UK Legal Framework for CP Operatives Flashcards

What is the 'reasonable bystander' test used to assess a CPO's use of force?

Answer: Would a reasonable person in the same circumstances have considered the force necessary and proportionate?

Courts apply an objective test — would a reasonable person in the same situation have concluded the force was necessary and proportionate? — when assessing whether self-defence or protection of another was lawful.

Which Act specifically protects an individual's right to privacy from intrusion by private security?

Answer: Human Rights Act 1998 Article 8 (right to private and family life)

Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 protects the right to private and family life; while primarily binding on public bodies, it shapes the legal context in which private security operates.

What does 'lawful authority' mean when a CPO carries out a search of a person?

Answer: A legal basis for the search, either the person's consent or a specific statutory power — which CPOs lack beyond consent

CPOs have no statutory stop and search powers; the only lawful basis for a personal search is the individual's voluntary consent; conducting a forcible search without consent is assault.

What is the significance of the 'Caparo test' for establishing duty of care in negligence?

Answer: Three-part test: harm was foreseeable, proximity between parties, and it is fair, just and reasonable to impose duty

The Caparo test (from Caparo v Dickman [1990]) is used to determine whether a duty of care exists in negligence; it is relevant when assessing whether a CP company owes a duty to a third party harmed during an operation.

What is a 'standard of care' in a CP professional negligence context?

Answer: The level of care a reasonably competent CPO would exercise in the same circumstances

In negligence, the standard of care is what a reasonably competent professional in the same role would do; failing to meet this standard — and causing harm — establishes negligence.

Under the Equality Act 2010, what obligation does a CP company have regarding its operatives?

Answer: Not to discriminate in recruitment, employment or service delivery on the basis of protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics in employment and service provision; CP companies must apply this to both their employment practices and their operations.