Civil Liability and Moonlighting Essay

Civil Liability of Security Personnel

MOONLIGHTING

Current statistics reveal that private security personnel are twice the number of public law enforcers (Moore, 1987). Of utmost consideration is that these private security personnel are put in charge of, and authorized to, protect the lives and property of customers. They need to realize the magnitude of this responsibility. And without adequate training, that realization is hardly possible. They are not law enforcers or peace officers who fall under the same rules and regulations imposed on, and followed by, public police (Moore).

Sadly, most of these private security officers do not have qualified training or have very little of it (Moore, 1987). Yet they respond to situations with unreasonable or extreme force. While public police officers enjoy some protection from the Constitution, private security personnel can be subject to civil action for undue acts. Civil action can exact them to compensate their victims for inconvenience or harm. Firms and these personnel under them must temper their investigations with reason. Otherwise, both can be liable for their acts. Civil liability suits can be lodged against them for improper or extremely aggressive conduct (Moore).

Moonlighting, a Most Serious Form

Public law enforcers are allowed to pursue opportunities to earn more money beyond their routine work hours and other than law enforcement work (Scarry, 2007). They can accept employment as security personnel in banks, retail stores, homes and events, like concerts and sports. These sideline jobs mean a lot to them for additional needs or to pay their debts.But accepting a second job as a security employee involves some risk. The security officer and this secondary employer may engage in an informal or verbal agreement. The employer may agree to pay the security officer a specified amount for a specific number of hours of work. But quite often, there is no clear description of the agreement on who should indemnify in cases of a civil suit for some unlawful action or inaction by the security officer. The civil liability gets worse if the security officer's agency is unaware of his second job. There is a host of questions that requires clear answers about civil liability by security personnel (Scarry).

The Color of Law Applies

Civil liability is brought against police officers for violations of federal statute 42 Section 1983 of the Constitution and/or a state law (Scarry, 2007). A police officer must prove to have violated the color of law in order to be civilly liable under this Section. Most lawsuits involve secondary jobs. The officer is assumed to act under the color of law if he acted on his official capacity or while exercising his responsibilities according to state laws. This means that not every action of a state official of employee is performed under color law. In determining a violation under this law, the officer should first check out state statutes. Some state statutes cover an officer's duty to act while he is off-duty. If the state does….....