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Recap from January 16 Use of Force seminar By Steve Caballero, President, California Security Training Academy The use of force seminar held at California Security and Investigation Academy proved to be a great success. It was a very informative meeting and I would like to share with you the information obtained and issues discussed. In attendance were:
John Virga stated that “reasonableness” is the key issue in the use of force either by police, citizens or security officers. John further stated that the reference book instructors should be familiar with is the CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL AND CIVIL INSTRUCTIONS TO JURIES. John told the group that these legal books are important in that a Judge instructs a jury prior to their deliberating on a particular case either criminal or civil. These instructions to juries assist them regarding the issues and the application regarding the reasonableness of actions taken by individuals involved. Steve Caballero mentioned the use of TASERS by security officers. The representatives from BSIS confirmed their position regarding the carrying by security officers as being unchanged in that BSIS does not approve or disapprove of the carrying and use of the TASER by security officers. The liability rests with the individual officer and his/her employer. John Lana and Andrew Clark agreed that the training given to students on the use of force is only as good as the background and experience of the instructor. Steve Caballero agreed and added that the qualification of the instructor will be determined by a Judge or jury at the time of trial regarding a use of force issue. At this time the legal definition of QUALIFIED PERSON in the BSIS rules and regulations does not define what QUALIFIED means and this needs to be addressed at the legislative level. Courtroom testimony was brought up as being a very valuable part of a security officers’ training and more emphasis should directed to it in all training sessions. The members agreed that winning on the street doesn’t matter if you lose in court. During the discussion regarding the use of force, the current certification and re-qualification forms used by BSIS was brought up. Steve Caballero mentioned that a great many complaints have been brought by persons dealing with the falsification of the re-qualification forms. If a re-qualification form is submitted to BSIS with all four requals signed off on one form the Bureau is not going to question the validity of the completed form. For instance, if an instructor signs off on requal number one and leaves the other lines blank there is nothing to prevent a person from falsifying the remaining requal lines. Connie Trujillo and Clarissa Serrato-Chavez stated that they would look into the matter and that it would be possible for the Bureau to allow instructors to black out all lines that they did not certify and when an officer brings his/her form in the instructor simply issues a new form and blacks out all other lines. The above procedure would of course cause more hard copy filing but if it prevents illegal activity I feel that it is worth the effort. Discussions during the break and after the session was adjourned were very enlightening in that everyone agreed that additional hours should be added to the existing firearms and baton courses. It was also understood that any such change in the curriculum must be done legislated and that must be done through the political process. BSIS cannot change the law arbitrarily. Be that as it may I feel that Connie and Clarissa and the fifty members of the BSIS staff are doing everything within their power at this time to professionalize the security industry. Having said that, the furlough Friday’s are not helping with the workload placed upon the Bureau. Everyone in the security industry needs to work together with the Bureau and remember that change comes slowly, not overnight. I want to thank all who participated. We will hold another session in a few months to discuss further developments and suggestions brought up in this session. If you want to be placed on the invitation list for future meetings or be advised regarding developments please contact steve@casecuritytraining.com on contact Marilyn at 916-399-2010. Again, thank you all for your participation and input. A special thanks to William Hodges at CALSAGA for allowing our information to be placed in their newsletter. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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