§3284. Training of security officers; requirements

A. The board shall approve all training programs and shall develop training criteria outlining specific curriculum to be used in the instructing and training of all security officers.

B.(1) Any security officer employed after the effective date of this Chapter shall complete, within thirty days of his first work assignment, either eight hours of classroom training or an approved curriculum-based training course under a licensed instructor and successfully pass an examination on the prescribed material which shall include the following topics:

(a) Orientation to R.S. 37:3270 through 3299 and the board's rules and regulations.

(b) Legal powers and limitations of a security officer.

(c) Emergency procedures.

(d) General duties/field notes/report writing.

(2) Armed security officers in addition to the training requirements outlined in Paragraphs (1) and (4) of this Subsection shall complete firearms training and range qualifications, as prescribed by the board, prior to armed work assignment. The nature and extent of firearms training shall be adequately described, approved, and monitored by the board to include at a minimum the following:

(a) Legal limitations on use of weapons.

(b) Handling of a weapon.

(c) Safety and maintenance.

(d) Dim light firing.

(e) A shoot, don't shoot program.

(f) Stress factors.

(3) Marksmanship requirement shall be a minimum of eighty percent on any silhouette target course approved by the board.

(4) Security officers shall have sixty days from the date of the first work assignment to complete either an additional eight hours of classroom training or an approved curriculum-based training course under a licensed instructor, as prescribed by the board, and successfully pass a fifty-question test administered by the licensed instructor by achieving a minimum score of seventy percent.

(5) No more than two of the training requirements provided for in Paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of this Subsection may be conducted during a twenty-four-hour period.

C. Failure to complete the required training within the prescribed time period may preclude future consideration for a license for a period of one year.

D.(1) All armed security officers must complete an annual firearms retraining course, as prescribed by the board, which includes refresher courses on subjects previously specified, a written test of at least fifty questions, and retraining in firearms instructions, to include minimum marksmanship qualification of eighty percent on an approved silhouette target course approved by the board. The requirement that the test be a written test shall not be cause for an increase in the cost to the security officer of the required refresher course.

(2) Upon a registrant's completion of any training required, the licensed instructor shall furnish to the board a documented training verification form of such completion signed by a licensed instructor within fifteen calendar days from the training.

E. All classroom training required by this Chapter shall be administered by a licensed instructor who:

(1) Is approved by the board.

(2) Meets the qualifications of an applicant as required by R.S. 37:3276(A)(1) through (6);

(3) Has a minimum of three years supervisory experience with a contract security company, proprietary security organization, or with any federal, state, parochial, municipal, or United States military law enforcement agency; or

(4) Degree in administration of justice or the equivalent thereof from an accredited college or university; or

(5) P.O.S.T. certified instructor; or

(6) Teaching certificate issued by the state of Louisiana, Department of Education, or the equivalent thereof, and one year supervisory experience in the security field.

F. All firearms training required by this Chapter shall be administered by a licensed instructor who:

(1) Meets the same qualifications of a classroom instructor as required by Subsection E; and

(2) Has successfully completed training and possesses a National Rifle Association Security or Police Firearms Instructor certificate, or a P.O.S.T. Firearm Instructor Certificate, or a Department of Energy Firearms Instructor Certificate, or certification by a branch of the United States military.

G. A board-licensed instructor may be held accountable for improperly certifying security officers, and upon showing of cause, his license as an instructor may be suspended or revoked.

H. All board-licensed instructors shall be required to carry a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars of general liability insurance with the state of Louisiana named as the additional insured and provide the board with a certificate of insurance as proof of coverage.

I. All applicants who apply to the board to become licensed as an instructor are required to pass a written examination administered by the board. The passing grade of the examination shall be seventy percent.

J. Current and former law enforcement officers or current or former military law enforcement officers who have successfully completed a P.O.S.T. certification and firearms training program or equivalent within one year prior to application may submit proof of such documentation to the board as proof of training, which shall be considered the equivalent of the classroom training for security officers as required in Paragraphs (B)(1), (2), and (4) of this Section, but shall not exempt them from the requirements of Paragraph (D)(1) of this Section.

Acts 1984, No. 505, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1985; Acts 1989, No. 552, §1; Act 1991, No. 315, §1; Acts 1995, No. 489, §1; Acts 1997, No. 155, §1; Acts 1999, No. 285, §1; Acts 2006, No. 206, §1; Acts 2014, No. 519, §1.