Ontario Security Guard: Arrest powers and other laws

All 40 questions in this test

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

1. On a client's property, on whose authority is a security guard acting?

   1. As an agent of the courts
   2. As an agent of the police
   3. On their own personal authority
   4. As an agent of the property owner

2. Which section of the Criminal Code describes when any person may arrest without a warrant?

   1. Section 494
   2. Section 2
   3. Section 35
   4. Section 25

3. An authorized guard sees an offence on the property but cannot arrest at that moment. When may the guard still arrest?

   1. Any time within 30 days
   2. Never, it must be immediate
   3. Within a reasonable time, if police can't
   4. Only after getting a warrant from a judge first

4. Which situation is listed in section 265 as an assault even without any touching?

   1. Refusing to show a receipt at the exit
   2. Standing silently in a shop doorway
   3. Shouting angrily at a store clerk
   4. Openly carrying a weapon while begging

5. A guard notices a car in the lot whose vehicle identification number has been ground off. What does section 354 say about such a car?

   1. The guard must tow it away
   2. It belongs to the lot owner
   3. It is presumed obtained by crime
   4. It is presumed abandoned

6. How does the study guide describe indictable offences compared with summary offences?

   1. Typically less serious
   2. Typically more serious
   3. Only offences involving vehicles
   4. Only offences under by-laws

7. You are guarding a store. Which condition lets you arrest for a criminal offence committed on that property?

   1. The manager suspects someone
   2. You saw the offence being committed
   3. You saw it on last week's video
   4. A customer told you about it

8. A man openly takes a tool from a building site in full view of the workers. Can this still be theft?

   1. Yes, secrecy is not required
   2. No, theft must be concealed
   3. Only if he runs away afterward
   4. Only if the tool is worth over $5,000

9. Under section 348, which break-in carries the highest maximum penalty?

   1. A break-in to an office building
   2. A break-in to a parked trailer
   3. A break-in to a dwelling-house
   4. A break-in to a warehouse

10. Why does it matter that a guard arresting under s. 494 is authorized by law?

    1. It allows a search of the person's home
    2. It gives the guard peace officer status
    3. It lets the guard lay criminal charges
    4. Section 25 can then justify necessary force

11. A landlord asks a licensed guard to carry out an eviction under the Residential Tenancies Act. What does the PSISA say?

    1. Licensed guards may not do evictions
    2. It is allowed with a police escort
    3. It is allowed on weekends only
    4. It is allowed if the tenant agrees

12. What must a person know to be guilty of possessing property obtained by crime?

    1. That the owner has reported it
    2. That police are looking for it
    3. That it was obtained by crime
    4. That its value is over $5,000

13. A shopper picks up a jacket intending to steal it and starts carrying it toward the exit. When is the theft complete in law?

    1. Only when he sells or uses it
    2. Only once he passes the last till
    3. Only when he leaves the store
    4. When he moves it to steal it

14. Off duty and away from any property you guard, you see a man causing a disturbance by shouting on a sidewalk. Can you arrest him under section 494?

    1. No, it is not an indictable offence
    2. Yes, any criminal offence allows it
    3. Yes, because you hold a licence
    4. Yes, if he refuses to stop

15. Besides PIPEDA, which other privacy laws does the study guide say may apply to information a guard handles?

    1. FIPPA and MFIPPA
    2. The Labour Relations Act
    3. The Liquor Licence Act
    4. The Highway Traffic Act

16. What is the purpose of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)?

    1. To protect personal information
    2. To license security agencies
    3. To set trespass fines
    4. To regulate use of force

17. Under the Criminal Code, which act is an assault?

    1. Refusing to leave when told
    2. Applying force without consent
    3. Swearing loudly in a mall
    4. Taking goods without paying

18. A youth spray-paints graffiti on the wall of the plaza you guard. Which Criminal Code offence fits best?

    1. Mischief
    2. Breaking and entering
    3. Causing a disturbance
    4. Theft

19. A drunk man is screaming and swearing at shoppers in a mall parking lot that is open to the public. Which offence does this describe?

    1. Criminal harassment
    2. Mischief
    3. Causing a disturbance
    4. Possession of stolen property

20. A former employee keeps following a receptionist home and waiting outside her building, making her fear for her safety. Which offence may this be?

