Do NVCSS officers have any special powers or authority?

NVCSS officers have some limited powers, but only under specific conditions prescribed by law.

The primary source of authority for security officers comes from Nevada's legal recognition of private person's arrests and the right of private property owners to grant and revoke access at will.

While arrest powers are available to all Nevadans (security or otherwise), the power to control access to private property can only be exercised as directed by a contracting client.

Access Control Powers

Private property rights are a powerful enforcement mechanism. In fact, it's the one area where law enforcement has the least ability to act compared to private security.

Police officers cannot "trespass" a person — i.e. order them to leave or stay away from a private location — unless they are a designated representative of the owner. This is why off-duty police officers are sometimes hired to work in a private security role — although it's prohibitively expensive, the contractual agreement comes with the designation needed to bridge the "gap" that separates police authority from private security.

Assignment

When you contract with NVCSS, your service agreement assigns a "representative" designation to our officers — in other words, we can act as agents on your behalf. Based on your preferences, officers will use their powers to stop trespassing, prevent disorderly conduct, and enforce any rules you have in place. Any person that refuses to comply with an order to leave is committing a crime and can be arrested if desired.

The degree to which we control access to your location is completely up to you. Our onboarding process allows you to configure when and how a person should be ordered to leave, banned, or arrested.

Public vs. Private Land

Many people incorrectly believe that any location that is open to the public, such as a mall or amusement park, is considered public property and thus excluded from trespass protections. This is completely incorrect.

Privately owned businesses that are open to the public are considered to be "conditional/limited access" properties — that is, the owner has given their general consent for people to enter and remain at their location under specific conditions they dictate, e.g. code of conduct, dress code requirements, entry fees, etc. This consent can be revoked at any time and for any reason (or none at all). Refusing an order to leave is an arrestable offense.

Arrest Powers

Most people are familiar with the concept of a "citizen's arrest," a legal standard in which any person can arrest someone else under specific conditions. The State of Nevada has its own version of this, called a "private person's arrest."

Private security is sometimes criticized as being "powerless" because the ability to conduct an arrest is not exclusive to them — anyone can do it, security or not. While this is absolutely true, it's like saying a firefighter is no different from the average person because anyone can pour water on a fire — the difference is found in training, aptitude, and experience.

The power to conduct a private person's arrest is limited and has a stricter legal standard compared to powers of arrest for law enforcement. Failing to know and understand these legal limitations can invalidate a private person's arrest and expose the person conducting the arrest to serious criminal charges, even if they meant well.

The Difference

One of the biggest indicators of a poor-quality security company is their approach to access control and powers of arrest.

It's costly and time-consuming to properly vet and train private security personnel; instead, many companies simply skip all of it to save on costs and implement a blanket "hands off" policy, banning everything except calling 9-1-1 and waiting.

This approach has become so widespread that many people incorrectly believe it applies to all security, further exacerbating the "powerless" misconception and "do-nothing" stereotype.

Civil Security Service is not one of these companies. Our approach prioritizes training and education for personnel, with strict reporting and accountability procedures in place to prevent misconduct. NVCSS officers know the law, their limitations, and are empowered to actively protect your interests.