Reason to Believe

by Jim Goding

with thanks to Gary L. Powell

Introduction

• The term reason to believe is very important to Surveillance and Security operations. It is central to all types of investigations, and central to any form of detention by an officer, whether a publicly employed peace officer acting with the authority of the police, or a privately employed security officer acting with no more authority, in fact, than his duty to protect the guests and assets of his employer and his authority as a private citizen.
• Reason to Believe leads to Probable Cause. Probable cause is what is required for an arrest to occur, or for a case to be prosecuted.
• The best way to understand this is to consider how a “reasonable person” would decide to act in relation to a crime or other situation, when having the same information, observations and evidence as the officer on the scene: the available facts.

Officer Training and Experience

• One thing that must be considered when examining the decisions a “reasonable person” would make is the training and experience of a Security or Surveillance officer and his or her supervisors, in the given environment. These are very much a part of the available facts.

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• Now the responding agency arrives at your property. Law enforcement officers will determine through interviews, examination of all evidence and video, statements and reports, whether probable cause exists for an arrest  on a criminal charge due to the evidence gathered by teamwork between Security, Surveillance and Slots Operations.
• Security and Slots Managers will also determine, in teamwork with top management, whether criminal charges or accepting payment for the damage is the better solution.

The entire key in all of this is that it takes teamwork between Security, Surveillance and the other Operations departments to do a complete and competent job of protecting the assets of the casino, including its customers and its staff.

Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Jim Goding. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution or duplication of this material is a violation of law and of the proprietary rights of the author.