Résumé
"Private security has experienced spectacular growth in recent decades. The number of private and even public places where law and order and the protection of property is ensured by security guards rather than by police services is increasing. Some of the actions of these private officers can violate the rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals such as the right to privacy, freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate, protection against arbitrary arrest or detention and protection against unreasonable search or seizure. In many cases, the courts have had to determine the circumstances under which the actions of private security guards were or were not subject to review based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.1 We shall begin by describing the trends in the judicial decisions concerning the applicability of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the field of private security before considering whether it is appropriate that security guards should be subject to requirements that they respect the fundamental rights of individuals when they engage in acts of a coercive nature such as arrests, detention, searches or seizures. To conclude the discussion, we shall examine some possibilities for reform."--Page 3.