Off-Duty Police Services in Texas

It is quite common throughout Texas to see a uniformed police officer directing traffic at a construction site or providing security at a private business such as a restaurant, a bank, a hospital, or a retail store.  Obviously, those are generally not police agency sponsored assignments.  Instead, Texas law allows police officers (as is true in most states) to work "extra jobs" for the the private sector, most commonly when hired directly by the business entity that requires the police services.

Traditionally, a business entity will encounter a police officer that they then hire during off-duty hours to provide the police services.  That officer, typically, will hire some of his or her police friends to assist with filling all of the assigned hours requested by the business.  Often, one of the officers is designated as the "coordinator" who, often for a few extra dollars, provides all of the scheduling services to ensure that each requested shift is filled.

This has been the standard practice in Texas (and many other states) for years and years and years.  What is missing?  Why did Frizell Group International, LLC, based in Houston, Texas, a leader in Corporate Compliance Investigations for corporate clients, create their Off-Duty Police Services Division in 2012? Why has Frizell Group's newest division grown exponentially ever since?

In a word, Insurance.  In two words, Liability Reduction.  In three words, Reduced Administrative Costs.  

Frizell Group's methodology for providing Off-Duty Police Services throughout Texas (the only state where we are currently licensed) is to provide off-duty police officers that are legally eligible for such assignments.  That means that they meet or exceed the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement's definition of a "full-time" police officer (a minimum of 32 hours per week plus full-time benefits).  Frizell Group ensures that each officer has the permission of their agency to work and that they wear the agency-approved uniform for off-duty assignments (unless it is a plainclothes assignment).  

Frizell Group bills their clients in the "Cost-Plus" format and provides 100% of all collected funds of the "cost" portion to each officer.  The "plus" portion is the added fee for Frizell Group's services.  Those services include Insurance (General Liability, Workers' Compensation, Commercial Automobile, and an Umbrella policy), scheduling (using proprietary shift scheduling software to ensure that all requested shifts are filled by the appropriate off-duty officers who have the appropriate training for each individual assignment), payroll (all officers are paid through Direct Deposit twice per month), and year-end tax reporting.

Frizell Group clients no longer need to write one payroll check per officer per pay period. Instead, they write just one check to Frizell Group per billing cycle.  Clients no longer need to send a year-end IRS Form 1099 to each officer -- Frizell Group does that.  Clients need not pay "coordinator fees" because Frizell Group handles all scheduling issues.

Most importantly, Frizell Group clients are now protected with an extra layer of liability protection -- especially in the form of Workers' Compensation Insurance.  Conventional wisdom dictates that an off-duty officer who was involved in a law enforcement-related incident would instantly be "on duty" and that the officer's agency would handle any Workers' Compensation issues if that officer were injured.  But what if the off-duty officer is injured in a non-law enforcement incident, just like any other client employee?  If the client is not covering that officer with Workers' Compensation insurance, then all the benefits of such insurance are wasted.  Frizell Group covers each and every hour of our clients' off-duty police needs with the appropriate Workers' Compensation policy.

Frizell Group clients, whose needs range from as-needed to many thousands of hours per month, have switched to the Frizell Group Off-Duty Police Services Division for the insurance protection, the liability reduction, the administrative savings, the management and supervisory coverage, and the superior customer service.