-Caveat Lector-
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A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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By The Leveler Editorial Collective
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According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, there were
169,841 rent-a-cops in California in December 1998; more than twice the
number of State and local cops and County Sheriffs. 1/3 of those were
licensed in Los Angeles County! State-wide, 1/6 of the rent-a-cops are
licensed to carry guns while in Los Angeles County, 1/4 are licensed to
carry guns.
In an economy where everyone wants "experience" to hire you, but no one
wants to train you, pay you a decent wage, or give you benefits like
basic health care, security guard jobs are a dead-end trap for the poor.
Most rent-a-cops are paid minimum wage. You can get a little more if you
work in a fancy office building, but carrying a gun on the job neither
gets you good money or benefits 9it just makes you a TARGET!). The
highest paid rent-a-cops are ex-cops who work for highly specialized
companies who provide security for movie shoots or rich people. There
are very few of them.
Many rent-a-cop companies will hire you off the street if you don't have
a criminal record and get you a "guard card" (state license) for a fee,
but you soon find out that you have to work all hours (there are 3 shifts
in a 24-hour day) and you are disposable, like garbage. All you have to
do to loose your job is get sick. Rent-a-cop companies are milking you
as a "cash cow." All they want is a body in a polyester uniform with a
plastic badge sitting in a lobby, walking in a parking garage or standing
in front of a store. Beyond that, you are expendable. The job is so
mind-numbing that a lot of people get a edon't give a shit" attitude
about it as soon as they figure out that the company thinks you're stupid
and doesn't care about whether or not you do a good job, but will give
you a hard time if your bus is late getting you to work or your car
breaks down (if you can afford a car). The pay for rent-a-cops is so
low, that those with families usually work an additional job. For most
of those who work as rent-a-cops, it is a dehumanizing experience on the
same level as janitors and parking attendants who also work for
contracted companies.
Rent-a-cops, like the military, are an example of the Rich turning
Working Class people against each other by exploiting unemployment and
the shortage of jobs. A Millionaire Capitalist once bragged that he
could hire half the Working Class to KILL the other half. This is
probably not true since the majority of rent-a-cops are not "Gung Ho"
about their jobs, many are in school or training to get a better job and
most wouldn't risk their life for rent-a-cop pay. The minority who are
"Gung Ho" are macho fanatics, many with fantasies of being cops, who
can't get into the Police Academy. These are the people who give
rent-a-cops a bad name. They are the ones who delude themselves into
thinking that they can kiss ass to get ahead. These are the ones who
would oppose a Union because they side with the bosses against their own
fellow workers. Historically, this is the type of person who murdered
fellow workers on the picket line, who joined up with fascist gangs and
who joined Death Squads in places like Chiapas, Mexico and Columbia to
murder the poor. These people give all rent-a-cops a bad name and it is
usually them who are randomly KILLED on the job.
We can expect an explosion of rent-a-cops now that the capitalists want
to put us all under 24-hour surveillance. It is a symptom of the disease
of capitalism that the rich get richer and, since there are no decent
jobs where a person could hope for a life, they are stuck protecting the
ill-gotten gains of the rich. Our advise for the rent-a-cops is: "Don't
be a SLAVE!" If you have to eat shit to pay your rent, go to school on
the side so you can eventually get a job with a future. Security guards
are just cannon fodder for the Class War of the future. Don't be a
victim. Don't let the System keep you down. Don't risk your life for a
minimum wage job!
For those who don't know:
1.A security guard's "powers of arrest" are limited to making a
"Citizen's Arrest." They must then wait for real cops to show up and
take you into custody.
2.You can't be charged with "trespassing" unless the owner of a property
or their legal representative (like someone from the owner's property
management company) tells you to leave the property and you refuse.
3.In California, there is something called "Public Access." As long as
you are not harassing anyone or damaging anything, you can't get kicked
out of common areas people need to pass through to go to stores in a mall
or shopping center. The law also allows you to hand out leaflets in
these areas. It is considered "free speech."
4.Rent-a-cops can't carry weapons unless they pass a class in the weapon
and have a State permit to carry that weapon. This applies to guns,
mace, pepper spray, batons, etc..
5.You have no civil rights protection against abuse by rent-a-cops. This
has been upheld in court. You also don't have to cooperate with them.
It is best to know the law and not do stupid shit like shoplifting which
will get you busted. If you get hassled by security guards, just leave
the property.
6.Rent-a-cops are taught to use "reasonable force" to detain someone
after they make a "Citizen's Arrest." They aren't always "reasonable."
The real danger from rent-a-cops is that most don't know what they are
doing. When they don't know how to deal with people, they often
overreact and people can get hurt.
7.As of 1 January 1999 it is unlawful for employers to put security
cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms or any place where people get naked
and expect privacy. Cameras to photograph people who run red lights,
however, are now permanently legal. Some cities are even starting to put
surveillance cameras on street corners in poor neighborhoods under the
excuse of fighting crime. The police have installed some of these in Los
Angeles as part of the so-called "War on Drugs."
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