Can Private Security Officer Search Body? Safety Explained

General Directorate of Security: Private security guards may perform other duties assigned by the legislation as well as preventive searches such as passing through the sensitive door and x-ray device, searching with detectors.

The following is the statement made by the General Directorate of Security of the Ministry of Interior:

The news with the headline "Precedent decision from the Supreme Court: Private security officers will not be able to search bodies" in some media organs was understood as if the private security could not make a preventive search, and it was necessary to make the following informative statement.

The powers of private security guards are defined in Article 5188 of the Law on Private Security Services No. 7, titled "Authorities of Private Security Officers", and Article 21, titled "Control Authorizations of Private Security Officers", of the Regulation on Judicial and Prevention Searches. Private security guards; It has other powers and responsibilities defined by the legislation, such as passing those who want to enter the areas they provide protection and security through a sensitive door, searching these people with detectors, passing their belongings through Xray devices or similar security systems, catching people who have an arrest warrant or a conviction in their field of duty.

Forensic searches are searches that can be made with the decision of a judge or the order of the Public Prosecutor, and can only be made by judicial law enforcement units.

Judicial law enforcement units, including the police, carry out forensic searches with the permission of the necessary judicial authorities, the works and transactions regarding the evidence of crime obtained in crime investigations are carried out in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law and legislation, and the necessary minutes are drawn up.

As stated in the aforementioned decision, private security officers do not have the power of forensic search like general law enforcement, but they can make preventive checks with security systems and devices while they are working in places where there is no general law enforcement. It ensures the establishment of judicial and administrative action by the general law enforcement.

As it can be understood from the explanations above, there is no obstacle for private security officers to use their powers defined by the Law in their field of duty as specified in the Law.