Detaining Suspects: Avoid the Liability Trap

Security officers in a wide range of industries and business settings may wish to detain someone for questioning, whether for shoplifting, car break-ins, or embezzlement. However, detentions are fraught with risk for companies and their security departments.

As a general legal principle, security officers must have probable cause to suspect someone and be acting in good faith in order to detain an employee or a visitor to company property.

If officers cannot pass that motivation test, your company could get sued for illegally holding that person against his will, regardless of whether officers use handcuffs or simply order the suspect into an interview room. You could also face a significant damage award if officers balk at letting the suspect leave when he wants to.

Listen as our panel of experienced premises liability attorneys and consultants, as well as veteran corporate security leaders, helps you draw the line between vigilant security and unlawful detentions.

Chris McGoey is president of McGoey Security Consulting in Murrieta, CA. He has more than 35 years of experience in security and training, during which time he participated personally in a number of detentions and arrests and wrote several articles on detentions of suspects in retail security. He operates the Crime Doctor website at www.crimedoctor.com.

Donna Rutter is a partner in the Curiale Dellaverson Hirschfeld & Kraemer law firm in San Francisco. She's an employment law specialist whose practice areas include internal investigations of misconduct and harassment, and management training.

Dan Ryan is security director at property management company General Growth Properties in Chicago, where he insists on specialized training by his security services vendor in legal detentions of suspects and use of physical force.

Guidance they’ll provide during the teleconference includes:

• The trend in federal and state courts about what is lawful when it comes to detaining suspects, and what it means for your security department
• Methods corporate security departments are using to train officers and the general company staff on avoiding a costly mistake in this area
• Strategies to keep a suspect around for questioning without resorting to physical force and verbal confrontation
• Measures your company can take to verify that your officers conducted an interview within the limits of the law

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