The Many Hats of a Security Guard or Security Officer

The security guard or security officer profession is so broad. The average security guard gets involved in so many things. It is imperative that they be able to switch from one function to another with little or no hassle.

The ability to cope with the different tasks has become more important since 9-11. The 9-11 events lead the nation to heighten the need for security, even by private organizations. This need for heightened security has meant more and better trained security officers. In this article, I will discuss the many hats the security officer or guard can be expected to wear.

1. The security officer can be called to wear the hat of surveillance officer. This surveillance can be preventative or investigative. In the preventive situation, the security guard or officer is expected to watch out and report a crime before it is committed. This will require the officer calling the residential security police to make any necessary arrests or driving away the offending individual.

In the investigative situation, the guard may stakeout a location for those that hired him or her. The primary aim hear will be to gather evidence. Any evidence the guard finds will be turned over to his or her clients. The clients may even require him to testify in court if the need arises.

2. The private security guard can be called to wear the hat of a patrolman. This requires using a vehicle to go from one location to the next. The aim here is for people to constantly see security presence. As the security officer drives around, people see him and know the location is not conducive to committing a crime because they could get in trouble with the law.

3. The security officer can be called to wear the hat of a guard. In this situation, you are simply guarding property. The aim could be to prevent the property from being stolen.

It is believed that using a security officer to guard property from being stolen can lower the insurance cost of insuring such property. In some cases, the savings is more than the salary of the security guard.

4. The security officer may be called to wear the hat of emergency response personnel. As a security officer, it is important that the officer be able to handle emergency situations until the proper authorities get there.

For example, a security officer can be guarding a property that catches fire. The security officer must secure the property before the police and fire departments get there. Without this, the situation could get out of hand that leads to more damage than necessary.

Though it is important that security officers or guards not act as police officers, they play keys roles in the security industry. Anyone aspiring to be a security officer should be ready to wear many hats.

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