Legal and Regulatory Framework for Security Work in BC
Where authority comes from
A BC security worker is a private citizen in uniform, not a peace officer. The Security Services Act and its regulation govern who may work and how - business and worker licensing, conditions, conduct, and discipline - but they do not hand you police powers. Your authority comes from two places only: (1) the rights the property owner or occupier has delegated to you, exercised largely through the Trespass Act (asking someone to leave, revoking a licence to be on the property), and (2) the powers every person has under the Criminal Code - s. 494 citizen's arrest, s. 25 protection for a person acting under authority who uses no more force than is reasonably necessary, s. 26 liability for excessive force, s. 27 force to prevent an offence, s. 34 self-defence and defence of others, and s. 35 defence of property.
Section 494 is the one examiners love. You may arrest without warrant a person you find committing an indictable offence, or a person you find committing any criminal offence when you believe on reasonable grounds that a peace officer cannot act. You must deliver the person to a peace officer forthwith, using only necessary force.
Traps: assuming you may search, fingerprint, or hold someone simply to investigate; assuming the Charter governs your conduct (it generally does not bind private guards, but torts such as false imprisonment and assault certainly do); thinking a business licence covers its staff (business and worker licences are separate); assuming a client's instruction is a legal power - a client cannot authorize an unlawful detention or an assault. PIPA governs how you collect, use, and share personal information, including CCTV and ID checks.
Rule of thumb: before you act, name your source - property owner's consent, s. 494, or s. 34. If you cannot name it, you cannot do it.