I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 103
To expedite State reviews of criminal records of applicants for private security
officer employment, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 7, 1997
Mr. BARR of Georgia (for himself and Mr. MARTINEZ) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the commit-
tee concerned
A BILL
To expedite State reviews of criminal records of applicants
for private security officer employment, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Private Security Offi-
cer Quality Assurance Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) employment of private security officers in
the United States is growing rapidly;
(2) the private security industry provides nu-
merous opportunities for entry-level job applicants,
including individuals suffering from unemployment
due to economic conditions or dislocations;
(3) sworn law enforcement officers provide sig-
nificant services to the citizens of the United States
in its public areas, and are only supplemented by
private security officers who provide prevention and
reporting services in support of, but not in place of,
regular sworn police;
(4) given the growth of large private shopping
malls, and the consequent reduction in the number
of public shopping streets, the American public is
more likely to have contact with private security per-
sonnel in the course of a day than with sworn law
enforcement officers;
(5) regardless of the differences in their duties,
skill, and responsibilities, the public has difficulty in
discerning the difference between sworn law enforce-
ment officers and private security personnel; and
(6) the American public demands the employ-
ment of qualified, well-trained private security per-
sonnel as an adjunct, but not a replacement for
sworn law enforcement officers.
SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—An association of employers of
private security officers, designated for the purpose of this
section by the Attorney General, may submit fingerprints
or other methods of positive identification approved by the
Attorney General, to the Attorney General on behalf of
any applicant for a State license or certificate of registra-
tion as a private security officer or employer of private
security officers. In response to such a submission, the At-
torney General may, to the extent provided by State law
conforming to the requirements of the second paragraph
under the heading ‘‘Federal Bureau of Investigation’’ and
the subheading ‘‘Salaries and Expenses’’ in title II of Pub-
lic Law 92–544 (86 Stat. 1115), exchange, for licensing
and employment purposes, identification and criminal his-
tory records with the State governmental agencies to
which such applicant has applied.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General may pre-
scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out
this section, including measures relating to the security,
confidentiality, accuracy, use, and dissemination of infor-
mation and audits and recordkeeping and the imposition
of fees necessary for the recovery of costs.
(c) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall report to
the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary 2
years after the date of enactment of this bill on the num-
ber of inquiries made by the association of employers
under this section and their disposition.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that States should partici-
pate in the background check system established under
section 3.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘employee’’ includes an applicant
for employment;
(2) the term ‘‘employer’’ means any person
that—
(A) employs one or more private security
officers; or
(B) provides, as an independent contrac-
tor, for consideration, the services of one or
more private security officers (possibly includ-
ing oneself);
(3) the term ‘‘private security officer’’—
(A) means—
(i) an individual who performs secu-
rity services, full or part time, for consider-
ation as an independent contractor or an
employee, whether armed or unarmed and
in uniform or plain clothes whose primary
duty is to perform security services, or
(ii) an individual who is an employee
of an electronic security system company
who is engaged in one or more of the fol-
lowing activities in the State: burglar
alarm technician, fire alarm technician,
closed circuit television technician, access
control technician, or security system mon-
itor; but
(B) does not include—
(i) sworn police officers who have law
enforcement powers in the State,
(ii) attorneys, accountants, and other
professionals who are otherwise licensed in
the State,
(iii) employees whose duties are pri-
marily internal audit or credit functions,
(iv) persons whose duties may inciden-
tally include the reporting or apprehension
of shoplifters or trespassers, or
(v) an individual on active duty in the
military service;
(4) the term ‘‘certificate of registration’’ means
a license, permit, certificate, registration card, or
other formal written permission from the State for
the person to engage in providing security services;
(5) the term ‘‘security services’’ means the per-
formance of one or more of the following:
(A) the observation or reporting of intru-
sion, larceny, vandalism, fire or trespass;
(B) the deterrence of theft or misappro-
priation of any goods, money, or other item of
value;
(C) the observation or reporting of any un-
lawful activity;
(D) the protection of individuals or prop-
erty, including proprietary information, from
harm or misappropriation;
(E) the control of access to premises being
protected;
(F) the secure movement of prisoners;