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TBS Bureau violations
From the desk of Buck Shodrock
Texas Private Security Bureau Investigator
Recently in less than a week, Troopers assigned to the Private Security Bureau in South Texas arrested 12 individuals for violating the Private Security Act. In late February 2007, Troopers from the Private Security Bureau along with agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission hosted a meeting in South Texas at the South Padre Island Convention Center, informing businesses and retailers that the PSB and TABC would be checking the area during Spring Break 2007 for compliance with the Private Security Act and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. The meeting was open to the public, and questions were answered concerning compliance with the law.
During the second week of March 2007, as a follow-up to the February meeting,
PSB Troopers received a complaint that there was a security officer working at a McAllen jewelry store carrying a handgun without a security officer commission. Troopers were also advised that the company that employed the security officer was operating with an expired license since 2006. Upon checking out the complaint, PSB troopers found a uniformed security officer carrying a handgun which had been issued to the guard by his employer. The security officer was arrested and charged with Unlawful Carrying of a Handgun after it was determined that he had not been issued a security officer commission. The security officer�s employer is under investigation for employing a non-commissioned security officer to carry a handgun, and operating an unlicensed guard company.
Later the same day, PSB Troopers checked the Brownsville, Cameron County Area for unlicensed activity. During the check, Troopers observed a uniformed security officer working at a local party house, which did not have a License or Private Business Letter of Authority. The owners of the party house fled the location, but the guard was arrested for Impersonating a Security Officer, and was taken to the local Border Patrol Station to be identified since he gave several different names. Once at the Border Patrol Station, the security officer was identified by fingerprints. Border Patrol Records show that the guard was an illegal alien, who Border Patrol has arrested five times in the past using three different names.
On the following day, PSB Troopers conducted guard inspections on South Padre Island in Cameron County. By 10 a.m., PSB Troopers had found a security officer working for a licensed guard company that had been summary denied for criminal history. The guard was relieved of his duty by his supervisor, who stated the guard was recently
hired for spring break, and the company was not aware of the guard�s �Denied� status with the Private Security Bureau. The guard supervisor was reminded that the problem could have been avoided if the company would have checked the Private Security Bureau�s web site at the time the guard made application.
By 11 a.m. the same morning, PSB Troopers observed six security officers wearing t-shirts with the word �Security� in a parking lot of a local motel. The security officers had not been registered, and the motel did not have a
License or Private Business Letter of Authority to employ guards. The motel manager reported that she was aware of the license requirement, but stated that she chose to employ the security officers in-house since
bids from local guard companies were too expensive. Five of the six guards were found to have criminal history to include Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant, Burglary, Injury to a Child, and Drug charges. The six security officers were arrested and charged with Impersonating a Security Officer.
The motel is under investigation for operating an unlicensed guard company since they were employing security officers, and assigned one of the guards to work at a restaurant in the area.
Within three days of the arrests in Hidalgo and Cameron County, three family members were arrested by a PSB Trooper, and placed in the Laredo, Webb County Jail for operating an unlicensed guard company. On the same date, an employee of a licensed guard company was observed performing security duties at a local trucking company in Laredo. The guard reported that he has worked for the licensed guard company for about a year, and worked in plain street clothes to avoid detection by PSB Troopers.
The guard was found to be an illegal alien, was arrested and turned over to Laredo Border Patrol. The licensee is under investigation for failing to register the guard, and permitting and allowing the guard to work without a uniform.
Remember, it is not that difficult to comply with the law.
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