Powers of arrest

Security guards have neither police nor peace officer powers. They have the same powers as any member of the public under the Criminal Code. Specifically, section 494 of the Criminal Code describes when it is appropriate for a member of the public to make an arrest. If a security guard is guarding property and is authorized by the owner of the property or the person in lawful possession of the property, they may make an arrest for ANY criminal offence that is committed on or in relation to the property, as long as the security guard witnessed the offence being committed. If the offence is an indictable offence, they may make the arrest, even if the offence is not committed on or in relation to the property they are guarding, so long as the security guard has witnessed the offence. Security guards should therefore understand the distinction between an indictable offence and a summary offence. Typically indictable offences are more serious; a lot of the offences that security guards normally encounter are indictable, e.g. theft. Once an arrest has been performed, the security guard must deliver the individual to a peace officer as soon as possible.

An ” Information” is the name of a document used to formally charge an offender.