New guy

[FoxGhost]

Hi there.Finnish security guard checking in.Been in the business for a year
and planning on many more in one role or another.Im working as a guard for
Falck Security, a G4S company here in Finland and so far i have enjoyed my
work.Im here mainly to see how the business is handled in other countries,
and of course misery loves company

Anyhow,thats my intro.Questions and comments welcome.

FoxGhost

[N. A. Corbier]

Welcome. I understand that G4S has another name in the US, but I can't remember it. They're huge, like Securitas. (They might BE Securitas...)

[Lawson]

Group 4 Securicour is The Wackenhut Corp in the USA.

[Mr. Security]

Hi there.Finnish security guard checking in.Been in the business for a year
and planning on many more in one role or another.Im working as a guard for
Falck Security, a G4S company here in Finland and so far i have enjoyed my
work.Im here mainly to see how the business is handled in other countries,
and of course misery loves company

Anyhow,thats my intro.Questions and comments welcome.

FoxGhost

Welcome. Please tell me that caliber of security is better in Finland than in the US. Does your government regulate the industry?

[N. A. Corbier]

Group 4 Securicour is The Wackenhut Corp in the USA.

That explains it. SIW had a story about G4S recently.

[FoxGhost]

"Welcome. Please tell me that caliber of security is better in Finland than in the US. Does your government regulate the industry?"

Hi there.We are indeed regulated by the government,ministry of interior to be exact.
We are actually regulated by a single law which regulates everything from company structure, their licensing (and the "chiefs" licensing),reporting to the government (annually), right down to logs&reports
made by the individual officer and his licensing and training.
The rights of officers are clearly stated,though in places we and the police have an understanding that gives us some leevay.Oh, and resisting a security officer in the course of his lawful duty is a felony, even passive resistance

As far as training goes, the minimum needed is a 100 hour government mandated course which contains the same stuff for everyone and it includes cuffing and stickwork along with holds in the use of force section.Also included in the course are first aid course and section about fire response and fire safety. Extra courses include the tool certification (spray,asp,firearm,all according to standards set by government and licensed instructors) and various other,specialised courses.
There is also another level of security license, that may be best translated "conservator of peace" or peacekeeper The rights that license grant are far greater (no need to have special arrangements with the police) but they also have the lawful duty of upholding the order&security in their site and its immideate surroundings.Failure to uphold their duties will result in criminal prosecution.A regular security officer protects people&property and has the rights necessary to do it succesfully,but doesnt have a legal duty to do so.Up till the 2004 law,these were mostly doormen but now they also handle malls,public transport stations and vehicles.I hold both licenses.
Security is a rapidly growing industry here.The powers that be in their infinite wisdom are cutting the police budget year by year which results in a security vacuum filled by the growing industry.All in all,interesting times to work security in finland

-FoxGhost

[Mr. Security]

Welcome. Please tell me that caliber of security is better in Finland than in the US. Does your government regulate the industry?"

.......
As far as training goes, the minimum needed is a 100 hour government mandated course......
-FoxGhost

Unarmed security in the USA generally gets 8 hours of state government mandated training for a "Guard Card." There is usually additional on-the-job training by the company you work for to help you qualify at the post(s) where you are stationed. Too bad we are so far behind from the training aspect. Some companies offer additional training for unarmed security, but often it is left up to the individual s/o to pursue it. Thanks for the reply.

[FoxGhost]

Yeah, we are big on training over here.Heck, our police academy is 2.5 years long, though they do spend a total of little over a year of that in two fto periods.
Frankly, the lack of regulation of the training you guys get scares me.But not as much as hearing about emtpy rigs and "run away" policies

FoxGhost

[N. A. Corbier]

Yeah, we are big on training over here.Heck, our police academy is 2.5 years long, though they do spend a total of little over a year of that in two fto periods.
Frankly, the lack of regulation of the training you guys get scares me.But not as much as hearing about emtpy rigs and "run away" policies

FoxGhost

This is mainly because the powers that be have a "police for all problems" mentality. If you have an issue, you are to call the police. This is because the police have immunity from liability if they're performing their duties properly. No one else has such immunity.