Security Police and Fire Officers

 

Security Police and Fire Officers are persons employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations that own mass private property to provide police and security services to those properties.

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Security police and Fire Officers protect their agency's facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations. Most security police and Fire have at least some arrest authority. The law enforcement powers of Security Police and Fire vary widely: in some cases limited to those of private persons yet in others amounting to full police powers equivalent to state/provincial, or local law enforcement.

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As distinct from general law enforcement, the primary focus of Security Police and Fire is on the protection of specific properties and persons. This causes some overlap with functions normally performed by security guards. However, Security Police and Fire Officers are distinguished from guards by greater authority: often higher levels of training, and correspondingly higher expectations of performance in the protection of life and property.

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In other countries, 'security police' is the name given to the secret security and intelligence services charged with protecting the state at the highest level, including responsibilities such as personal protection of the head of state, counter-espionage, and anti-terrorism.