It is an unfortunate truth that incidents of armed assault and mass shootings are accelerating in the United States today. To that point, the FBI conducted a study in 2013 and examined all active shooter incidents that took place between the years 2000 and 2013. What they found was that 160 active shooter incidents were easily identified, and between 2000 and 2007, an average of 6.4 incidents look place, and between 2008 and 2013, an average of 16.7 incidents took place. Amid increasing talks about possible counter-measures, varying from increased security solutions to studying the psychology of shooters to prevent incidents, smaller businesses can take matters into their own hands and invest in an armed guard, or even a squad of them, to watch over the company’s premises and prevent a case of armed assault or workplace theft. Security services and a uniformed guard could act as a major deterrent against assaults. How can this be done?
Security Today
The industry of keeping buildings and companies secure is already well-established, and it may very well grow in the future. Smart buildings, or buildings whose various functions are administer by a central computer, are proving desirable from coast to coast, and this can include securing doors against intruders and using surveillance cameras, as well as automatic systems that notify local law enforcement about an incident taking place. The Security Industry Association believes that the market for these smart buildings will rise from $8.5 billion in 2016 to a total of $58 billion by 2023, with a 31.5% growth rate in that time frame. Similarly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has stated that 1.1 million Americans are working as security guards today, but some estimates suggest that the number is closer to 2.9 million, which is in fact more teachers or police officers working today. Finally, the Department of Homeland Security has offered a four-step approach for business to protect their employees from violent incidents: Connect, Plan, Train, and Support. Implementing these steps with the right equipment and an armed guard can make for safer premises overall, and prevent the tragic loss of life to a mass shooter or armed guard.
Hiring an Armed Guard
Security companies exist to lend their services to smaller businesses who want safer premises from violent criminals, and there are some strategies and tips that these companies can keep in mind when they are looking for a place to hire an armed guard, or several of them, according to Small Biz Trends. For one thing, a company looking to hire an armed guard may be better off approaching a security firm that is small and local, rather than a national chain. This is because a smaller security company may pay better attention to a local client and its needs, while a larger company has many different clients to juggle and often uses call centers to answer questions or complaints, an impersonal touch that small clients may not like.
Another simple step to take when hiring a security guard is to make sure that a contacted security firm places its first priority on customer service, an any that does not should probably not be hired. What is more, a good security firm is only a security firm, rather than an unrelated business that does security on the side. Even better, a security firm that specializes in protecting particular types of businesses can offer higher quality services, such as protecting a warehouse or a department store. Another factor to consider is to learn the company’s reputation with its former clients and business partners, and the Internet is a major route for finding this information. Even social media can help, along with specialized websites like Yelp or LinkedIn, along with standard customer reviews to get an idea of how well, or badly, a security agency performs and what it does and does not offer for clients. This creates much-needed context for a business looking to hire a security guard.
Finally, it will be important to make sure that a security firm is licensed and insured, and that the security professionals there will be a well-trained armed guard who can handle an emergency situation, and certainly routine jobs.
