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House committee releases bill to allow limited detentions at health‑care sites while police are summoned
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Summary
The House Judiciary Committee on March 25 released HB 322, which would permit security personnel and certain health‑care employees to temporarily detain someone posing an immediate safety risk while waiting for law enforcement; members urged narrower drafting and asked for clearer training and scope definitions.
Dover, Del. — The House Judiciary Committee voted March 25 to release House Bill 3 22, which would create a narrowly drawn exception to Delaware’s ban on private citizen arrests so that employees and security at hospitals, medical offices and dental practices can temporarily detain someone who poses an imminent safety risk while waiting for police.
Sponsor Representative Forman said the bill is intended only to "close that gap" left after last year’s citizen‑arrest abolition, not to create new arrest powers. "HB 3 22 creates a narrow target of exception," Forman said, adding the measure grew out of constituent and industry concerns that health‑care workers face elevated workplace‑violence risk.
Supporters told the committee they encounter fast‑moving violent incidents in clinical settings. Christina Bryant of the Delaware Health Care Association said nurses and clinicians report assaults including choking, punching and spitting. "We’re just trying to make sure that there is an ability to protect them," Bryant said, arguing the bill would let staff safely prevent further harm until law enforcement arrives.
Brian Clark, who identified himself as senior director of emergency management and public safety for a health system, described how hospitals train security staff and orient clinical staff: security teams undergo an extended training program covering response, legal limits and least‑restrictive interventions, while other staff receive de‑escalation and intervention orientation. "Our goal in health care really is not to detain someone," Clark said, "but...we're training them to follow the laws as they're written."
James Edward Parkowski, general counsel for the Health Care Association, told the committee the draft borrows language from Delaware’s merchant/shoplifting privilege to permit a "reasonable" detention for the purpose of summoning law enforcement while limiting liability exposure for staff who intervene.
Several committee members voiced support for the bill’s intent but pressed for narrower drafting and clearer limits. Representative Cook asked who would be authorized to detain and whether clinical staff without specialized training — for example, nurses or physicians — could be exposed to civil or criminal liability. The chair and others suggested tightening the definition of "health‑care facility" (asking whether med spas or massage businesses would qualify) and clarifying that trained security personnel should be the primary actors.
A motion to release the bill was moved and put to roll call. Committee members recorded affirmative votes and the chair announced that HB 322 was released from committee and will be circulated for signatures and advanced toward the House floor.
Next steps: the bill will be circulated for signatures and scheduled on the House calendar; committee members asked stakeholders and staff to return with narrower definitions and implementation details, including training standards and a clear statement of when detentions are permitted.