Police (law enforcement) man represent the government (local, county, state, or federal). Security officers represent private businesses and individuals. Police man enforce laws. Security officers enforce policies and respond to criminal activity on their assigned property. Security can detain individuals suspected of crimes on the private property where they work. In most jurisdictions, security officers have no more, and no less, authority to detain a person than a private citizen .
Police powers are limited only by law and jurisdiction. Security officer powers are limited to specific private property, which may or may not be open to the public. Security officers have no more authority than a private citizen on public property, even if that public property is immediately adjacent to the private property to which the security officer is assigned.
Laissez-faire Versus Government Intervention. Historically, the U.S. government policy toward business was summed up by the French term laissez-faire -- "leave it alone." The concept came from the economic theories of Adam Smith, the 18th-century Scot whose writings greatly influenced the growth of American capitalism.
