4 days ago
Security guarding is not an easy occupation, particularly when operating in shopping centres. As was shown in the following incident at a Victorian Shopping Centre:
Bendigo Marketplace locked down as teens allegedly brawl with security guard – ABC News
After working closely with retailers & in shopping centres for ten years in Workforce Resilience, & 26 years as a Queensland Police Service officer, I can genuinely say that my job as a police officer was often much easier than the job of a security guard, or for that matter, any customer facing role that could be confronted by aggressive or violent people.
Quite simply, a police officer is:
☑️ Provided with a lot of training (including significant training before hitting the streets),
☑️ Has so many use of force options (the best one being communication skills),
☑️ Often work in pairs for safety.
☑️ Can call for back up, & best of all,
☑️ Has the power of arrest to use to end an incident or confrontation.
In contrast, a security guard:
✖️ Receives very little training before starting,
✖️ Is provided very basic training by employers (usually eLearning),
✖️ Has no powers above what every tenant and customer has in the shopping centre,
✖️ Receives very little pay considering the risk, ✖️ Has no tools (other than communication), & often aren’t set up to be great communicators, &
✖️ Is expected to be able to resolve every situation occurring in the workplace (often by themselves).
Quite frankly, being a security guard in todays challenging environment is not a job I would be willing to do.
It is great that the Queensland Government & SA Government have committed considerable funding to provide police deployments permanently into our shopping centres & retail precincts. But this must be done in conjunction with a revised best practice approach to delivering effective & safe professional security guard services in these precincts.
Appropriate investment in security for crowded places is a non-negotiable. This is an important conversation that needs to be continued at all levels of government.