What is the difference between security and police?

Authority

A peace officer’s authority comes from the state and extends to the public: the power to stop, detain, search under the rules that govern police, arrest and use force as the law allows officers. A security officer’s authority comes from the property owner and extends to the property: the power to set and enforce conditions of entry, to ask people to leave, to give trespass notice on the owner’s behalf, and otherwise the same rights as any private person under Penal Code chapter 9 and the Code of Criminal Procedure. A licensed security officer is not a police officer and does not become one by wearing a uniform.

Role

Police respond to crime across a jurisdiction. Security prevents it on one property by being there: at the gate, in the lobby, in the lot, on the rounds, watching the cameras, closing the pool, logging the visitors. When prevention fails, the security officer is the witness and the caller; the police officer is the responder. The two roles fit together, and the post orders on every Price Protection post describe the handoff: what the officer calls in, what information to give, where to meet the patrol car and what to record.

Off-duty police as security

Some properties hire off-duty peace officers for security work. They bring police authority with them, which has advantages and complications, and they are governed by their department’s policies as well as the property’s. Licensed private officers bring post orders, supervision, dispatch and a daily report, and no police powers. The off-duty police vs licensed security article compares the two honestly.

Working together

Price Protection officers are trained to call police early, to give a clear description and location, to keep the scene in view from a distance and to hand over cleanly. The police coordination article describes the relationship in detail. This is a summary, not legal advice.