Opinion ID: 1757782
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Private Security Law

Text: The purpose of the Private Security Regulatory and Licensing Law, which generally regulates private security agents, is stated in La.Rev.Stat. 37:3270, as follows: A. The Legislature of Louisiana declares that it is necessary to require the licensure of private security agents and businesses to be in the best interest of the citizens of this state. B. The purpose of this Chapter is to require qualifying criteria in a presently unregulated professional field in which unqualified individuals may injure the public. The requirements of this Chapter will contribute to the safety, health, and welfare of the people of Louisiana. The Act generally provides for a board of examiners, who examine and investigate applicants and issue licenses, and for qualifications of licensees. A licensee is specifically required to carry general liability insurance in a specified minimum amount, [1] and an armed security guard is required to have a firearm permit issued by the state. The Act also provides detailed rules regarding training, uniforms, and license fees and renewals. Overall, the Act is a detailed licensing scheme for the profession of private security agents. Other states, in the exercise of their police power, have adopted similar statutory schemes. John C. Williams, Annotation, Regulation of Private Detectives, Private Investigators, and Security Agencies, 86 A.L.R.3d 691 (1978); see, e.g., Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 4749.03 (requiring, among other things, that a licensee maintain liability insurance coverage in a specified minimum amount). The purpose and goal behind these enactments is to provide regulation for, and raise the standards of, private investigators, `to legitimatize and professionalize' the private security business and to `drive the crooks out of the industry.' Comment, Reality and Illusion: Defining Private Security Law in Ohio, 13 U. Tol. L.Rev. 377, 386 n. 38 (1982). Stated otherwise, these enactments set minimal standards to weed out crooks, rapists, and burglars from upstanding career security professionals. Julie Brienza, Guards Offer Protection but Pose Potential Liability Problems, 30 Trial 12, 13 (Aug.1994). The requirement of general liability coverage is simply one aspect of the qualifying criteria required to obtain a license.