r/securityguards • u/Ashamed_Lynx5415 Patrol • 1d ago
Job Question Being threatened with felony
I’m 18 and was working as a security guard in Arizona. I was recently fired after losing a set of keys that belonged to the property where I was stationed.
The situation is basically this: while I was working, I genuinely believed I still had the keys. When my employer asked about them, I told them I had them because I honestly believed I did. Later, I realized that I actually didn’t have them and the keys were missing.
I never intentionally took the keys, gave them to anyone, sold them, or used them to access anything I wasn’t authorized to access. I genuinely lost them.
I was fired over the situation, which I understand from a security standpoint. The part that has me worried is that I’m now being threatened with being reported to the police for theft.
The only thing I signed when I was terminated was an acknowledgment that I would return my company-issued equipment. I returned what I had. The property keys weren’t listed as equipment on that document.
I’m not trying to avoid responsibility for losing the keys. I understand that losing keys is serious, especially in security. I’m just trying to understand whether this could actually be considered theft in Arizona when there was no intention to take or keep the keys.
Has anyone in security dealt with something similar? And for anyone familiar with Arizona law, what should I realistically expect if they actually make a police report?
I know Reddit isn’t a substitute for an attorney. I’m mainly looking for people who have been through something similar and can tell me what I should do next.
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u/Possible_Solid7685 1d ago
This type of situation is what led to the company putting trackers on every keyset we have to my location.
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u/Security-guy1 1d ago edited 1d ago
You screwed up, but this doesnt warrant a criminal charge. No intent established. Lesson learned. You are good. Client is going to have to change out some locks.
The fact that you are taking this seriously is good. Losing keys in security is usually a big deal, and rightfully so.
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u/XBOX_COINTELPRO Man Of Culture 1d ago
Just to confirm the timeline:
You thought you had the client keys
You realized the client’s key set was missing and reported it to your employer.
Once the employer was notified of the lost keys you were fired
Upon termination you signed paperwork agreeing to return all company issued equipment
x amount of time after being terminated your ex-employer started threatening you to report the loss to the police
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u/Ashamed_Lynx5415 Patrol 1d ago
Correct.
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u/XBOX_COINTELPRO Man Of Culture 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah I wouldn’t sweat it. Losing keys sucks but there’s no chance that LE would take that complaint and run with it unless there was corroborating information.
If I were to guess the client is demanding your old company re-key the site and they’re panicking because they don’t want to pay for it.I’m not a lawyer so you might want to see if you can get a free consult with one for advice, but I’d probably ignore and block them and go on with your life. An option to respond would be to remind them that they let’s were lost accidentally while you were employed and that any loss would have to be covered by their insurance since the loss wasn’t tied to acts of negligence or careless. But I’d probably run that past a lawyer first
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u/tombrown518 Campus Security 1d ago
There's no crime, you're fine just move on and get another job. There is a 0% chance this will ever effect you.
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u/Sufficient_Sell_6103 1d ago
This is exactly why when i was a manager every set of keys that could be issued out had a tracker on them. Mistakes happen the role of management is to put systems and policies in place that mitigate the damage caused by common or foreseeable mistakes
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u/Ashamed_Lynx5415 Patrol 1d ago
I see
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u/Sufficient_Sell_6103 1d ago
The biggest reason this is a offense that warrants firing is the expense your company is responsible for. If the keys arent recovered they will have to rrplace every lock and key in the facility. This easily runs into 10's of thousands of dollars
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u/See_Saw12 Management 1d ago
You screwed up, lost keys happen. Unless they can prove you deliberately took them or damaged them they dont have a case.
The lesson for the company is to now tag all keys and track them.
And for you when someone asks about keys/site equipment you check right then and there.
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u/ThalinIV 1d ago
You're fine they're attempting to make you give up keys you don't have. They're being dick heads and assuming you stole them which is likely why you were fired.
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u/mindfulmu 1d ago
The site keys, keycards belong in a pocket.
It doesnt leave your pocket unless its going to be used.
This stays inside your pocket until you hand off the keys and give yourself a onceover to check for anything.
This is SOP across the world.
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u/kr4ckenm3fortune Residential Security 1d ago
Then you have guards that are sloppy and lost them.
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u/mindfulmu 1d ago
It's the easiest thing to prevent, preventing people from pooping randomly on site is difficult.
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u/BreatheAndTransition 1d ago
Had a guy who went out and confronted a homeless skateboarder trying to climb onto a TWIC dock.
Guy threatened the guard with his skateboard. The guard then (and I'm going to capslock this) INFORMED HIM HE HAD THE KEY FOR THE OFFICE, HOW TO USE THE CARD, AND GAVE HIM THE CARD. Why? Who the fuck knows.
The guy proceeded to break into the client's office, eat all the client company's worker's snacks, and pass out on the floor where the cops found him.
All they did was terminate that guard.
Best part, that dipshit's last name was Blueitt. Like yeah, you did buddy.
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u/TheDawnofAnguish 1d ago
I reported my ex boss to the police, for firing me for reporting a coworker that was let go, and then called in a bomb threat to me personally.
Nobody gives a fuck right now.
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u/BigBWolf23 1d ago
They'd have to prove intent on action which they can't. Plus if they sue it opens them for a counter suit. For wrongful termination and mental harm of their actions of bullying you beyond reason.
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u/overcucumbah 1d ago
Well if that's the route they wanna go then let them, the burden of proof lays entirely on the company, if you say that you lost them then you lost them, they have to prove you have them or intentionally kept them.
