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What is the connection between security guards and other types of security?
Home » Home Security » Security Guards » What is the connection between security guards and other types of security?Security guards are generally not lone rangers. Even if they are the only security guard on duty (which is rare), they still play a part in the employer’s larger security framework and participate with the police as part of society’s overall security.
Security guards should be aware of, and understand, the overall security plan of an employer. If the employer utilizes closed-circuit television (CCTV), the security guard should know how to monitor this system, including how to recognize and correct errors and how to switch between cameras. If the employer utilizes alarms, the security guard should know what sets off the alarm, how to recognize false alarms, and how to respond in the event of an actual alarm.
Security guards are not police, because they are hired by a private employer rather than the government, but they still have some police-like powers. Security guards act as an agent of the employer rather than the state. Thus, they can make demands and impose prohibitions on individuals (in some ways, even more so then can the police); they can even make arrests, if necessary. On the other hand, security companies, unlike the police, can be sued directly, and they do not operate with the backing of the police.
Though they do not have the official backing of the police, and they cannot present themselves as police officers, security guards regularly interact with the police. Security guards notify the police of illegal activity and detain suspicious individuals until the police arrive. In addition, because they are often witnesses to a crime, security guards regularly testify in court as well.
Finally, since September 11, 2001, security guards often serve as an unofficial anti-terrorist element. To this end, security guards ideally would be trained in recognizing, and responding to, potential terrorist activity.
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