California · Business and Professions Code - BPC

BPC §7598.2: (a) The course of training in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force may be administered, tested, and certified by any licensee.

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute establishes requirements for training courses on arrest authority and use of force, including required topics, course length, instructor qualifications, and teaching methods that licensees and approved schools must follow.

Read the full statutory text
(a) The course of training in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force may be administered, tested, and certified by any licensee. The department may approve any person or school to teach the course in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force. The course of training shall be approximately four hours in length and cover the following topics: (1) Responsibilities and ethics in citizen arrest. (2) Relationship with the public police in arrest. (3) Limitations on security guard power to arrest. (4) Restrictions on searches and seizures. (5) Criminal and civil liabilities. (A) Personal liability. (B) Employer liability. (6) The appropriate use of force, including all of the following topics: (A) Legal standards for use of force. (B) Duty to intercede. (C) The use of objectively reasonable force. (D) Supervisory responsibilities. (E) Use of force review and analysis. (F) De-escalation and interpersonal communication training, including tactical methods that use time, distance, cover, and concealment, to avoid escalating situations that lead to violence. (G) Implicit and explicit bias and cultural competency. (H) Skills, including de-escalation techniques, to effectively, safely, and respectfully interact with people with disabilities or behavioral health issues. (I) Use of force scenario training, including simulations of low-frequency, high-risk situations and calls for service, shoot-or-don’t-shoot situations, and real-time force option decisionmaking. (J) Mental health and policing, including bias and stigma. (K) Active shooter situations. (7) Any other topic deemed appropriate by the bureau, excluding Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Awareness, which may be an elective topic only. (b) Paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) shall be conducted through traditional classroom instruction. For the purposes of this subdivision, “traditional classroom instruction” means instruction where the instructor is physically present with students in a classroom and is available to answer students’ questions while providing the required training. In this setting, the instructor provides demonstrations and hands-on instruction in order to establish each student’s proficiency as to the course content. (c) The department shall make available a guidebook as a standard for teaching the course in the exercise of the power to arrest and the appropriate use of force. The department shall encourage additional training and may provide a training guide recommending additional courses. (d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2023.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.