    1. Criminal harassment
    2. Trespass to property
    3. Mischief
    4. Causing a disturbance

21. Off duty, you see a man commit an indictable offence on a public street. What may you do?

    1. Only follow him at a distance
    2. Arrest him without a warrant
    3. Nothing, it is not your property
    4. Only arrest him if a guard is with you

22. What arrest powers does a licensed security guard have in Ontario?

    1. The same as a peace officer
    2. The same as a police officer
    3. The same as any member of the public
    4. Extra powers granted by the PSISA

23. What is the maximum prison term for common assault prosecuted as an indictable offence under section 266?

    1. Two years less a day
    2. Five years
    3. Ten years
    4. Life imprisonment

24. A man raises his fist at a guard and says he will hit him, standing close enough to do it. Is this an assault?

    1. Only if he actually swings
    2. No, because no force was applied
    3. Yes, if he has the present ability
    4. Only if he shows a weapon

25. Someone deliberately deletes the visitor log files from the site's access-control computer. What can this be?

    1. Mischief in relation to computer data
    2. A provincial offence under PIPEDA
    3. Only a breach of company policy
    4. Trespass under the Trespass to Property Act

26. Which of these jobs is a licensed security guard prohibited from doing under the PSISA?

    1. Escorting visitors on site
    2. Acting as a bailiff
    3. Patrolling a parking lot
    4. Inspecting bags at an entrance

27. Two patrons start fighting in a lobby. What does section 30 allow anyone who witnesses a breach of the peace to do?

    1. Fine them on the spot
    2. Hold them until they apologize
    3. Interfere and detain them for police
    4. Search them for weapons

28. Who may arrest a person found committing a criminal offence on or in relation to property?

    1. Only the property's insurance company
    2. Any passer-by who happens to see it
    3. Only a police officer on duty
    4. The owner or a person they authorize

29. Police are chasing a man who just robbed a bank. You believe on reasonable grounds he did it. What does s. 494 allow?

    1. Only police may touch him
    2. Any person may arrest him
    3. Only arrest if he is armed
    4. Only the bank's guard may act

30. For personal information, which stages of handling does the syllabus ask guards to know procedures for?

    1. Only storing it in a notebook
    2. Only collection at the front desk
    3. Only sharing it with police
    4. From collection to destruction

31. Under the Criminal Code, which intent is part of the offence of theft?

    1. To damage the thing in public
    2. To hide the thing from security
    3. To deprive the owner of the thing
    4. To sell the thing for a profit

32. While checking IDs at a gate you record visitors' home addresses. What should you do with that information?

    1. Post the list on the guard desk
    2. Share it with the client's marketing team
    3. Keep a copy at home for reference
    4. Not use or disclose it

33. For breaking and entering, which of these counts as a place under section 348?

    1. An open public park
    2. A public sidewalk
    3. A railway vehicle or trailer
    4. An unfenced parking lot

34. How does the Criminal Code classify causing a disturbance under section 175?

    1. Summary conviction offence
    2. Indictable offence only
    3. Provincial offence
    4. Municipal by-law offence

35. Protesters deliberately chain the loading-dock doors shut so trucks cannot use them, without damaging anything. What can this be?

    1. Nothing, since no damage was done
    2. Theft of the loading dock
    3. Breaking and entering
    4. Mischief, even with no damage

36. Which common offence does the study guide give as an example of an indictable offence guards encounter?

    1. Noise complaint
    2. Parking violation
    3. Speeding
    4. Theft

37. Unless another law says otherwise, what is the maximum sentence for a summary conviction offence?

    1. $2,000 and/or six months in jail
    2. $5,000 and/or two years less a day
    3. $25,000 and/or one year in jail
    4. $10,000 and/or 90 days in jail

38. After making a citizen's arrest, what must a security guard do?

    1. Take them to the client's office
    2. Hold them until the next business day for questioning
    3. Release them once they apologize
    4. Deliver the person to a peace officer forthwith

39. How can theft of goods worth $5,000 or less be prosecuted under the Criminal Code?

    1. As a provincial offence only
    2. Summary conviction only
    3. Indictable only, with a life term
    4. Either indictable or summary

40. Which act is breaking and entering under section 348?

    1. Breaking into a building to commit theft
    2. Staying in a store after being told to go
    3. Climbing over a fence to take a shortcut
    4. Walking through an unlocked public lobby