Security "heros"

[HotelSecurity]

On another thread someone mentioned "firemen setting fires". This reminded me of something you hear of often in our business & something I dealt with 2 or 3 years ago.

I had a very egar young Officer. Working only 1 per shift & only having overnight shifts at 2 of the 3 hotels there was no full time position for him. I sent him to work at one of the hotels for 2 weeks to replace the guy on holidays. He did a good job & was really happy to have full time work for the 2 weeks. On his last night he "discovered" & put out 2 fires in the public washrooms. It's an hotel out by the airport occupied by businessmen. It's in the industrial park. No one walks in a 4 in the morning. I didn't have video susrveillance of the washrooms but I did of the public stairway down to them. No one went down before the fires. After he put them out he called the fire department & me. I ordered him to do extra patrols to prevent further fires. I observed him via the cameras & saw him spending the rest of the night sitting in the lobby. (No need to go look for the suspect when you are the suspect!). I couldn't prove he set the fires to make himself a hero to keep the job so I fired him for sitting in the lobby when he had been ordered to do extra patrols.

Like I mentioned at the begining, you hear of this often. Has anyone else had to deal with this?

[Guest]

About 6 years ago I was working as a patrol supervisor for a contract guard company in Riverside, CA. We had a young 18-year-old kid come work for us as an unarmed guard and he was assigned to a low-income apartment complex.

This guard was your typical wanna be cop. He was an explorer with the county sheriff's department until he got kicked out for impersonating a police officer. He was arrested on that charge, but was able to plea bargain down to Disturbing the Peace and was sentenced to one year probation. The details of that situation are beyond the scope of this discussion.

In one night he "discovered" and put out three separate trash fires in the same trash dumpster. We suspected that this guard set them because he so desperately wanted to be a "hero" but we could not prove it. The guard was let go at the end of his 90-day probation period. The company went out of business about one year later.

On the same subject, the fire that burned down about half of Universal Studios Hollywood's back lot back in the early 1990's (I think it was in 1991) was set by a security guard who worked for Burns International, who had the Universal Studios account back then. The guard later admitted he set the fire because he wanted to be a hero and because the guard felt he was not getting enough attention from his supervisor. The guard intended only to set a small fire and then put it out, but high winds caused the fire to quickly get out of control.

Unfortunately, this line of work attracts more than our fair share of people like this. Mandatory psychological screening may or may not weed these disturbed applicants out.

[N. A. Corbier]

It does seem to weed the crazed firefighters out. Sometimes. I think specific psychological screening based on specific criteria is better than a blanket test.

MMPI2 makes one for LE. One for clergy. One for teachers. One for nurses. Someone should make one for security.

[aka Bull]

It does seem to weed the crazed firefighters out. Sometimes. I think specific psychological screening based on specific criteria is better than a blanket test.

MMPI2 makes one for LE. One for clergy. One for teachers. One for nurses. Someone should make one for security.

To work for our in-house department you have to go through psych screening. Basically a 500+ question MMPI and interview with the psychiatrist, who then reports on your fitness for employment as an officer. In the recent past I know of 4 - 5 that were not considered further based on their psych testing.

The problem I see with security companies requiring psych testing is that their pool of acceptable prospective employees will shrink even more and I seriously doubt they want to accept the liability for having the knowledge of a potentially unstable officer in their employ when they accept marginal (or worse) candidates anyway.

[Jackhole]

MMPI2 makes one for LE. One for clergy. One for teachers. One for nurses. Someone should make one for security.

They do, I took one for my job.

[dla4122]

Why strive to be a Hero?

You are a Hero if you go home at the end of your shift and no one was robbed, raped, beat, killed while on your watch.
Just do your job, and that makes you a hero. If you go home the way you came to work, Upright and walking on your own accord, you are a hero.

[GCMC Security]

You are a Hero if you go home at the end of your shift and no one was robbed, raped, beat, killed while on your watch.
Just do your job, and that makes you a hero. If you go home the way you came to work, Upright and walking on your own accord, you are a hero.

