A bill to grant security officers at three Albany-area hospitals peace officer status passed the New York legislature and was delivered to Gov. Kathy Hochul July 17 to await her signature.
The bill, introduced March 6 by Assemblymember John McDonald III, a Democrat, passed the Assembly in May and cleared the Senate by a 54-7 vote June 3. It applies to security officers at Albany Memorial Hospital, Samaritan Hospital in Troy and St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany when acting within hospital grounds or on adjacent public streets and sidewalks.
Under the measure, qualifying officers would gain powers including detaining individuals pending law enforcement arrival when there is probable cause to believe an offense has been committed, according to the bill. The bill does not authorize officers to carry firearms unless separately licensed.
Thomas Quatroche Jr., PhD, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of New York State, supports the legislation. “Certified peace officers are authorized to take important and often time-sensitive actions, such as confiscating weapons and detaining individuals, that security officers cannot,” Dr. Quatroche said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “Instead, security officers must wait for local law enforcement to respond in cases that necessitate these actions.”
Dr. Quatroche noted the legislation is one of several policies HANYS and its members are pursuing to address what the association describes as a rise in workplace violence in healthcare settings, a trend that has prompted some health systems to establish their own security forces with expanded powers.
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