5 Reasons Why Private Security Don't Receive Recognition

5 Reasons Security Officers Are Not Recognized

1.?????LACK OF EMPLOYER INVOLVEMENT:?

Time after time, when an employee is involved in a heroic event, their bravery is not recognized by the employer.

Not only do security employers not reinforce the security officer’s bravery or lifesaving measurements that saved a life, but they seldom make it a big deal.

Most often, there are no award presentations.

No luncheons or special gathering with employees and clients gathered, and no formal presentations of an award.

Employers also fail to send out press releases to the local media.

And without the employer taking these simple initial steps, there is a good likelihood that neither the media nor the public will ever know about the hero that you have as an employee.

And that’s a big different between security companies and other employers in various professions that make their employee accomplishments, “it’s a big deal”.

They’ll often notify local media when their staff has completed specialized training such as a master auto mechanic and police agencies often send out press releases when their law enforcement officers have completed a tactical training class, SRO training or an active shooter course.

The media has no method of knowing what’s happening inside your company unless you make them aware of these events.

There is nothing wrong with giving credit where credit is due.

And then there’s the other benefit for the security business. It’s great public relations. Who doesn’t love being recognized? It is also free advertising and it elevates your company above your competitors.

Since our beginning, Private Officer International has held an annual awards program where we invite companies and individuals to nominate a security officer, loss prevention agent, campus officer or private law enforcement officer.

However, each year, we receive less than one hundred nominations even after sending out press releases, and direct emails to our nation’s largest and smallest security companies.

There’s nothing wrong with tooting your own horn!

2.?????OTHERS TAKE THE CREDIT

Frequently in news reports, others receive credit. Police, firefighters, and bystanders often take the credit for saving a life or doing something that they did not do.

Sometimes they oversell themselves while underselling your contributions during the incident.

Hundreds of times each year, we read news stories that say that it was the police who arrived on a crime scene, a medical emergency, or an active shooting incident and that they, not the security officer on property, who saved the day. They made the arrest. They stopped the crime wave.

And further down in the news report there’s sometimes a word or two about a “guard” who initially did something but details are sketchy as to what they did or the role that they played.

We often research these stories, even contacting local law enforcement or others involved, only to fund that it was the security officer who had the suspect detained when police arrived, or it was the security officer who was involved in a gunbattle and stopped the shooter from injuring or killing others and not the police.

Everyone wants the credit. Everyone wants to be in the limelight and be praised. Even when they don’t deserve it. Even when they weren’t the real hero. And sometimes, people get the credit that they do not deserve.

And, as long as we let others take the credit that rightfully belongs to the private security officers, the lack of recognition will continue and the profession will continue to suffer from the negativity, the bad press and the stigma of the cop wannabes and the mall cops.

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3.?????MEDIA OVERLOOKS THEM

Because the media, like most of the public, have a preconceived opinion of who and what private security are, along with a narrow-minded view of their duties, their training and their authority, security is often overlooked.

in their minds they’re thinking “There’s no way he or she is the hero of the story. There’s no way that “guard” saved the day.”

There are more negative news stories that are told than there are positive ones.

You don’t have to look far to find the news about the security officers who are arrested daily for crimes committed while on duty or the incidents of excessive force and wrongful deaths resulting in murder charges against the security officers.

Our office continuously searches for stories telling of the good deeds and the heroics of private security but they are few and far between.

And sadly, in almost twenty year that POI has had a news staff, we seldom, receive a positive news story from a security employer.

When the employers themselves are not promoting the good that their employees are doing, why would anyone else?

4.?????MISCONCEPTIONS

There are so many misconceptions about the private security officer.

In general, the service that private security is providing worldwide is devalued, the person doing the work is sorely underappreciated and the ill-informed public, including the client, the media and even law enforcement, have no concept as to the importance of private security.

Private security, worldwide, provides one of the most important links in the overall chain of global protection.

Even the security contractors themselves, yes, your employer, have misconceptions of what the security industry has become and the importance of its service. Sadly, many security companies downplay their role, their importance, or their necessity in the protection of their community and their country.

Many are still stuck in misconceptions, misgivings and unrealistic theories about the value and extreme importance of the private security industry in today’s world.

5.?????EMPLOYEES FAIL TO SELF PROMOTE

The security industry is not known for grooming employees to be superstars or to fast track them into management programs nor to mentor those who truly want a career in this industry.

So, many employees don’t do more than they have to.

They are just to earn a paycheck for a short time and most will not “rock the boat” because they’re not expecting much from the job to begin with.

While security employers through the years have add a few incentives to entice employees to stay longer, generally, not enough has been done to show employees that they are a valued member of the team.

Security employees, often will not self-promote themselves even when they have been heroic, brave or done something to bring a positive outcome to a situation.

If their employer doesn’t care, if they won’t recognize what the employee has done, more than likely, the employee, though feeling defeated and unappreciated, will move forward doing the bare minimum requirements until they can find another job.

Employees need to self-promote and get noticed.

First, write a detailed incident report about what happened and what steps were taken by the security officer to save a life, detain a suspect or rescue someone in distress.

Send all management members a copy and save a copy for yourself.

If the employer does respond or refuses to recognize that what you did is a newsworthy event or?a reason to properly recognize what was done with an award and a news release, the employee must step up and take the lead on promoting their own heroism, or lifesaving skills that saved a person.

We must, receive the credit for all of the good that we do.

Employees can contact their local media, send them a copy of the incident report and if the media has given someone else the credit that they did not deserve, it’s up to you, to correct them and provide them with the accurate information on what really happened and who really made the difference during that incident.

Self-promotion is necessary. Validation is necessary.

With thousands of security officers being involved in heroic and lifesaving situations each year, its time, for us to shine!

Rick McCann MS CLEI Police Chief/Firefighter II-Medic

Founder-CEO

Private Officer International