Dealing With Trespassers
By: Lawrence Fennelly, CPO
October 2000
Reprint Protection News
Protection officers are often called upon to evict persons
from the property they are hired to protect. Performing
this function can involve a host of difficulties that are
generally not foreseen by property managers. Property/facility
managers simply desire a certain "culture" or ambiance within
the boundaries of the facility or property. They leave the
details to the protection officers as to how to be the "preservers
of the corporate culture". Such a role is complex and challenging.
How effectively the protection officer can secure the property
he/she is employed to protect will determine the degree
of legal, operational and safety problems that are confronted.
For these reasons, evicting trespassers should be done professionally.
Below are a list of recommended practices for controlling
trespass to property.
- A polite request to leave should be employed. This can
be prefaced with an interview as to what the person is
doing so as to better assess the situation. Person will
not have to be evicted in every case; some will simply
comply with the protection officer's request.
- Conduct the process in private as much as possible to
preclude acting out behavior in front of an audience as
well as to avoid exposure to defamation/invasion of privacy
actions.
- Avoid invading the personal space of the evictee! A
respectable distance - at least a leg length - must be
maintained at all times. When there are indications that
the person is violent, this distance should be increased
to at least 10 feet. Care should be taken so as not to
corner the person when first approaching them or going
through a doorway. The latter scenario is a common cause
of aggressive behavior when evicting someone from a room.
- Accompany the evictee all the way off the property so
as to monitor and influence their behavior. Being too
far from the evictee can make them feel unsupervised and
rebellious. Acting-out behavior such as shouting, cursing
and threatening is likely to escalate. Aside from being
detrimental to the decorum, this behavior can incite problems
from nearby crowds of people.
- Document the action in a daily log, etc. This lists
the basic information regarding a routine eviction. Should
there be a substantial problem or the person being evicted
has been a problem in the past, a complete Incident Report
should be prepared. Also consider video, still shots and
audio documentation.
- Evict with a partner/witness. Security officers can
use the "Contact/Cover" concept where one officer communicates
with the subject and the other oversees from an appropriate
distance/location for safety purposes.
- Obtain police assistance if force must be used. Advise
police of the problem when calling them. If the person
has been violent, threatening or has caused prior disturbances,
the police should know this.
- Advise the resistant person of the legal consequences
of his/her actions - a trespassing charge as well as any
other appropriate charges. Knowledge of the law serves
to establish the officer's professionalism and authority;
few persons will argue if the officer knows what he/she
is doing. Legal knowledge also helps to maintain a positive
relationship with local police!
- Use the phrases "private property" or "corporate name
(company, college, hospital, etc.) property". Most people
have a degree of respect for private property, realize
they are on someone else's "turf" and comply with reasonable
directions. Even chronic troublemakers are thrown "off
guard" by the phrase "private property".
- Give persons being evicted very specific parameters
as far as time limits, routes to take, etc. Be fair and
firm with this. Document it.
- Enforce only lawful and reasonable rules. If the rules
are not clear and concise, do not attempt to enforce them!
Ambiguous, unenforceable rules will lead to trouble with
police after they are summoned to arrest a trespasser
and do not feel obligated to do so. Such encounters destroy
the credibility of security, management and the police.
- Consider utilizing prepared notices on company letterhead
to mail as certified or registered letters. Such trespass
letters should specify the unauthorized activity and dates
of occurrence. In public places such as shopping centers,
there should be several instances of arrests and evictions
indicated as the person is being banned from a whole host
of retail establishments. Prepared in a slightly different
format, these can also be handed to trespassers. The Retailer's
Guide To Loss Prevention and Security by Donald Horan
from CRC Press (800-272-7737) provides an excellent discussion
of both trespass procedures that can be applied to a retail
environment as well as some outstanding tips on establishing
relationships with law enforcement agencies.
- Provide the trespasser with the option of behaving or
leaving and document that this was done. The trespasser
made the decision to remain on the property.
- Discuss with police and other parties such as managers
after they have evicted or arrested persons how to improve
upon the process. Make sure everyone can share perspectives
on the process!
Eviction of trespassers is a challenging undertaking which
must be professionally handled in order to insure that civil
rights, property rights and the appropriate rules/culture/decorum
are preserved. Management representatives - protection officers
- who serve as the ambassadors of the organization can do
no less.
Become familiar with your state laws on this subject. The
trespass law is the greatest tool security has. After he/she
has been arrested for trespassing, then they can be searched
and if any of your property is found on his/her possession
then you can seek additional prosecution.
Closed circuit televisions strategically placed in critical
areas will be very helpful to detect unwanted individuals.
Conclusion
Trespassing is a crime and it is covered under various
state statutes. Even though it is not a felony, it should
be enforced because it also transmits a clear message.
If you have any questions we can be reached at www.litigationconsultants.com
or at LAFENN@aol.com
Reproduced from 150 Things You Should Know About Physical
Security, Elsevier Science, http://www.elsevier.com
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