Cal. BPC § 7583.7 — California Code / Code bpc / Division 3 / Chapter 11.5 / Article 4 / Section 7583.7
Section 7583.7
Status: in_force

(a) The course of training in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force may be administered, tested, and certified by any licensee or by any organization or school approved by the department. The department may approve any person or school to teach the course in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force. The department may review and provide more guidance on courses of training when best practices are updated. The course of training shall be approximately eight hours in length and shall cover all of the following topics:

(1) Responsibilities and ethics in citizen arrest.

(2) Relationship between a security guard and a peace officer in making an arrest.

(3) Limitations on security guard power to arrest.

(4) Restrictions on searches and seizures.

(5) Criminal and civil liabilities, including both of the following:

(A) Personal liability.

(B) Employer liability.

(6) Trespass law.

(7) Ethics and communications.

(8) Emergency situation response, including response to medical emergencies.

(9) Security officer safety.

(10) The appropriate use of force, including all of the following topics:

(A) Legal standards for use of force.

(B) Duty to intercede.

(C) The use of objectively reasonable force.

(D) Supervisory responsibilities.

(E) Use of force review and analysis.

(F) De-escalation and interpersonal communication training, including tactical methods that use time, distance, cover, and concealment, to avoid escalating situations that lead to violence.

(G) Implicit and explicit bias and cultural competency.

(H) Skills, including de-escalation techniques, to effectively, safely, and respectfully interact with people with disabilities or behavioral health issues.

(I) Use of force scenario training, including simulations of low-frequency, high-risk situations and calls for service, shoot-or-don’t-shoot situations, and real-time force option decisionmaking.

(J) Mental health and policing, including bias and stigma.

(K) Active shooter situations.

(11) Any other topic deemed appropriate by the bureau, excluding Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Awareness, which may be an elective topic only.

(b) (1) The majority of the course shall be taught by means of verbal instruction. This instruction may include the use of a video presentation.

(2) Paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) shall be conducted through traditional classroom instruction. For the purposes of this paragraph, “traditional classroom instruction” means instruction where the instructor is physically present with students in a classroom for a minimum of 50 percent of the course and is available at all times, including during instruction provided through distance learning or remote platforms, to answer students’ questions while providing the required training. In this setting, the instructor provides demonstrations and hands-on instruction in order to establish each student’s proficiency as to the course content.

(c) (1) The department shall make available a guidebook as a standard for teaching the course in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force, which may be known as the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force Manual. The department shall encourage additional training and may provide a training guide recommending additional courses to be taken by security personnel.

(2) The development, adoption, amendment, or repeal of the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force Manual by the bureau is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(d) Private patrol operators may provide a copy of the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force Manual to each person that they currently employ as a security guard. The private patrol operator may provide the guidebook to each person the private patrol operator intends to hire as a security guard a reasonable time prior to the time the person begins the course in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force.

(e) The bureau may inspect, supervise, or view the administration of the test at any time and without any prior notification. Any impropriety in the administration of the course or the test shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2023.