Security guard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Security Guard or Security Officer is usually a privately-employed person who is paid (directly or through a security firm) to protect property and/or people. Usually security officers are uniformed and act to protect property by maintaining a high visibility presence to deter illegal and/or inappropriate actions, observing (either directly, through patrols, or by watching alarm systems or video cameras) for signs of crime, fire or disorder; then taking action and/or reporting any incidents to their client, employer and emergency services as appropriate.
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[edit] Functions and duties
The security officer motto is to "detect, deter, observe and report." Security officers are not normally required to make arrests (but have the authority to make a citizens arrest) or otherwise act as police officers, except in some (notably United States) jurisdictions in which the security officer is invested with arrest powers like those of a county sheriff. In contrast to the above mentioned motto, a Private Security Officer's actual primary duty is prevention of crime. Security personnel do enforce company rules and can act to protect lives and property. In fact, they frequently have a contractual obligation to provide these actions. Security Officers are often trained to perform arrest and control procedures (including handcuffing and restraints), operate emergency equipment, perform first aid, CPR, take accurate notes and write effective reports, and perform other tasks as required by the property they are protecting. Many security officers are required to go through additional training mandated by the state for the carrying of weapons such as baton, firearms, and pepper spray. Some officers are required to complete police certification for special duties such as Private Police Officers. In recent years, due to elevated threats of terrorism, security officers are required to have bomb threat training as well as emergency crisis training.
One major economic justification for security personnel is that insurance companies (particularly fire insurance carriers) will give substantial rate discounts to sites which have a 24-hour presence; for a high risk or high value venue, the discount can often exceed the money being spent on its security program. This is because having security on site increases the odds that any fire will be noticed and reported to the local fire department before a total loss occurs. Also, the presence of security personnel (particularly in combination with effective security procedures) tends to diminish "shrinkage," theft, employee misconduct and safety rule violations, property damage, or even sabotage. Many casinos hire security guards to protect the money when transferring it from the casino to the casino's bank.
Security personnel may also perform access control at building entrances and vehicle gates by ensuring that employees and visitors display proper passes or identification before entering the facility. Security officers are often called upon to respond to minor emergencies (lost persons, lockouts, dead vehicle batteries, etc.) and to assist in serious emergencies by guiding emergency responders to the scene of the incident and documenting what happened on an incident report. Security Officers (usually armed for this function) are frequently contracted to respond in a similar fashion as police officers until a given situation at a client location is under control and/or public authorities arrive on the scene.
Although security officers are a distinct type of personnel from either police officers or the military, in the United States a very high proportion of security personnel, including most senior management personnel, are either former or retired members of one or both services. Many security officers who don't fit this profile (young people in particular) use the job as a springboard into a police career.
[edit] Types of security personnel and companies
Security officers are classified as either of the following
- "in-house" or "proprietary" (i.e. employed by the same company or organisation they protect, such as a mall, theme park, or casino)
- "contract," working for a private security company which protects many locations.
- "Public Security," "Private Police Officers," or security police
- "Private Patrol Officers", vehicle patrol officers that protect multiple client premises.
Industry terms for various security personnel include: Security guards, agents, watchmen, officers, safety patrol, Armed Security, Private Police, Loss Prevention, Bodyguards, Executive Protection Agents, or Access Managers. Other job titles in the security industry include dispatcher, receptionist, driver, supervisor, alarm responder, mall security officer, private patrol officer, Private Patrol Operator, and manager.
Controversy exists within the private security industry regarding the job titles of "security guard" as opposed to "security officer" and "security agent." State and local governments sometimes regulate the use of these terms by law -- for example, certain words and phrases that "give an impression that he or she is connected in any way with the federal government, a state government, or any political subdivision of a state government" are forbidden for use by California security licensees by Business and Professions Code Section 7582.26. So the terms "private police" or "special agent" would be unlawful for a security licensee to use in California.
There is general agreement, however, that there is a marked difference between persons performing the duties historically associated with watchmen, and persons who take a more active role in protecting persons and property. The former, often called "guards," are taught the mantra "observe and report," are minimally trained, and not expected to deal with the public or confront criminals. The latter are often highly trained, sometimes armed depending on local laws and regulations, and are more likely to interact with the general public and to confront the criminal element. These employees tend to take pride in the title "Security Officer" and disdain the label of "guard." Ironically enough, there may be no relationship between duties performed and compensation -- many mall "security officers" who are exposed to serious risks make less per hour than "industrial security guards" with less training and responsibility.
The term "agent" is particularly problematic in the security industry because it can describe a civil legal relationship between a person and their employee, hireling or contractor ("agent of the owner" in California PC 602) but also describes a person in government service ("Special Agent Jones of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.") Security "agents" found in loss prevention and personal or executive protection (bodyguards) typically work in plainclothes, without a uniform, and are usually highly trained to act lawfully in direct defense of life or property. There is also confusion with bail enforcement agents, or as they are popularly known "bounty hunters," who are sometimes regulated by the same agencies which regulate private security.
Security personnel are cautioned that identifying themselves to citizens or police as "officers," particularly in a high threat or tactical situation, may result in mistaken identity, charges of impersonating a peace (police) officer, or even serious injury or death if police are believe that they are confronting an armed criminal as opposed to rescuing a lawfully armed private employee. The term "guard," however unpalatable, may prevent potentially lethal confusion when interfacing with law enforcement agencies and dispatchers.
