Security has come a long way since the late 1980’s where it was the norm
for ex-servicemen and ex police to take on ‘watchman’ or ‘security’ roles in
industrial, commercial and government complexes. The industry has
expanded almost beyond belief with technology that, until recently, was
exclusively in the hands of major powers and governments and new laws that
directly and indirectly impact upon our profession. Our threat levels and
risks have changed, bringing new challenges. The type of person now being
attracted into the security industry has changed as a consequence; they are a
more youthful, dynamic, person who sees the industry as a career.
Security officers are now required to be a professional;
appropriately trained, licensed and competent in their duties.
Business and the public now have expectations of security that the
industry must meet and exceed. Of course there is a compensator to
all of this. The industry and clients must recognize that the higher
skill levels required and the superior level of service demanded by clients
must also be reflected in the financial reward afforded the officer through
their wage or salary.
With increased skills and responsibilities comes the reward through
increasing the pay levels. The industry must be prepared to reward
officers and guards with a livable wage or salary commensurate with their
qualifications and skills that they are offering to provide the
client. The old adage still runs true that ‘if you pay peanuts, you
will get monkeys’.
What then do we demand of the Security Officer or Guard? What
standards must they meet?
The security officer of this millennium must be well educated,
articulate, smartly attired and professional in every way. Surveys
conducted in Darwin (Australia) revealed that business and the public demanded
stricter selection criteria and higher standards of professional behavior for
those employed in the security industry. There is no doubt that
these expectations are reflected in most other cities and towns in Australia
and overseas.
In Australia, Certificate II and III in Security should be seen as just
a start point for security training. Individuals must take every
opportunity to enhance their professional training through specialist subject
workshops, academic studies or even overseas training programs, available by
correspondence. Diplomas in Security & Risk management and
tertiary education courses are becoming more common both overseas and in
Australia and are an excellent tool for gaining the edge in knowledge.
Individuals must have a sound working knowledge of all laws in which the
security industry operates and highly developed inter-personal skills to
complement their technical skills in security.
Contract as well as proprietary security staff operate in a wide range
of working environments. This ranges from government work to hospital
security, industrial security, commercial security, retail security, mining
security, hospitality security and loss prevention in all its forms along with
many other working environments where protective security is
provided. The Security Officer of the new millennium must be
aware of their role within these various environments and be trained
accordingly.
It is imperative that officers get to know their clients business and
understand its underlying culture. This knowledge will stand them
in good stead when decisions have to be made quickly without having time to
brief the client. By understanding the business and its culture,
decisions can be made taking all into consideration ensuring that the clients’
best interests are always being protected.
Security knowledge should encompass physical security, administrative
security (laws, policies and procedures etc), risk management, computer
security and crime prevention strategies. Knowledge of business
practices, administration and financial procedures is a definite bonus.
By having this overall knowledge professional security officers are
positioned to take on advisory roles in business making them an attractive
return on investment for any employer or client. One of the major
complaints made by small businesses approached on the subject was that security
staff did not communicate with their clients. There was no two-way
communication and in many cases small business did not know what service
security was actually providing apart from their physical presence.
By communicating with clients and offering advice based on in-depth
security or crime prevention knowledge, the Security Officer increases their
value to the client and to their employing company. In many cases
they are the first person a business may see when a problem occurs.
Security will make an appreciation of the incident and decide on further
action, which may or may not involve Police attendance. As such their
knowledge and experience is invaluable in assisting the client, thus maximizing
their return on investment.
On the other hand the poorly trained Security Officer will often take
one of three options:
- Make the wrong decision and escalate the situation,
- Do nothing and await advice from the client or their contracting company, or
- Bluff their way through relying on luck to see them through the situation.
In any of these cases the temptation for the client to terminate their
contract for security, based on lack of trust in the abilities of the officers'
concerned, is greatly increased.
What then must we look for in our Security Officers? They
must:
- be well educated.
- be appropriately trained in their roles and duties.
- be honest and confident in their abilities and knowledge.
- be service orientated.
- be curious and observant.
- be mentally attuned to responding to critical incidents, without warning.
- be loyal to their client as well as their employer.
- have pride in themselves’ and their role in society.
- have ready access to qualified and experienced Supervisors to provide mentoring, advice and guidance on situations out of the officer’s experience, thus gaining quality advice to maximize the learning value of the experience.
All the above rely on one important ingredient: training.
Training then is the cornerstone to the development of the professional
security officer of this millennium.
This training can be gained through the traditional courses, tertiary
studies, in-house training, mentoring, workshops and seminars or through
researching published material and security trade magazines such as the one you
may be reading now. All are a valuable source of knowledge.
The Security Officer or Security Manager who has the skills, knowledge,
and experience back up with qualifications and excellent communications and
interpersonal relationship skills will be seen as an excellent investment for any
business or client.
Professionalism…. It’s more than a word. It’s an attitude that
enhances capability and credibility.
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