Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
What the exam tests
Legal and ethical questions check that you know a security guard is a private citizen with limited authority. The exam tests use of force, detention, search, privacy, confidentiality, and honest reporting.
Core rules
- Authority: your powers come from the property owner's consent and the contract, plus limited citizen's powers in local law. You are not police.
- Detention: you may only detain where the law allows, for example a citizen's arrest for a witnessed offence. Use the minimum force needed, call police immediately, and never punish or humiliate.
- Search: do not search a person or their bag without lawful authority or clear consent. Ask, record the answer, and refuse entry rather than force a search where policy allows.
- Use of force: lawful, necessary, proportionate, and only to defend yourself or others, prevent escape from a lawful detention, or protect property in limited cases. Stop when the threat stops.
- Privacy and confidentiality: share incident information only on a need-to-know basis. Do not post about incidents or take personal photographs.
- Non-discrimination: apply the same rules to everyone regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, or nationality.
- Honesty: reports must be accurate. Never backdate, omit, or exaggerate.
Worked example
You see a shopper conceal goods and pass the tills. You approach, identify yourself, and ask them to return. If they refuse and try to leave, you may detain only if local law permits a citizen's arrest for the witnessed offence. You use no more force than necessary, do not search, call police, and record the exact words and actions.
Traps
Claiming police powers, searching bags without consent, handcuffing as punishment, using force after the threat has passed, and gossiping about incidents.