Question from a newly hired security guard...

[Contact]

Well as some of you may have read in another thread, I recently got a job working armed security.

My supervisor said in the 16 years he's been doing this, he has never had a guard hurt on the job.

That's well and good, but I am not the biggest guy in the world, and the only thing we carry are firearms. And in my opinion you can't just shoot someone becuase your afraid of getting your *** kicked.

My question is this:

I know that some security guards carry mace, ASPs and cuffs and I'm sure there is special training for each. Can people besides LEOs take the classes to be trained to carry an ASP? I find it semi-hard to believe that everyone thinks it is safer to give us firearms than other forms of defense.

My guess is that it is up to the individual security agency to say what we can and can not carry, I am just curious to see if these classes are open to the public.

[Bodie]

Never Ever Ask A Cop About Security Guards

Go to "Ask A Security Guard" you won't like what you hear on this police officer forum about security guards armed or not. I am at this point being nice since you obviously have no idea the can of worms you have just opened

[retired]

Go to "Ask A Security Guard" you won't like what you hear on this police officer forum about security guards armed or not. I am at this point being nice since you obviously have no idea the can of worms you have just opened

Why are you being nice? That's not like you.

[da moose]

what do you have against security guards? granted the field is filled with wannabe's and idiots alike, but there are those who use it as a stepping stone into law enforcement or find there is more money to be made in the private sector. I agree that more than 99% of security guards should not be armed even with a pencil, but there is that 1% that are in the field for a good reason. I work for a private company in palm beach county fl and we have a good working relationship with both the sherriff's dept. and the local police. Not saying we dont have our share of idiot's, i have forbidden those who i know to be overzealous to have any contact with law enforcement when they are on property to save us the embarresment. Quite a few of our officers have gone on to work for the sherriff's dept as well.

[mobrien316]

No disrespect intended, but you are 22 years old and you are carrying a firearm? You apparently have no training at all, or your training was so brief and perfunctory that it skipped every other aspect of the use of force except deadly force. It apparently didn't even cover handcuffing. Did it include when to use deadly force? How to shoot? Anything about cover and concealment?

My advice to you is this: If something happens where you think you might get your *** kicked, run away. As you are running away, hope that you don't accidentally shoot yourself in the leg, or get shot by one of your equally untrained coworkers. Once you have put some distance between you and the ***-kickers, call the police.

If/when you do become a police officer, you will understand what I mean.

[da moose]

No disrespect intended, but you are 22 years old and you are carrying a firearm? You apparently have no training at all, or your training was so brief and perfunctory that it skipped every other aspect of the use of force except deadly force. It apparently didn't even cover handcuffing. Did it include when to use deadly force? How to shoot? Anything about cover and concealment?

My advice to you is this: If something happens where you think you might get your *** kicked, run away. As you are running away, hope that you don't accidentally shoot yourself in the leg, or get shot by one of your equally untrained coworkers. Once you have put some distance between you and the ***-kickers, call the police.

If/when you do become a police officer, you will understand what I mean.

cant answer for contact in michigan, but in florida between the two cert's you need to work as an armed guard everything you mentioned above is covered. OC spray , handcuff,baton classes etc.... are open to the public, dont know why a security guard would need any of it, as you said observe,run and report. I always get a good laugh out of some of these guys who carry so much crap on thier belt they cant even stand up straight. As a former NJ paramedic we have a term for people like that, WHACKER

[aikido kid]

No disrespect intended, but you are 22 years old and you are carrying a firearm? You apparently have no training at all, or your training was so brief and perfunctory that it skipped every other aspect of the use of force except deadly force

whats wrong with being 22 and having a firearm...

...isnt that his right? *aslong as he isnt a basketcase* And with that right comes the responsibility. IF you train with your firearms and know what your doing then it shouldnt be a problem.

[wannabeacop]

Lay off Contact

Contact came here and asked a question that was fair and reasonable. If you guys had done your homework you would see that this individual has been on these boards for a long time and has commented on enough items of conversation for people to know that he isn't some wannabe.

Either answer his question legitimately or move on to other threads. He doesn't need your snide comments about security guards being armed.

[Contact]

Go to "Ask A Security Guard" you won't like what you hear on this police officer forum about security guards armed or not. I am at this point being nice since you obviously have no idea the can of worms you have just opened

Hey Bodie, relax! I've been here long enough that I've proven I'm not a troll...(I've been here longer than you as a matter of fact.)

I just got a different job, so what?

I didn't choose the bad reputation that security guards have, I'm just doing it because it's good money. I should have mentioned that in the next couple of weeks I will be going to a class about firearms safety, taught by a certified instructor, which is good towards my CCW.

I have had no formal training with a firearm, but it isn't as if I bought my gun yesterday. The gun was not even the issue at hand.

The issue at hand was whether or not there were classes open to the public about handcuffing, OC and ASP batons. I just don't like the fact that there is no stage between having a physical confrontation with a person, and our guns. Police don't do it, why should we have to? The people in our stores look to us for protection as if we WERE the police. I know we are not the police, hell I'm still in school.

In order to work for this company, you have to be either current or former LEO (which a lot of them are), or in college majoring in CJ ONLY, no other major.

My job is to be a theft/robbery deterrent and to make sure everyone in the store is safe. There is only one of us in the store at a time, so we're pretty much by ourselves.

I start Monday, so we'll see what kind of formal training I get, if any.

[Bodie]

What do you mean lay off ?
I was being nice but if you open the door be ready for what walks in.
It's okay you chose to be a Security Guard it really is so relax and go to work and go back to sleep.

[gotthblues]

dont know about your area, but oklahoma requires armed guards go through a shorter version of the police certification before they can carry or are licensed.

[gotthblues]

dont know why everyone is so down on security jobs, about 95% of cops i know work security jobs off duty,, so i guess they are wanna be security guards

[Contact]

What do you mean lay off ?
I was being nice but if you open the door be ready for what walks in.
It's okay you chose to be a Security Guard it really is so relax and go to work and go back to sleep.

Okey, can I park my blinky-light-having taurus next to your crown vic at the donut shop?


Reputations are a bitch, eh?

[horne80]

so relax and go to work and go back to sleep.

LMAO..

Oh I have to go pee now.

[Bodie]

Cops that work security jobs here do so with full police powers it is called special duty much the same all over the country.
They don't have to holster their gun drop their flashlight and go call the police