Background
In July 2023, the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services issued an announcement to their opt in email followers. This opt in email list does not include any industry associations that have thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of security guards that work in any bar, club, music venue, lounge, retail store or hotel. These employees, members of the hospitality, retail and hotel industry are members who will be affected by the proposed BSIS language changes.
The email contained a document outlining the BSIS proposed language changes for many different legal sections of current law. I have highlighted in YELLOW the changes that are most important to the hospitality, retail and hotel industry. The BLUE highlights address the most dangerous parts. Some of the changes are well thought out and would benefit the public and the industries affected. However, some of the changes were not thought out, were not truly and honestly evaluated, and in one very important area, the proposed language create a very dangerous situation for the general public, the guards involved and the employer.
For background… current law mandates any person hired to work as in-house security for any employer (not a security company) must obtain a minimum of 16 hours of training. This guard is legally called a Proprietary Private Security Officer or PPSO. The 16 hours of training for the PPSO is broken down into 4 hours of powers to arrest, 4 hours of weapons of mass destruction and 8 hours containing industry specific topics that can be tailored to match the industry in which the PPSO security gaurd is being hired into.
Additionally… it is important to understand that the current law went into effect in January 2011. Also of note, I was the chairperson of the committee formed to create the curriculum, wrote the baseline curriculum and was issued state license number P-0001.
Here is a list of the secret changes that BSIS is trying to enact with no real oversight, no real evaluation, no real discussions, no hearings and no input from the most affected industries.
- BSIS wants to increase the PPSO Guard training from 16 hours to 40 hours
- BSIS wants to increase the PPSO Guard Powers to Arrest training from 4 hours to 8 hours
- BSIS wants to mandate PPSO Guard 4 of the 8 hours of Powers to Arrest training MUST done as in-person training – online or distance learning will no longer be allowed.
- BSIS wants a minimum of 3 hours PPSO Guard of “Restraint” training.
All of these BSIS proposed changes are bad for the hospitality industry, the hotel industry, the resort industry, the live music industry, the retail industry and so many more areas. However, that last bullet point, “Restraint training”, is so extremely dangerous to the employees and the citizen’s these guards are hired to protect, I am truly amazed that the administration at BSIS could not easily recognize the problem.
You see, as any law enforcement officer will tell you, restraint training is a perishable skill. What this means is that, if not used on a regular basis, the skills will be forgotten. BSIS is a law enforcement agency and as regulators should know this fact.
If you read this, and you are our industry, the hospitality industry, please share this blog and the attachment. Talk to your boss, talk to your company attorney, talk to your local association, your state association and yes, talk to your state legislature. To me, that last one might be very interested that BSIS is trying to simply change a law, instead of asking for the law to be changed with all the normal and safe mechanisms.
