Apparently the resources of the police force in the nearby town are already spread thin as it is. Having their own police would cut down the officer response time. They also hire off-duty officers for church events. Having their own police would give them enough officers and not leave the town unprotected in an emergency. If the church’s police officers are held to the same standards as other police units and only enforce civil laws on the books, I don’t see a problem. And it’s a Presbyterian church. It’s not like some kind of indoctrinated cult with its own renegade security force.
Gee, if only there was some way the church could contribute to reduce the community’s financial burden, like maybe paying taxes?
The threshold of suspicion a cop needs to put you in handcuffs and question you is much lower than the requirements which have to be met to conduct a citizen’s arrest. Also, you can’t usually conduct a citizen’s arrest for misdemeanors, while a cop can certainly detain you or even arrest you for a misdemeanor.
Police are intricately involved in the legal system. They’re government employees, subject to regulation and oversight by government agencies, led by an elected official. A “private” police force would be an outrage on its face, let alone a religious private security force.
Again, I have to ask the question, “why?” Why do they want a police force instead of a private security force? All of the reasons they listed are perfectly within the scope of private security, so clearly they want police for a reason OTHER than what they’re willing to admit.
Well shit, I didn’t think of it like that! If you’d have just said, “Don’t worry, it’s fine. They’re Presbyterians, not some crazy religion” in the first place we could have avoided this whole argument.
Is this accurate? My understanding of the law is that religious organizations can, in fact, insist on their employees all being of the same faith and denomination as the organization.
[Religious Discrimination: Can a Church Hire/Fire Someone Based on Religious Beliefs?
So it’s o.k. for some churches, but not for others?
Who decides?
Isn’t the university a public institution? That would make the university itself the government entity.
In my area ,there are two situations that are close to but not quite private police.
One is when a store or other business hires police officers to work security through the police department and the other is when a non-law enforcement government agency (such as a public university,public hospital , parks dept or school system) has a special police force providing security within its facilities.
In Ohio, private universities can have their own police departments. They have police chiefs, but they are private employees of the university, not government functionaries assigned to supervise the private university officers.
(This is not without problems. The Supreme Court only ruled that they were subject to public records laws in 2015. Until then, their arrest records were secret.)
Yes I’m so afraid of private police forces who kill and hurt at a much lower rate than govt police, can be held accountable by third parties, and lack the funding for swat raids.
And you have no concern that disbelievers might receive a different “justice” from believers?
I’m not WillFarnaby, but since there doesn’t seem to be anything to the concern except “religion is icky”, no.
If the principle is “no organization can be allowed to manage their own security because they might abuse it”, that’s pretty silly. If the principle is “no religious organization can be allowed to manage their own security because they might abuse it”, that’s silly and a violation of the First Amendment.
Regards,
Shodan
It’s not that, because many people are asking why they specifically need police officers as opposed to security guards.
Um, so that those charged with enforcement, both know and are required to follow the law ?
Like universities do?
Regards,
Shodan
Yep, that’s what post #45 was concerned about. :rolleyes:
No. The private force is subject to laws against the initiation of force. The problem with govt police is that they are not subject to laws against the initiation of force in the same way the rest of the public is subject to them. They can intrude onto your property, shoot your dog, seize your property, and assault your family. When is the last time a private police force violated rights in ways govt police forces routinely violate them?
I don’t know-I’d have to see the stats for one compared to the other. Where could I find these going back about ten years or so?
We’ve already discussed that. Do try to keep up.
Universities are state-sanctioned. Churches are not.
Head of nail, meet hammer. There it is.
This is nothing to worry about. And I’m sure those in favor of this would be perfectly fine with a local mosque doing the same thing.
Plus it’ll be helpful if you ever find a dead bishop on the landing.