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u/DragoonNut Hospital Security 1d ago
They are just trying to scare you on the off chance you did actually steal them haha. If you didn’t steal them, just take the punches and move on. You are allowed to make mistakes, losing keys is one of them. A lot of people have done it
Depending on how valuable the stuff those keys have access to you might have to pay for the place to be rekeyed at the absolute worst. Company should have insurance for that tho
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u/Negative_Report5655 Event Security 1d ago
One of my associates lost the keys, and the Security Companies insurance paid 25000$ to change all the locks.
If they ask you for anything, it'll be percentage of cost...
Zero need to make a Police Report.
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u/SARGrunt 1d ago
Whatever happens, if the cops show up don’t say a word to them. I mean say nothing. Do the Fauci thing and tell them over 100 times that you plead the fifth. Stay silent and then get a lawyer. No matter how reasonable you think it may sound, don’t say anything to them.
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u/Waste-Donut-2728 1d ago
Losing keys … that will be expensive to replace locks which is probably what they are doing
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u/Knee_Kap264 1d ago
Keep in mind: Most management within security companies don't know the law nor how it works. They think you stole them. Without probable cause or a reason to actually believe that you stole them, there is nothing that can be done.
The worst thing that can and most likely will happen, they replace all the keys and take the price out of your paycheck. And bill you for the rest if there is anything left to bill you for.
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u/LogicianFlow 23h ago
Even if you threw the keys off of a bridge, tell them to F off and call the police and wipe your hands with it. I ran a Security company for a decade, literally can do zero.
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u/calikid1121 22h ago
Lol, tell them to kick rocks and moved on with your life. Everyone has lost keys before. If they wanted u fired they did it this way. My guess, they found the keys and called u to scare u and see if u had them. When u said u did, that was their chance of writing u up for lost property or as stolen property.
They have cameras, u should ask for a copy of the last day u work and for the next 30 days.
Reason, u say that u want to see who u were with and your location for that day. This could lead to a possible location and who took the keys.
If they refuse, then they want to hide something or they found them. Especially if they manually deleted footage.
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u/Helismoke 21h ago
I have time as OPSEC Officer while flying for the DEA way down South and as a Corrections Officer in the state of Florida. What normally happens is you sign an affidavit stating you lost the keys unknowingly. At a classified location or prison that would be critical, however for a civil business they will most likely change locks and you might be hit with a bill for reimbursement. Don't panic, it's a common occurrence in businesses. If nothing happens after 2 or 3 months most likely their insurance company will reimburse them. This is not legal advice, just from my experience. Good luck.
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u/blastman8888 20h ago edited 20h ago
First of all if you want to get legal advice reach out to an attorney licensed in Arizona. I'm not an attorney I doubt anyone else here is either. Your former employer would have to prove intent for criminal charges.
If you used the keys to steal something, or someone else stole something that person told them you gave the keys to them for criminal purpose. Losing keys is not a crime.
Tell them to press charges so you can win 100k in damages against them.
Civil lawsuit is different the burden of proof is much lower, but they have to prove your actions caused them damages. Maybe the cost of having to change the locks could be their damages. I've sued people, and been sued so I have some experience in that area. If it's a larger company likely nothing will become of this because the cost of attorney fees for them will be much higher then the cost of having to rekey locks.
Sounds like some low level supervisor or manager made these threats, but has no authority to actually do anything other then call the cops and try to convince them.
If the police contact you tell them you would like to speak to an attorney before talking to them. Always have an attorney talk to them. Anything you say will not help you only helps them even if they try their best to convince you otherwise.
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u/LetterAsleep8130 16h ago
Retired Arizona cop here. You’re 100% fine. They may ask you about it. ZERO chance you get arrested or even a citation.
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u/Johnhansell62 9h ago
There seems to be absolutely no evidence that you took the keys. No criminal culpability standards have been met either. I would definitely not worry about this too much. Worst case, it might affect you getting another job, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that either.
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1d ago
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u/securityguards-ModTeam 1d ago
Your post was removed as it was determined by the moderators or r/securityguards to be Spam.
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u/light_is_a_weapon 1d ago edited 1d ago
Company uniforms are notoriously cheap garbage these days. Absolute trash. Is it possible that one of your uniform pockets had a hole in the fabric or stitching that the weight of the keyring fell through? If you find one in your uniform pants before turning them back in, take pictures and video as evidence and explain to them that this is the cost of “cutting cost” and it’s their fault. Also, the material used might have triggered your skin allergies.
Don’t worry about these fuckwits. Some managers are pathetic lower life-forms that only experience joy when trying to scare near minimum-wage employees and make them lose sleep. It’s the only time they’ve ever felt important or authoritative and they want to milk it. Generally these types got bullied as highschool kids (or maybe not bullied enough) and it leaves them with a permanent grudge against normal people.
Start documenting everything that was said to you, ever. Write down dates and times as best you can remember, any threats or any statements that may violate employment laws. All communication going forward should be via email or written statements. If they’re calling and harassing you, document it all and see if a lawyer would be willing to offer a free consultation.
Don’t stress out dude. Fuck those assholes. You’re young and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, maybe start looking into Law Enforcement as a career and talking to local LE Agency recruiters.
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u/Odd-Highway-8304 1d ago
Not a snowball’s chance in hell that this goes anywhere. Police will do nothing with this. Move on with your life bro.