Practical Guidelines For Security Officers

There is a marked difference between persons performing the duties historically associated with watchmen and persons who take a more active role in protecting persons and property. The former, often called “guards,” were taught the mantra “observe and report,”. Their greatest adversary was a burglar hoping to pick a lock. They were minimally trained, and not expected to deal with the public. Those days are long gone. The latter are often highly trained and are more likely to interact with the general public. These employees tend to take pride in the title “Security Officers” and disdain the label of “guards.”

However, there are now more positions in the security role that separate not just the titles, but the job itself. The roles have progressed and so are the areas for which security personnel are needed.

Our contemporary age is associated with insecurity as a result of our social and economic structures, population growth, bad governance, poor education, high cost of living, low income, unemployment etc. Since the end of civil war in 1970 and the oil boom that transformed the Nigerian economy and society soon thereafter, the incidence of crime has been a pronounced feature of the Nigerian society.

Over the years, Nigerian societies have sought to combat crime through various approaches. As a panacea to insecurity, laws were made and enforced by constituted authority e.g. Police, State Security Service, and other security agencies. But this state of insecurity and inadequate government security forces (GSFs) has led individuals, corporate organizations to reconsider taking private security to safeguard their lives and properties against trespasses and deprivation. Even though some employ the use of electronic gadgets and all forms of barriers without the involvement of adequate trained and motivated security personnel, they all count for nothing. But when they are introduced as part of package of measures, it can be particularly effective.

As part of the physical security layers, the role of a security officer cannot be over emphasized especially in deterrence, detection, and response. One of the principles of security is the equation Tp > Td + Tr. Where T = time, P = penetration, and R = response. This principle relates to the interaction between physical, electronic and human elements and implies that the time taken to break through a physical barrier, such as fence/wall and other security measures put in place, should be greater than the time it takes to detect, signal and react to penetrations. A trained security officer can perform the three functions of barrier, detection and response simultaneously.
Security personnel are essentially private citizens, and therefore are bound by the same laws and regulations as the citizenry they are contracted to serve, and therefore are not allowed to represent themselves as law enforcement agents.