3.3 Trespass Law & Civil/Criminal Liability

Trespass Law & Civil/Criminal Liability

Quick Answer: Florida splits trespass into two statutes: FS 810.08 covers structures and conveyances (buildings, vehicles), and FS 810.09 covers open land and other property. Both let an owner or authorized person — including a security officer acting as the owner's agent — warn a trespasser to leave; refusing to leave after a lawful warning is itself the crime. Being armed while trespassing elevates either offense to a felony and gives the owner's agent statutory authority to detain the person and call police, with immunity from false-arrest and false-imprisonment claims only if that detention follows the statute exactly.

Trespass in a Structure or Conveyance — FS 810.08

A person commits trespass in a structure or conveyance when, without being authorized, licensed, or invited, they willfully enter or remain in a structure or conveyance — or when, having been invited, they are warned by the owner, lessee, or an authorized person to leave and refuse to do so. This is the statute security officers use most often: a person invited into a store, office lobby, or apartment common area loses that invitation the moment an authorized person orders them to leave.

Trespass on Other Property — FS 810.09

FS 810.09 covers land, yards, and other property that is not a structure or conveyance. A person commits this trespass by willfully entering or remaining without authorization where notice against entering has been given — by actual communication, or by posting, fencing, or cultivation — or by entering the unenclosed curtilage of a dwelling with intent to commit an offense there. The base offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. Being armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon elevates it to a third-degree felony, and several specially posted property types (large construction sites, agricultural research land, airport operational areas, domestic violence centers) carry their own felony-enhancement provisions when properly signed.

Structure vs. Open Property: Key Differences

Detention Authority Tied to Armed Trespass

Both statutes include a matching detention provision: when a trespasser is armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon (a felony-level offense), the owner or a person authorized by the owner may take the person into custody and detain them in a reasonable manner, for a reasonable length of time, for prosecution purposes. A law enforcement officer must be called as soon as practicable. Done correctly, this detention does not create criminal or civil liability for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention — the same conditional-immunity structure seen in the shopkeeper's privilege.

Civil and Criminal Liability Exposure

Security work sits at the intersection of protecting property and respecting individual rights. When force or detention exceeds what the law allows, officers and their employers face both criminal charges and civil torts:

• False imprisonment — restraining someone's freedom of movement without legal justification, even briefly and even without physical contact
• False arrest — taking someone into custody without probable cause or statutory authority
• Battery — any unwanted, unreasonable physical contact during a stop, search, or removal
• Assault — an act that creates reasonable fear of imminent unwanted contact, even without a touch
• Negligent training or retention — employer liability when a company fails to properly train, or continues to employ, an officer with a known pattern of excessive force

Losing Statutory Protection

The immunities built into FS 776.032, FS 812.015, FS 810.08, and FS 810.09 are conditional shields, not blanket protection for security work. They evaporate when an officer:

• Detains or uses force without the required probable cause or reasonable belief
• Uses more force or restraint than the situation reasonably requires
• Holds a person longer than necessary to complete the investigation or wait for police
• Fails to call law enforcement promptly once someone is taken into custody
• Bases a stop on a protected characteristic rather than observed conduct — a decision that can trigger separate discrimination liability even where trespass or theft law might otherwise apply

Exam Traps

Expect scenario questions that describe an officer physically restraining someone based only on "looking suspicious," holding a detainee for an extended period while waiting for a supervisor rather than police, or using force after the threat has already ended. Each of these breaks the reasonable-manner or reasonable-time requirement and removes statutory immunity, turning a lawful security stop into personal and employer liability.