The Legal Conditioning of Delivering Government Weapons Custody to Employees of Private Security Companies by Law Enforcement Agencies

Abstract

The issue of delivering  government weapons custody to employees of private security companies by law enforcement agencies is a thorny issue because it has not been addressed in the relevant Palestinian laws and decisions. The legal conditioning of delivering of Palestinian police officers’ government weapons to private security company employees entails risks and is tainted by ambiguity. It is unclear whether the security employee has an official status enabling him to perform his duties in commercial establishments or if he is impersonating a security employee. In both cases, the Jordanian Penal Code in force in the West Bank specified penalties for the employee who impersonates a security employee. Additionally, the Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a decision by the Palestinian Minister of the Interior also specified penalties for Palestinian police officers who surrender their weapons and custody to anyone, including private security company employees.