Security police (also known as special police) are the special security officers employed by (usually governmental) organizations to protect their facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and operations from harm and who enforce laws and administrative regulations.

Security police are usually endowed with full police powers of crime prevention, arrest, law enforcement and investigation within their jurisdictions. They fall into two broad categories:

• Security guards with on-site only police type powers.
• State-certified police officers whose jurisdiction may be limited to that of the agency or organization which employs them. These include park police, campus police, hospital police, housing police, and capitol police. An example of campus police is the Los Angeles School Police Department.

Examples in the United States of federal security police are the Federal Protective Service, the Veterans Affairs Police and Security Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Secret Service and the Federal Air Marshal Service. Some of these services may have concurrent jurisdiction with civil police agencies, such as the United States Park Police and the National Zoological Park Police.

In The Los Angeles are there are various examples of this. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employs Security Assistants (Security Officer I) and Security Officers (Security Officer II) that assist Deputy Sheriff's and Los Angeles County Police in the protection of various government facilities. Security Assistants are generally assigned to the Transit Services Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and serve as fair inspectors. Security Assitants and Security Officers are also be assigned the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Court Services Division in which they provide weapons screening and general security of the county's superior and municipal courts. Security Officers may also be assigned to the Commmunity College Division in which they provide campus security to the county's community colleges. Additionally Security Officers may also be assigned to provide security at other county facilities. Unlike security guards or private security Sheriff's Security Officer's are not required to posses a guard registration card, baton permit, or firearms permit. Security Officers are required to complete apropriate academy training as prescribed by the California Commision on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) in in penal code section 832. Sheriff's Security Officers have limited police officer powers while on duty. Similarly Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Security Officers fall in the same category as far as training is concearned. Upon hire MTA Security Officers are required to attend the Rio Hondo Police Academy and successfully complete the training also prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) under section 832 of the California Penal Code. The story behind MTA Security is a very extense. Orginally formed as a MTA Security during the 1960's, by the late 1970's they became known as RTD Public Safety, and were required to complete Basic POST training (full police academy training) that earned them full police powers by the 1980's when they became RTD Police. RTD Police began the security officer program once again and created RTD Security to RTD property including buses and trains. By 1993 when RTD became MTA. The MTA Police continued the MTA Security Officer program. Today MTA Police is a defunct agency, an agency which merged have of its police officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. However MTA Police passed its legacy on to the remaining MTA Security Officers. Today many MTA Security Officers were formerly Transit Police Officers with the MTA Police many others have come from police agency across southland and a large portion of them are retired police officers. Thus MTA Security Officers are often called MTA Police Officers and the force is often regarded as MTA Police. MTA Security Officers are not required to posses a guard card, baton permit, nor a firearms permit. Finally Orange County Sheriff's Department's Special Officers which assist Orange County Deputy Sheriff's in different functions including policing for the county's mass transit system, civil bailiff's, as well as custody officers, and airport police. The main diffirence is that the Orange County Special Officer's have more training than the previously mentioned. They are required to attend a police academy which is about half the lenght of the entire police academy whose completion is required to become a police officer. Additionally the previously mentioned are civilian staff while Orange County Special Officer's are sworn staff.

Security Police is also the former official title of the occupation currently known as Security Forces in the U.S. Air Force.

Law enforcement | Protective service occupations

公安警察