[edit] Licensing
Most U.S. states and counties require a license to work as a security guard, although 10 states require no licensing. Of the licensing states, 19 do not require any training and many have minimal training requirements. This license may include a criminal background check and/or training requirements. Most security guards do not carry weapons and have the same powers of arrest as a private citizen, called a "private person" arrest, "any person" arrest, or "citizen's arrest." If weapons are carried, additional permits and training are usually required. Normally armed security guards are used (in the USA) to protect sensitive sites such as government and military installations, banks or other financial institutions, and nuclear power plants. However, armed security is quickly becoming a standard for vehicle patrol officers and on many other non-government sites. Armed private security is much rarer in Europe and other developed countries (and unknown in some, such as the United Kingdom). In developing countries (with host country permission), armed security composed mostly of ex-military personnel is often used to protect corporate assets, particularly in war-torn regions.
The UK now requires all Security Guards to have a licence from the Security Industry Authority. These require a certain amount of training, as well as a Criminal Record Check. The license is valid for three years.
In Canada, law regarding contract security is under Provincial legislation. In almost all Provinces, security officers are required to be licensed by the provincial government through standardized training.
[edit] Security guards and the police
Security personnel are not police officers, unless they are Security police, but are often confused with them due to similar uniforms and behaviors, especially on private property. Security personnel derive their powers not from the state, as public police officers do, but from a contractual arrangement that give them 'Agent of the Owner' powers. This includes a nearly unlimited power to question with the freedom of an absence of probable cause requirements that frequently dog public law enforcement officers. Additionally, as legal precedents have further restrained the traditional police officers' power of "officer discretion" regarding arrests in the field, requiring a police officer to arrest minor lawbreakers, private security personnel still enjoy such powers of discretion largely due to their private citizen status. Since the laws regarding the limitations of powers generally have to do with public law enforcement, private security is relatively free to utilize non-traditional means to protect and serve their clients' interests. This does not come without checks, however, as private security personnel do not enjoy the benefit of civil protection, as public law enforcement officers do, and can be sued directly for false arrests and illegal actions if they commit such acts.
Some jurisdictions do commission or deputize security officers and give them limited additional powers, particularly when employed in protecting public property such as mass transit stations. This is a special case that is often unique to a particular jurisdiction or locale.
Some security officers with police powers, typically employed directly by governmental agencies, are called security police. Typically these are police whose duties primarily involve the security of a government installation, and are also a special case. Other municipalities have occasionally entered into special contracts with security agencies to provide patrol services in public areas and these personnel are sometimes referred to as Private Police Officers.
Sometimes police officers work as security personnel while not on duty. This is usually done for extra income, and work is particularly done in hazardous jobs such as bodyguard work and bouncers outside nightclubs. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, it is illegal for police officers to take private security work.
Except in these special cases, a security guard who misrepresents himself as a police officer is committing a crime. However, security personnel by their very nature often work in cooperation with police officials. Police are called in when a situation warrants a higher degree of authority to act upon reported observations of the security personnel that could not be directly acted upon safely by the security personnel.
[edit] History
The vigiles were soldiers assigned to guard the city of Rome, often credited as the origin of both security personnel and police, although their principal duty was as a fire brigade. There have been night watchmen since at least the Middle Ages in Europe; walled cities of ancient times also had watchmen.
[edit] Notable security guards
- The security guard Frank Wills detected the Watergate burglars, ultimately leading to the resignation of Richard M. Nixon as President of the United States.
- Christoph Meili, night guard at a Swiss bank, became a whistle blower in 1997, bringing out that the bank destroyed records of holocaust victims whose money the bank was supposed to return their heirs.
- In 2001, Gary Coleman, former child actor, was employed as a shopping mall security guard in the Los Angeles area. During his time as a security guard Coleman assaulted a woman while shopping for a bullet proof vest. Coleman said he felt "threatened by her insistence" and punched her in the head. He was later charged for the assault and ordered to pay her $1,665 for hospital bills.
[edit] Unionization
Being a private security officer is by no means a lucrative endeavor. So far the security industry has had little union representation, usually on a per site basis.
Unions such as the Security Police and Firemans Professional Association (SPFPA) have been involved in representing security officers since the 1950s. http://www.spfpa.org
UGSOA, United Government Security Officers of American, are the leaders in representing security officers on federal contracts. http://www.ugsoa.com
Considerable controversy exists surrounding recent efforts by certain unions to become involved in the security industry, such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which primarily represents janitors, trash collectors, and other building service employees. SEIU chapters such as http://www.seiu1877.org and SEIU 24/7 (in San Francisco) have sought to unionize particularly high-rise buildings and contracts. SEIU's strategy of attacking the credibility of security companies it does not like, sometimes extending this labor action to clients as well, has been particularly controversial.
Security officers division of SEIU 1877 has separated from other building services and has created a separate union division of SEIU and has officialy changed it's name to :
Security Officers Union of Los Angeles
[edit] Nicknames
Derogatory terms for security guards include "rent-a-cops", ""rent-a-Pigs", "flashlight cops", "square badges" (as their badges are square or rectangular as not to look like police badges in certain areas), "toy cops", "barneys" (after Barney Fife), "2.5", "bacon bits", "piglets", and "imitation bacon" (after the derogatory slang "pig" for "policeman"). Some people do not like security guards because their duties include enforcing rules and serving as a symbol of authority. Others believe that security guards are "wannabe" or would-be police officers, or have had bad experiences with security guards in the past. In recent years many private security companies have tried to make the term "security officer" standard for this occupation, feeling the term "guard" to be somewhat demeaning. (This is similar to the movement to redesignate "prison guards" as "prison officers", "correctional officers" or "corrections officers".)
