Security guard companies, security motor patrol agencies, private investigators, bail bondsmen, bounty hunters, alarm services companies, and armored car companies are but a few examples of the types of services offered in the private protective marketplace. Some private agencies are proprietary employed exclusively by and for the benefit of only one principal. However, most private suppliers are contract agencies providing one or two specialized services to as many clients as possible. In fact, a violation of the principal s person or property is evidence of failure by the private agency. Every private protective service provider is heavily regulated by various government bureaucracies especially since private security is increasingly regarded as a threat to public police forces.
Some states grant private protective agents a limited power of arrest.
Typically, arrest powers are granted to security guards only while employed on the property of a client. This provision is denied to private agents in North Carolina but would be present in a free society. Briefly, protection encompasses all passive activities taken to deter criminal activity. Defense includes active steps when one is faced with an aggressor. Any discussion of the role of private security agents in a free nation 5 must begin with the individual.