(a) The Mayor, on application of any corporation or individual, or in his own discretion, may appoint special police officers and security officers in connection with the property of, or under the charge of, such corporation or individual; provided, that the special police officers and security officers be paid wholly by the corporation or person on whose account their appointments are made.
(b) Special police officers and security officers, but not campus police officers, shall be required to complete minimum levels of pre-assignment, on-the-job, and in-service training.
(c) The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of chapter 5 of Title 2, may issue rules governing special police officers and security officers. The proposed rules shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed rules, in whole or in part, by resolution, within this 45-day review period, the proposed rules shall be deemed approved.
CREDIT(S)
(Mar. 3, 1899, 30 Stat. 1057, ch. 422; Nov. 16, 2006, D.C. Law 16-187, § 202, 53 DCR 6722.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 4-114.
1973 Ed., § 4-115.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 16-187 rewrote the section which had previously read as follows:
“The Mayor of the District of Columbia, on application of any corporation or individual, or in his own discretion, may appoint special policemen for duty in connection with the property of, or under the charge of, such corporation or individual; said special policemen to be paid wholly by the corporation or person on whose account their appointments are made, and to be subject to such general regulations as the Council of the District of Columbia may prescribe.”
Legislative History of Laws
Law 16-187, the “Enhanced Professional Security Amendment Act of 2006”, was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 16-102, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on June 6, 2006, and July 11, 2006, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on July 25, 2006, it was assigned Act No. 16-465 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 16-187 became effective on November 16, 2006.
Change in Government
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(91) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 (D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act (D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.
Miscellaneous Notes
Uniform requirements for security officers amended: Section 2 of D.C. Law 5-180 amended § 4.2 of the Regulation Establishing Standards For Certification And Employment For Security Officers, to remove the prohibition against security officers wearing uniforms with stripes, enacted December 1, 1974 (Reg. 74-31; 17 DCMR 2112.1).
Delegation of Personnel Authority in the Metropolitan Police Department to the Chief of Police: See Mayor's Order 97-88, May 9, 1997 (44 DCR 2959).