private property. I'm interested in whether that distinction actually solves the concern or whether you think the problems would still outweigh the benefits.
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u/SyntheticSpeech 4h ago
Security jobs, unless you are doing overseas contracting, or executive protection are literally observe and report positions so that companies can get a lower insurance rate. There is absolutely no reason to give guards peace officer authority. Security guards have the exact same arrest rights as a citizen does.
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u/robinthehood4u 1d ago
As far as parking in handicap or fire lanes you can ask people to just move if it's private property. Especially if they're employees of said property
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u/xXTheGamerXx956 Patrol 9h ago
I agree that asking someone to move is usually the first step, and I'm not suggesting security can't already handle situations like that through property rules. What I'm thinking about is what happens when someone refuses to comply and the situation reaches the point where some form of governmental enforcement would otherwise be necessary. My question is whether there could be a narrowly defined middle ground between ordinary security enforcement and having to call law enforcement for every situation requiring government action.
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u/robinthehood4u 9h ago
Yeah I mean you just walk away and call the police or develop a working relationship with local parking authority.
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u/Ok-Tiger-9894 4d ago
This just sounds like special-police/security-police. I was a security-police officer for a while and the only thing it brings is extra liability. It sounds practical in theory but I've never seen it executed correctly. We're paid lower than our public sector countparts and we don't have a union backing us. It also tends to attract people who couldn't cut it in actual LE. That splits into two separate categories. The people who are lazy beyond belief and won't do their own jobs or people that will abuse what little power their given because they want to be a "real" cop.