Amen.......

[Bill Warnock]

You are a Hero if you go home at the end of your shift and no one was robbed, raped, beat, killed while on your watch.
Just do your job, and that makes you a hero. If you go home the way you came to work, Upright and walking on your own accord, you are a hero.

Don:
That is sage advice. If you are all that you can be, fullfill the needs of the mission and then some go home alive without injury you are a true hero to all those who care about you.
It is when you don't live up to your own expectations, slack off, there are those haunting visits to hospital, morgue, funeral home and/or cemetery you are not the hero. If you, because of your own fault, cause the death or injury of others, especially your fellows, you are a slimy person. If you are killed in the line of duty doing, you are a hero to all human kind, gone but not forgotten.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[1stWatch]

On the same subject, the fire that burned down about half of Universal Studios Hollywood's back lot back in the early 1990's (I think it was in 1991) was set by a security guard who worked for Burns International, who had the Universal Studios account back then...

Wow, a fire set by somebody who worked for a company named "Burns". What irony!

[IB107]

Wow, a fire set by somebody who worked for a company named "Burns". What irony!

lol.. that made me chuckle.... he he

[ACP01]

I think you have the "Hero" types in about all professions...
The nurse that "comes in just as the Pt goes into cardiac arrest",
the FF or security that "finds the fires",
the PD that harrasses (Speling),
etc.

Oddly enough the pysch profiles of FFs are a lot like that of serial arsonist,
PDs are very similar to habitual criminals.

All strange but true

[N. A. Corbier]

Indeed. Especially with firefighters. Those that stay in... They want to fight the fire. Its a sentient, living entity, to them. And they will win against it. Because the fire wants to kill them all.

In some, its sorta quazi-religious, too. Sorta like the old Navy joke, "Hail Posideon!"

[CAP]

Heros that find someone on site just after you finished clearing the area and walk around the corner back to your car.

FOOT PURSUIT!! FOOT PURSUIT!! WHITE MALE-RUNNING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF BUILDING 10!!!

Get over there and find them huffing and puffing-"OH MAN, HE RAN IN TO THAT WOODED AREA!!! I ALMOST HAD HIM!!!"
"Oh man, really? Well, sucks for you, he got away and you just violated the Company's no pursuit policy."

[copelandamuffy]

About 6 years ago I was working as a patrol supervisor for a contract guard company in Riverside, CA. We had a young 18-year-old kid come work for us as an unarmed guard and he was assigned to a low-income apartment complex.

This guard was your typical wanna be cop. He was an explorer with the county sheriff's department until he got kicked out for impersonating a police officer. He was arrested on that charge, but was able to plea bargain down to Disturbing the Peace and was sentenced to one year probation. The details of that situation are beyond the scope of this discussion.

In one night he "discovered" and put out three separate trash fires in the same trash dumpster. We suspected that this guard set them because he so desperately wanted to be a "hero" but we could not prove it. The guard was let go at the end of his 90-day probation period. The company went out of business about one year later.

.

What fool at the Contract Security Guard company hires a 18 year old kid to work at low income apartment complex? The person in H/R along with the kids should have been fired. And did anyone at H/R speak with the sheriff's department, or do a background check?

[Nauticus]

You are a Hero if you go home at the end of your shift and no one was robbed, raped, beat, killed while on your watch.
Just do your job, and that makes you a hero. If you go home the way you came to work, Upright and walking on your own accord, you are a hero.

Personally, I disagree. If nothing happens to anyone, you did your job and that's the extent of it. Like any other job, if you just do what you're there for, you did your job.

If you go out and do something particularly special - stop a rape or an assault, make an arrest, whatever - then you're a hero.

The term "hero" is too easily used. The status quo, in my opinion, doesn't make you a hero. On the other hand, starting a fire and putting it out again doesn't either.