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Private police carry guns and make arrests, and their ranks are swelling
Michael Youlen stopped a driver in a Manassas apartment complex on a recent night and wrote the man a ticket for driving on a suspended license. With a badge on his chest and a gun on his hip, Youlen gave the driver a stern warning to stay off the road.The stop was routine police work, except for one fact: Youlen is not a Manassas officer. The citation came courtesy of the private force he created that, until recently, he called the “Manassas Junction Police Department.”He is its chief and sole officer.He is a force of one.And he is not alone. Like more and more Virginians, Youlen gained his police powers using a little-known provision of state law that allows private citizens to petition the courts for the authority to carry a gun, display a badge and make arrests. The number of “special conservators of the peace” — or SCOPs, as they are known — has doubled in Virginia over the past decade to roughly 750, according to state records.
Last edited by Common Sense (3/06/2015 1:43 pm)
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Awesome. Lots of half-trained people with guns, playing cop.
What could possibly go wrong?
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6VAC20-230-160. Entry-Level Training.
A. Each individual applying to the department for registration as a special conservator of the peace must meet the mandated entry-level training herein established unless provided for otherwise in accordance with this chapter.B. The entry-level training hour requirement by category, excluding examinations, practical exercises and range qualification, shall be:1. Unarmed special conservator of the peace – 24 hours2. Armed special conservator of the peace – 40 hoursC. The entry-level training course content by category, excluding range qualification, shall be as provided in this subsection.1. Unarmed special conservator of the peace. The entry-level curriculum for unarmed special conservator of the peace sets forth the following areas identified as:a. Orientation – 2 hours(1) Virginia law and regulations(2) Ethics and professional conduct(3) General duties and responsibilities(4) Registration and training requirements(5) Disciplinary actions and sanctionsb. Code of Virginia – 4 Hours(1) Juvenile law(2) Crimes against peace and order(3) Crimes against persons(4) Crimes against property(5) Crimes against health and safety(6) Crimes involving fraudc. Constitutional law, civil law, due process, legal procedure – 4 hours(1) United States Constitution(2) Virginia Constitution(3) Legal terminology and definitions(4) Limitations and liability(5) Magistrates, grand jury and courtsd. Arrest procedures – 8 hours(1) Legal authority and related issues(2) Probable cause(3) Laws of arrests(4) Warrants(5) Summonse. Use of force – 4 hours(1) Confrontation management(2) Liability issues(3) Deadly force(4) Use of restraintsf. Rules of evidence – 1 hour(1) Types of evidence(2) Chain of custody(3) Admissibility of evidenceg. Court room testimony – 1 hourTotal hours – 24 hours2. Armed special conservator of the peace.a. Unarmed special conservator of the peace core subjects – 24 hoursb. Entry-level handgun training (refer to 6VAC20-230-190) – 14 hours (includes dry fire, judgmental shooting and low-level light shooting familiarization)c. Entry-level shotgun training, if applicable (refer to 6VAC20-230-200) – 2 hoursTotal hours (excluding examinations and range qualification) – 40 hoursStatutory Authority§ 9.1-150.2 of the Code of Virginia.Historical NotesDerived from Volume 21, Issue 26, eff. October 5, 2005; Errata, 22:2 VA.R. 296 October 3, 2005.
Last edited by Common Sense (3/06/2015 1:58 pm)
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Special Conservator of the PeaceApplications may be submitted to the Department using one of the following options:
Last edited by Common Sense (3/06/2015 2:00 pm)
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Why do I not like the term 'private police'? I'm feeling like they go together about as well as 'private prisons'.
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40 hours of unspecified "training" to be an armed private policeman?
Sorry, common, I am not reassured.
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Didn't the robber barons - Carnegie and Frick - use "private police" (The Pinkertons) to bully and battle steel workers who wanted a decent life in Pittsburgh in the late 1800s?
Special.
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I know that we're supposed to hate everything 'public' and love everything 'private', but the romantic notion of 'private' as mom n' pop never stays that way does it? In my opinion, some things are best left in the open. An arresting force being one of them. We have enough problems keeping an eye on them.
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After I read the article I could not get this picture out of my head. Sorry.
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BYOB wrote:
I know that we're supposed to hate everything 'public' and love everything 'private', but the romantic notion of 'private' as mom n' pop never stays that way does it? In my opinion, some things are best left in the open. An arresting force being one of them. We have enough problems keeping an eye on them.
I agree completely.
Those enforcing the laws should be directly answerable to The People.