Compare and Contrast the Criminal and Civil Law

Civil law is concerned and deals with the relationship between individuals and relates to civil rather than criminal wrongs with the aim of compensating the suing party for such wrongs (Gibson, Rigby, Ryan & Tamsitt, 2001, p28.1). A civil action is generally brought by the party who has been injured or otherwise suffered some form of loss as the result of a wrong which only directly affected him (e.g. trespassing into private property). When a civil law is broken, legal action is brought by an individual against another for some form of legal remedy, e.g. damages. In civil suits, the party initiating legal proceedings is referred to as the plaintiff and the party being sued is called the defendant. For a plaintiff to successfully seek damages from the defendant he or she needs to prove their case, this is called the burden of proof. The amount of proof required by the law is called the standard of proof and in civil cases the standard of proof is assessed on the balance of probabilities (Dowler & Miles, 2001, p.32).

Private security officers working in an organisation have limited powers when compared with public police officers. In most instances the private security