# In the US, can an off-duty rent-a-cop exercise arrest powers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657 "2018-01-15T01:38:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/41 "2018-01-15T23:28:43Z")
I don’t have any details for this. Some clubs in Providence had problems with customers in the place and out on the street and were court ordered to provide security by off-duty policemen. IIRC they had private security in place, were closed down temporarily, and told they could only use off duty policemen for security in order to re-open. I do recall several states including here in RI requiring off-duty policemen be used for traffic control. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/42 "2018-01-15T23:42:12Z")
Is this a case of what a citizen’s arrest is, but highly discouraged unless you wear a badge part time but arrest people on your off time also? Is tyhis really just the power we all have? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/43 "2018-01-15T23:55:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I haven’t seen cops working off duty security carrying a radio. That puts them at greater risk. They can’t quickly call for back up. > > 911 is slower response compared to directly talking to dispatch. I don’t know where that is but I can say that we only work within our jurisdiction and are certainly in radio communication at all times. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If a cop is a cop 24/7 then is the department civilly liable for their actions 24/7. Is the cop acting under color of authority in a case like this? No one is a police officer 24/7. It’s more like you are potentially a police officer 24/7. You have the ability to use police powers if the need arises. If an action is taken off duty then one of the determinations will be if they were acting as a police officer in an official capacity. For instance a coworker was injured trying to break up a fight in a bar. One part of the investigation was if she was acting as a police officer or if she was part of the fight. It was determined she was acting in an official capacity which meant her injury was an on duty injury. Any type of liability will come from that determination. In uniform working even on what would have been a normal day off is treated no differently than working a normal shift. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/44 "2018-01-15T23:58:17Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I don’t see how this contradicts what I (meant) to say. My point is that the concept of police power comes from the sovereign-in this case the State. A local Government is created by the state and is not sovereign and can’t create a policeman. One of the LEOs in this thread can clear this up quickly, but it is my understanding that only the State Government can “ordain” a policeman. Now, those policemen can perform many different roles as your list shows and undergo different training, but in all cases after they finish their training as a fire marshal, they get a certificate from the state or at least delegated by the state making them some type of LEO. Each state has their own methods and procedures for doing this, but my point is simply that in principle the power to be a policemen comes from the sovereign government-in the US the states and the federal government. Perhaps Indian Tribes can create their own police, I am not sure. They certainly have their own police forces, whether they are created by the state or the tribe I don’t know. It contradicts this part: > [@](#): > > It also means that a local sheriff or police superintendent can’t revoke a policeman’s ability to be a policeman. A cop can be fired from a given job, which severely limits his/her employment prospects, but only the state an unmake a policeman. In NY, you cannot be an unemployed police officer. Yes, you have to complete the state-mandated training but you \*also \*have to be employed in one of those listed positions to be a police officer. So if you end your employment with NYPD on March 1st and take three months off before beginning a new job with the Yonkers PD on June 1st, during those three months, you will not be a police officer. It is by operation of state law- but when that sheriff or police commissioner fires a police officer, that person is no longer a police officer until and unless s/he gets hired into another qualifying position and completes whatever training is required. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that the sheriff/commissioner couldn’t unmake a police officer- because that’s exactly what happens when a police officer gets fired ( or retires or resigns). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/45 "2018-01-16T00:01:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I do recall several states including here in RI requiring off-duty policemen be used for traffic control. Here there is no state law making it mandatory. There are some towns and cities that have ordinances requiring it. My town does not. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Is this a case of what a citizen’s arrest is, but highly discouraged unless you wear a badge part time but arrest people on your off time also? Is tyhis really just the power we all have? Who and what are considered police officers with arrest powers can be slightly different between states. Beyond that I’m not exactly sure what you are asking. