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BC Security Guard (BST) overview

BC Security Guard (BST): Privacy, video surveillance and human rights

The confidentiality duty in the code of conduct, consent and collection rules in B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act, safeguards and retention of records, the privacy commissioners' video surveillance guidelines, the Human Rights Code grounds for services to the public, and the Charter right against unreasonable search.

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Privacy, video surveillance and human rights · Question 1Score 0/0

Under B.C.'s Human Rights Code, a guard controlling entry to a mall must not refuse service because of what?

Study reference: B.C. security legislation and gov.bc.ca guidance (Oct 2026), Ch. 6 Privacy, video surveillance and human rights — PIPA ss. 1, 6–12, 23, 34, 35; Overt Video Surveillance Guidelines (2008); Human Rights Code s. 8; Charter ss. 8, 32

All 20 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. Under B.C.'s Human Rights Code, a guard controlling entry to a mall must not refuse service because of what?

    1. A person's past theft at the mall
    2. A person's religion
    3. A person's intoxication
    4. A person's refusal to follow mall rules

  2. A person asks for footage of themselves that also shows other shoppers. What should happen?

    1. Give access while masking the other people's identities
    2. Refuse, because others appear in the footage
    3. Release it only after the person pays a fee
    4. Release it unedited, since the footage was taken in a public place

  3. When may a security company collect a visitor's personal information under PIPA?

    1. Only if the visitor is suspected of a crime
    2. With consent, deemed consent, or where PIPA permits
    3. Only after a police officer has approved the request in writing
    4. Whenever the information might be useful later

  4. Cameras in an apartment garage were installed for safety. Which use of the footage is acceptable?

    1. Tracking when a tenant comes home each night
    2. Selling footage of the lot to a marketing firm
    3. Giving footage of a car break-in to police
    4. Sharing clips of tenants on a staff group chat

  5. Where is overt video surveillance clearly inappropriate according to the privacy commissioners' guidelines?

    1. Around banking machines and automated teller machines
    2. In washrooms and spa treatment rooms
    3. In a parking garage
    4. At a store's main entrance

  6. A guard monitors cameras live. When do the guidelines suggest turning recording on?

    1. Only when the client is on the premises
    2. Whenever an attractive customer appears
    3. Only during the first hour of each shift
    4. When unlawful activity is suspected or observed

  7. When should a security camera system record sound under the guidelines?

    1. Whenever a guard is monitoring live
    2. Only when there is a specific need to do so
    3. Always, to give a complete record
    4. Only at night when the site is closed

  8. Which of these is a protected ground for services under B.C.'s Human Rights Code?

    1. Type of car driven
    2. Gender identity or expression
    3. Favourite sports team
    4. Hair colour

  9. Under B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act, what is personal information?

    1. Only health and banking information
    2. Any information stored on a computer
    3. Only information a person writes down themselves
    4. Information about an identifiable individual

  10. When may personal information be collected without consent for an investigation under PIPA?

    1. Whenever a manager signs a form approving it
    2. Whenever a guard has a feeling that some investigation might start in the future
    3. Whenever the information has already been posted publicly on social media sites
    4. When asking would compromise the information and it is reasonable for the investigation

  11. Who should have access to stored security video recordings?

    1. A limited number of authorized individuals
    2. Any guard who asks, on any site
    3. Members of the public who visit the site
    4. Every employee of the client business

  12. A guard wants to look inside a customer's backpack. What is the guard's legal footing?

    1. Only the customer's genuine consent or a lawful entry condition
    2. A right to search whenever the guard has a hunch
    3. The same search powers that police officers have
    4. A general right to search anyone who is on the client's private property

  13. How does the B.C. Human Rights Code define 'age' as a protected ground?

    1. An age of 19 years or more
    2. Any age from birth onward
    3. An age of 65 years or more
    4. An age of 16 years or more

  14. How must a security company protect incident reports containing personal information?

    1. By keeping one copy on the guard's personal phone for quick reference
    2. By posting them in the staff room for all to read
    3. By emailing them to every client on request
    4. With reasonable security arrangements

  15. A store bans a shopper based on a guard's report. How long must the report be kept under PIPA?

    1. Until the shopper turns 19
    2. Only until the end of the shift
    3. At least 30 days after it was used
    4. At least one year after it was used

  16. A person asks a company for the personal information it holds about them. What does PIPA generally require?

    1. Provide it, and say how it was used, subject to exceptions
    2. Refuse, since records belong to the company
    3. Provide it only if the person asking is an employee of the organization
    4. Provide it only through a court order

