Right Column
Press Releases
California's Private Security Officers to Be Better Trained Under New
Consumer Affairs Guidelines;
Regulations Go Into Effect Today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2004
SACRAMENTO — New training requirements will significantly improve the professionalism of state-registered security officers and the safety of Californians, Charlene Zettel, the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs, said today.
The new rules, which go into effect today, July 1, require all new security officers registered by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) to complete a total of 40 hours of training instead of the current three hours. An eight-hour "powers to arrest" course will have to be completed before he or she begins working. An additional 16 hours will be required within 30 days of beginning work. Sixteen more will have to be completed within six months.
The increased training is the result of AB 2880, authored by Assemblyman Edward Chavez and signed into law in 2002.
"Private sector security companies and their security officers represent a vast and vital resource for protecting Californians from criminal activity," Director Zettel said. "We believe the new training will make that resource even more valuable."
BSIS has spent the last several months developing a training curriculum. Some of the training subjects will be mandatory for all guards; others will be elective, allowing guard companies to tailor the curriculum to fit a particular area of expertise.
The draft curriculum, which can be viewed at http://www.bsis.ca.gov/industries_regulated/security_guard_training.shtml, was approved by the Office of Administrative Law on June 23, 2004. It now goes to public hearings that will be held within 120 days.
There are approximately 190,000 registered security officers in California.
The Department of Consumer Affairs' Bureau of Security and Investigative Services licenses security guards, private patrol operators, private investigators, alarm company operators, repossession agencies, and locksmiths, and certifies their training facilities and instructors. For more information about the Department of Consumer Affairs, call our Consumer Information Center at 800-952-5210 or visit our Web site at www.dca.ca.gov.
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