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/46 "2018-01-16T00:36:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The big exception is that a police officer’s authority only exists in his or her home state. Once they travel outside of their home state, they’re just another civilian. That’s an important exception. When I was young, liquor was much cheaper in NJ than PA. So people would drive to a NJ liquor store and fill up and come back–illegally. So the PA state troopers decided to stake out the nearest NJ liquor store to a certain bridge and when they saw a car with a PA license, they would radio the plate number to their confrere’s on the PA side who would look for the cars and arrest the driver. Naturally, the owner of the liquor store was unhappy and complained to the NJ troopers who then arrested the PA troopers–for carrying weapons without a NJ license. They could have gotten around this by leaving their guns on the PA side, but they would sooner go around with their pants that without their guns. Another point. I don’t know how much power a cop has outside his jurisdiction. I knew a guy who loved to speed and got a lot of tickets. But if he was being chased by a Philly cop, he would head for the city boundary if he was anywhere near it and once he crossed to the suburbs, they couldn’t arrest him. Or so he claimed. I wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/47 "2018-01-16T00:47:37Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Another point. I don’t know how much power a cop has outside his jurisdiction. I knew a guy who loved to speed and got a lot of tickets. But if he was being chased by a Philly cop, he would head for the city boundary if he was anywhere near it and once he crossed to the suburbs, they couldn’t arrest him. Or so he claimed. I wonder. That is just based on department policy. Police have arrest powers in the entire state The Dukes of Hazzard notwithstanding. They may not do it but they could. There is a real-world situation where it is sort-of true though. I grew up on a town literally right on the Louisiana/Texas border and there was only one border bridge across for miles and hardly ever any police nearby on the Texas side. People often did run from the police for everything from speeding to felonies and often made it across into Texas. They were free at least in the short-term once they got half way across the fairly small bridge. If it was something serious, Louisiana police could pursue them but they had to turn their lights off and their only options were to make a citizens arrest just like anyone else or call for Texas police assistance which was usually many miles away. They usually didn’t bother for anything short of murder or armed robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/48 "2018-01-16T06:06:07Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Another point. I don’t know how much power a cop has outside his jurisdiction. It varies by state. Some states say every cop is a cop everywhere, but that’s not true in others (although I don’t know that any prohibit an officer from City A from making an arrest in City B for a crime the officer witnessed in City A). ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657/49 "2018-01-16T06:13:45Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If a cop is a cop 24/7 then is the department civilly liable for their actions 24/7. Is the cop acting under color of authority in a case like this? IIRC-IANAP - it depends if they are “acting in their official capacity”. (As Loach mentions about breaking up a bar fight). They either present as police officers, or are dressed as such. As I posted earlier, police could be hired where I grew up, but through the department which left no doubt about what authority they were acting under. They were, however, permitted to step in off-duty as police officers if they see a crime being committed. (I do imagine, in the event of an episode, the question will be “what were you doing there?” and the department will take a dim view of freelancing or do-it-yourself vigilantism.) > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > What about a stripper policeman hired for a bachelorette party? Is that handled through the police department? Do they retain arrest authority when they’re naked? Is the state liable for how they swing their batons? I know it’s a joke, but from what I’ve read of most Canadian police departments, they have codes of conduct for their officers and any activities that detract from the dignity of the office or put the department into disrepute (or whatever the wording) is grounds for discipline and dismissal. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Is this a case of what a citizen’s arrest is, but highly discouraged unless you wear a badge part time but arrest people on your off time also? Is tyhis really just the power we all have? IIRC the risk is - perhaps some LEO can clarify - a policeman can arrest someone on suspicion of a crime because they are acting as an agent of the government and this is their job. If you are a common citizen (which includes private rent-a-cops - security guards, who are not actual police typically ahv no special standing) you had better have personally witnessed the crime since you risk assuming all liability for false arrest. A police officer can arrest someone on the say-so of someone else if the complaint is credible, and unless they are extremely negligent in assessing the situation, they are personally immune from personal liability in properly carrying out their duty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-can-an-off-duty-rent-a-cop-exercise-arrest-powers/806657.md?page=2)