Homework Responses Wk 6

Hello Classmates and Professor,

The issue of negligence refers to a case in which a crime is committed in which a party that was injured alleges that a responsible party failed to act with reasonable care and thereby caused harm. (The Baez Law Firm, 2016) With specific regards to security, negligence can mean that the security company failed to protect against a crime that was committed.

Negligence is a dominant issue within the security field and can manifest in several ways. The first way negligence can show up in the security field is with failure to provide the appropriate protection for personnel or assets. This example can be seen in the case of Rong Dong LI v. Akal Sec. Inc (California). The defendant alleged that the security company providing protection at a prison was negligent in protecting him after reporting several inmates.

While these cases can happen, more common negligence is in the lack of training that security personnel receive. Due to budgetary concerns, the amount of training that occurs is inadequate to ensure that security officers are properly equipped to meet today's challenges. In my personal experience, it is common for companies to rely on the training that personnel had before they applied for the job and disregard any training to maintain adequacy. These actions open a company and the personnel up potential legal trouble. The case Williams v. Florida Realty & Management (Florida, 1973) shows how a company can be held liable for its employees' inadequacies. In this example, an employee negligently shot a resident. The company was then held accountable because they should have known that the employee did not have the proper training or mental fortitude to handle a weapon.

Another way that negligence can manifest is the screening process of security officers. A thorough background check is essential to the proper employment of security personnel. The company should ensure not only that the person is not a criminal, but that they are both physically and mentally capable of the job. Again the company can be found negligent if this does take place. In the case of Ponticas v. K.S.lf. Investments. Inc. (Minnesota, 1983), an employer was held liable because they did not conduct a background check on an employee who later went on to rape a woman.

History has shown that negligence is a genuine problem in the security industry. This trend confirms the importance of comprehensive security policies and procedures and educated and experienced security managers.

 

Thank you for reading,

Tyson Houchens

 

 

The Baez Law Firm. (2016). What Is Negligent Security?: Orlando Civil Litigation Lawyer. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.baezlawfirm.com/what-is-negligent-security/

Rong Dong LI v. Akal Sec. Inc., Https://casetext.com/case/rong-dong-li-v-akal-sec-inc (U.S District Court of Southern California. January 17, 2012).

WILLIAMS v. FLORIDA REALTY & MANAGEMENT CO., Https://www.leagle.com/decision/1973448272so2d1761394 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District. January 29, 1973).

Ponticas v. K.S.lf. Investments. Inc., Http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=408133 (Minnesota 1983).