Articles

TASA ID: 10544

Stress and burnout are emerging as possibly the biggest threats to the security industry.  Long hours, coupled with “alert overload” along with a perceived unfavorable opinion of business value are taking a toll on the industry.  One of the reasons for this is that since security does not produce revenue it is considered a “cost center.”  Security operations may negatively affect profitability and throughout the years have been considered a “necessary expense” of doing business.  One of the ways good security was explained in the retail industry years ago was, what you don’t see on the monthly P & L (Profit and Loss Statement).  Organizations tend to “forget” about security until something “bad” happens and many times, “bad” things happen because of security employee stress and/or security employee burnout.  It doesn’t matter whether security is in-house or outsourced, burnout remains the same. Security is a profession that requires strict attention to detail and focused attention at all times.  Many times, complacency will cause those working in the industry to miss important indicators or clues that there is a security issue.  Accountability is a key factor.  It doesn’t matter whether or not security personnel have limited security experience or are seasoned veterans, accountability in the security industry remains the same. 

TASA ID: 10544

Randy A. Martens is a Certified Protection Officer (CPO).  We don’t know Randy but can tell you he has raised a serious issue, that many security and protection officers face day in and day out.  

Randy said, “One of the leading questions asked by security professionals nationwide is, “What power do I really have?” 

In all fairness, this is a legitimate question and the answer to that question is not always simplistic! 
 
Typically, a security officer is hired to do one thing: protect people, assets, and information. 

TASA ID: 10544

"Barbara Coloroso (2003), on page 13 in her book, The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander, defines bullying as:

 "a conscious, willful, and deliberate hostile activity intended to harm, induce fear through the threat of further aggression, and create terror."  

Coloroso contends that four elements characterize all bullies, no matter what sex, age or job title: 

(1) an imbalance of power, in which the bully is bigger, stronger or more favorably situated than the victim; 

(2) the bully has an intent to harm, knowing he or she will inflict emotional or physical pain, and revels in the fact;  

(3) a threat of further aggression exists, in which the bully and victim both know that this act of aggression will not be the last; and 

(4) terror persists-the extreme, continuing agitation of the victim. 

The essence of bullying, according to Coloroso, is not anger but contempt. The bully sees the bullied as not worth respect or empathy.  The bully is consummately arrogant."   

TASA ID: 1646

What should school administrators immediately begin to do to protect their school districts’ treasuries from being drained dry by negligence lawsuits? Let’s take a page out of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s "book." Mayor Bloomberg has put the New York City schools on notice by announcing his objective to ferret out and punish disruptive students in the public schools, particularly those in schools with high rates of criminal violence (in previous years thought of as normal), and hold the principals more accountable for reducing disciplinary problems within their schools. My advice is that school administrators should structure their discipline policies along Mayor Bloomberg’s "safety first" principles. 

TASA ID: 12689

This article was originally posted in the Journal of Healthcare Protection Management, Vol. 35, No. 1 - 2019.

In a 2007 article in this journal, the authors detailed how to protect staff, patients and visitors from becoming contaminated after attacks by weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or weapons of mass exposure.  Given security's central role in keeping hospitals free from contamination, here they update the advice for today's world.  They review the contaminants of concern, addressing the basics of effective training for security officers, how to handle the flow of vehicles and people, when to institute lockdowns, and how to don and remove personal protective equipment (PPEs).

To read more, download the PDF below.