  17. Before collecting personal information from a person, what must an organization tell them under PIPA?

    1. The names of other visitors
    2. The value of the building
    3. The purposes for collecting it
    4. The guard's home address

  18. What do the guidelines say about signs for video cameras?

    1. Signs should be posted only after an incident
    2. Signs must list each camera's serial number
    3. Signs are optional as long as the cameras themselves are easy to see
    4. Post clear notice before people enter, with a contact

  19. A friend asks a guard what happened at their work site last night. What does the code of conduct require?

    1. Share only the names of people who were involved
    2. Share it once the guard's shift has ended
    3. Share it freely, as long as the friend promises not to post it anywhere online
    4. Keep work information confidential unless disclosure is required

  20. A visitor hands a guard their name to be signed in at a front desk. Under PIPA, consent is deemed when what is true?

    1. The building has been open to the public for more than a full year
    2. The visitor says nothing when asked
    3. The purpose is obvious and the visitor volunteers it for that purpose
    4. The guard writes the purpose in a notebook

Privacy, video surveillance and human rights: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Privacy in the code of conduct

  • Licensees must follow privacy legislation and treat all information received while working as confidential, unless the work or the law requires disclosure.

Consent

  • PIPA governs how private organizations in B.C. (including security businesses and their clients) collect, use and disclose personal information.
  • Personal information is information about an identifiable individual; business contact information and work product information are excluded.
  • An organization may not collect, use or disclose personal information unless the person consents, the Act allows it without consent, or consent is deemed.
  • Consent is deemed when the purpose would be obvious to a reasonable person and the person volunteers the information for that purpose.
  • Consent obtained through false or misleading information or deceptive practices is not valid.
  • An organization may not require consent beyond what is needed to provide a product or service.
  • A person may withdraw consent on reasonable notice; the organization explains the likely consequences.

Collection

  • On or before collecting information from the person, the organization must tell them (verbally or in writing) the purposes, and on request who can answer questions.
  • Collection is limited to purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.
  • Collection without consent is allowed, among other cases, when asking for consent would compromise the information's availability or accuracy and the collection is reasonable for an investigation or proceeding.
  • "Investigation" includes a breach of an agreement, a contravention of a law, and the prevention of fraud.

Access, safeguards and retention

  • On request, an organization must give a person their own personal information and how it has been used, subject to exceptions.
  • An organization must protect personal information with reasonable security arrangements against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal.
  • Information used to make a decision that directly affects a person must be kept at least one year after that use.
  • Otherwise, documents are destroyed or anonymized once they no longer serve the purpose and are not needed for legal or business reasons.

Guidelines for Overt Video Surveillance in the Private Sector (federal, Alberta and B.C. privacy commissioners, March 2008, on oipc.bc.ca)

  • Watching people through a camera is covered by B.C. PIPA even when nothing is recorded.
  • Consider less privacy-invasive alternatives first (for example locking up inventory) and use cameras only for a stated business reason.
  • Cameras are inappropriate where people expect more privacy, such as washrooms, showers, spa treatment rooms or looking into windows; operators must not be able to aim them there.
  • Position cameras to avoid people who are not targeted (a store camera should not record passersby outside); limited-time recording is preferred to "always on".
  • Record sound only if there is a specific need; capturing sound raises the Criminal Code rules on intercepting private communications.
  • If a camera is monitored live, turn on recording only when unlawful activity is suspected or seen.
  • Post clear signs before people enter, with a contact for questions or access requests.
  • Store recordings securely with access limited to a few authorized people; disclose outside the organization only when justified, and document it.
  • Footage gathered for one purpose (for example garage safety) cannot be used for another (tracking tenants), but may be given to police if a crime such as a car break-in happens.
  • People may access images of themselves; other people in the footage are masked first.
  • Keep recordings only as long as needed, then destroy them securely; train operators; review the need for cameras regularly.

Services to the public

  • A person must not, without a bona fide and reasonable justification, deny or discriminate in any accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public.
  • Protected grounds for services: Indigenous identity, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and age.
  • "Age" in the Code means age 19 or older.
  • A guard deciding who may enter or stay in a mall, store or venue is providing access to a service customarily available to the public.

Search

  • Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure (s. 8).
  • The Charter applies to Parliament, the legislatures and government (s. 32); a private guard has no general legal power to search a person, so searches depend on true consent or a lawful condition of entry.

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