What is Law Enforcements Views on Private Security Guards?

[wpzh973]

What is Law Enforcements Views on Private Security Guards both unarmed and armed
I know of a few security officers who are great people, Knows their job well and knows that he is "not a cop"
but then u got other guards who think, well i got a badge and gun and that whole mentality that goes with it, they think they are the law and actully get very pissed at people when they dont listen to them, of course people should listen to security officers if your on property their protecting, but thats not always the case

Anyways what is police officers views/experiences with Private security

Also Iam in the National Guard and am considering becomeing a police officer, however iam taking EMT classes now and after that i might work as a medic for a while just to see if I like that profession
but iam trying to get hired in security, clear record, good credit, neat appearance,CPR Certified i guess I just havent had any luck yet...

Thanks
Justin
Justin.Cremer@us.army.mil


__________________
Justin Cremer
FCC Licensed GMRS
WPZH973
Justin.Cremer@us.army.mil

[Lfpdlieu302]

i think you pretty much said it all in a nutshell. it really depends on the person. i've dealt with some security guards who are just fine. others are complete idiots and i wonder how they even qualified to do what they do. as long as they know where there place in the whole scheme of law enforcement is, i dont have a problem with them. as a side note on security. i live in wal mart country. my city borders bentonville which is the corporate hq for wal mart. anyway, you can imagine how many facilities wal mart has in this area. i must say that they have some of the worst security i have ever dealt with. they are unarmed, but seem to think that they are just some kind of uber guards or something. its hard to describe, but if you remember the security guards in beverly hills cop 3 ( i beleive) where they go to wonder world, thats what these guys are like to deal with.

[mcsap]

The security guards that think they are cops are too plentiful and ruin it for the decent ones. As a security officer, you can fall into either category. Choose the best one.

[Toeknee112]

I think we beat this horse to death in a previous post a few months ago!

[corporal716]

Let me start off by saying, I respect anyone who is working for a living. And yes I know some very professional security people in the armored car business. They know their job and don't try to be cops. I do not think they are paid nearly enough for the risk they take.

On the otherside, I worked security while in school. Where I worked you had three kinds of security guards. The college kids working graveyard and swing shift so they could go to school and get paid to do their homework. Then we had the retired guys who just wanted to work and suplement their incomes.

The third group where from another planet. These where people between the ages of 25 and 50 who for the most part were as dumb as a box of rocks. A couple of them had serious social problems. Science fiction seemed to be what they lived for.

At least they were not on welfare.

[Zantar]

I know exactly what you mean Corporal. I worked with those exact same types of guys when I worked for Pinkerton. It was an easy job but I didn't like the company I was keeping and moved on to armored car work. It's more stressful at times but the caliber of the people I work with is much better for the most part.

[corporal716]

Thats funny, Pinkerton was the company I talking about :D .

[Charlie]

wpzh973--

Quite simply, regardless of the profession you're in, you're as professional as you're willing to be for the most part. But like anything else, LEO's included, you always have a number of individuals out there who perhaps don't belong in a uniform to begin with. :(

I try to measure my opinions about other individuals on a case by case basis but in all honesty, when I meet a security guard somewhere regardless if they're armed or not, I mantain a degree of skepticism. Unfortunately, probably most of the ones I've meet have been squirrels. On the other hand, I have met some who were okay individuals obviously just trying to earn a living. I know stereotyping isn't fair and I certainly hate to be judged in the same manner. Frankly, there seems to be an inconsistent standard between companies when they select and hire their security personnel. But there are also companies out there who do a very good job when they screen people for employment. Level and amount of training is also an issue too. Typically, LEO's have a vast amount of training over any security officer counterpart in most cases.

If it is any consolation, I've also met other cops out there who also fell into the squirrel category too! :eek: BUT, I think one simply has to judge each contact between cops and security personnel on an individual basis and simply not lump everyone into the same mold. It's just that simple as far as I am concerned. After all, a lot of cops were previously security officers themselves before becoming fully sworn law enforcement officers.
--
Charlie

[Zantar]

Heh, there was this one guy I worked with at Pinkerton who was in the Navy back around the time of the first Gulf War. Depending on what day it was, he was either the Admiral's personal body guard, a heroic SP who shot an Iraqi while on the beach, or he was the guy in charge of all the coke machines on the ship. I think in the last case he actually slipped up and told the truth. I remember him saying once how he wished we were armed guards. I just smiled and nodded and thanked goodness that we weren't.

I sure there were some good people working for Pinkerton, but none of them were working on my shift.