These days security guards are all around us. We see them everywhere from residential buildings to office entrances, from shopping malls to business and large-scale outdoor events. We rely on their security skills to ensure our daily comfort and peace of mind but what other skills should they have to fully meet the day-to-day challenges of their profession? Noel Dancy, FSG Health and Safety Manager, takes us to an imaginative shopping trip in Dubai to find out the answers.
Modern security operations frequently interact with the public and consequently the security officer of today has a much higher public profile than his predecessor.
Gone are the days of the “guard”, the inaccessible, secretive individual responsible only for security issues. The modern security officer is more often the uniformed, clearly identifiable face of an efficient team responsible not only for the public’s security but also for its safety. In high-risk areas the security element may be a priority, but for everyday operations on public areas it is often the safety skills that are more frequently needed and used by the operational security personnel.
Members of the public are aware that uniformed personnel operating at public venues are there primarily for security reasons such as access control and protection against theft, violence or terrorist attacks. They count both on the physical presence of the guards and on the security equipment deployed to safeguard them against threats. For that very reason people do not need to worry over security issues and what is more certain to cause concerns is a personal incident or discomfort that might occur. The problem may be as simple as needing directions, or as complex as a serious injury. Whatever the incident, uniformed staff at public places are often seen as the immediate answer to a problem and the first people to refer to for help when something does go wrong. The public has high expectations which can be met only by multi-skilled personnel able to respond adequately to any case of emergency or incident. |