Limits of Authority
What this domain tests
This domain is about the outer edge of the guard's role: what a security credential does not authorize. Most failures here are overreach, not underreach.
Limits to know
- No police powers. A guard cannot conduct traffic stops, demand ID, run plates or criminal histories, enter a home without consent, or order someone to stay for questioning.
- No civil enforcement. Unpaid rent, custody disputes, and debts are civil. Eviction is executed by the sheriff, not by a guard.
- No impersonation. Do not wear or use "police," "sheriff," "officer," or a badge that mimics law enforcement.
- Territorial limit. Authority comes from the property owner's consent and from citizen's arrest rules, not from geography. Off the assigned property, the guard is a private citizen.
- Search limits. Plain view, consent, and a protective pat-down incident to a lawful arrest are the main exceptions. A suspicion-based search of a bag is not allowed.
- Force limits. No deadly force to protect property. No force to punish, retaliate, or recover an item after the suspect is no longer a threat.
Worked example
A guard sees a teenager spray-painting a wall, chases him two blocks, tackles him, holds him face-down for 40 minutes, and searches his backpack. The tackle, the duration, and the search all exceed the privilege. A reasonable detention would have been brief, on or near the property, with police called immediately and no search without consent or arrest grounds.
Traps
Treating "citizen's arrest" as a general license to detain. Holding someone for police convenience beyond a reasonable time. Handcuffing during mere questioning. Using force to recover property after the person is leaving.