NASCO and State Security Laws

[N. A. Corbier]

I have been told that a majority of our state security laws, especially the ones like Florida's which are designed to prohibit security from taking certain liability-high actions such as using force, were lobbied quietly by the National Association of Security COmpanies.

Anyone know anything about this organization, other than what their website says? It seems to be a "who's who" of warm body multi-nationals.

[SecTrainer]

Surprised you haven't heard of them...they've been around since at least the early 1980s, I believe. In any case, I'd be cautious about believing some of rumors that fly around from time to time about their legislative activities, which are quite widely varied and include both business issues generally as well as security-related issues, homeland security, etc.

While I'm not saying we'd all necessarily agree with every one of NASCO's positions (and I doubt all their members necessarily do, either), it's pretty hard to argue with many of them, such as this one, for instance:

“Private security officers are the true first responders..." (how often have I said this!)..."...and the backbone of our nation’s security. They protect 85 percent of our country’s critical infrastructure,” said Joseph Ricci, NASCO’s executive director. “We strongly
support higher standards for security officers, including screening, training, licensing and wages , and we will be a strong voice for the security industry as we advocate for change.”

NASCO is working very hard at this time to address the problem of the 10 states that do not regulate security officers/agencies, for instance, and I certainly applaud that!

One good way to learn about NASCO is to take a close look at it's publication, Security Executive, where you can find various references to member companies (certainly not just "warm-body multinationals"), makeup of their executive board (not just reps from the "biggies"), the legislation they do or do not support, etc. Here's a link to the last issue:
Security Executive

[hrdickinson]

Was it not originally named CONSCO? If so, it might even date back into the late 70's

[SecTrainer]

Was it not originally named CONSCO? If so, it might even date back into the late 70's

Yes, I believe so.