some interesting facts about our job

[UtahProtectionForce]

security guards/officers outnuber four times to one the number of state and local police on duty

The ratio of police to population is about one officer to 556 citizens
The ratio of Security to population is about one officer to 139 citizens

Statistics indicate that about six hundred criminals are killed each year by police officers in the United States. Some of these killings are in self-defense, some are accidental, and others are done to prevent harm to citizens. By comparison, about 135 officers are killed in the line of duty each year.


I do not know of any offical numbers of security guards/officers killed in LODD as im not aware of any offical record being in exsistance. But it seems it is at least 1-2 that make papers a week so if 52 weeks in a year we will multiply that by 3, given that 1-2 deaths may not make papers as you know we are just guards :P that would equal 156. so just a smig more than that of police officer lodd's

so in bilateral comparison we run the same risk of LODD as our fellow LEO's
i

[N. A. Corbier]

IFPO says that we have a higher on-the-job homicide rate, but its a statistic that is several years aggregate. I haven't done all the math, because I don't do statistics well, but the per year shows LE has more LODD homicides than security guards and gaming agents for 2004.

The risk is there, however, both industries can't hold a candle to some of the more dangerous jobs like logging.

[UtahProtectionForce]

true true... loggers very dangerous... i havent done any indepth search.. just have pulled some numbers from various articles on the web.

[SecTrainer]

I was at a seminar where the speaker presented a projection from, I believe, the Rand think-tank that by 2020, the security/LE ratio would be 7 to 1.

In terms of fatalities, the "most dangerous jobs list" varies depending on whether you look at all fatalities, including those from accidents, or just homicides.

Looking at all fatalities, police and security don't even rank in the top 10 (expressed as fatalities per 100,000 employed), which is occupied by fields such as logging, commercial fishing, flying, mining ("extractive industries"), construction (structural steel and roofing especially) and trucking.

The last figures I saw awhile back indicated that in terms of homicides, cab drivers led the pack, and I believe retail clerks were second (robbery-related, obviously). Police and security were, I think, 4th and 5th, and I can't remember in which order now.

Despite the fact that traffic accidents don't push the police into the top 10 list of all fatalities, the vast majority of LODD police fatalities are actually traffic-related. I haven't seen statistics for traffic-related deaths in security.

The "most dangerous jobs" also vary somewhat by region of the country, which makes sense since there are probably relatively few commercial fishermen or loggers in Oklahoma.

A few major incidents such as the rash of mining accidents we had awhile back can also skew the rankings. It will be interesting to see what the final numbers for 2006 show.

I guess the point is, you can derive different lists depending on how you crunch the numbers, but any way you slice the data, both LE and security are significantly hazardous occupations.

[SecureTN]

http://www.ifpo.org/articlebank/death_by_homicide.html

Has some interesting facts to further elaborate what Utahprotection and sectrainer mentioned.

[Guest]

Security is the cottage industry for stoners and drunks. People like me who would be cops if we hadn't done too much drugs in the past.

We are the most under appreciated profession in the civilized world. Possibly only comparable to Correctional Officers, Garbage Men, Cleaners, and things like that.

Security is expected to be a fascade; if we don't do anything and just observe we are called lazy and good for nothing, if we do something we are seen as power trips....LP is similar. Depends on who you work for.

[LPGuy]

Security is the cottage industry for stoners and drunks.

Speak for yourself.

People like me who would be cops if we hadn't done too much drugs in the past.

People "who would be cops" don't grow up doing drugs. Those people are called criminals and felons, which is the exact opposite.

[BadBoynMD]

Security is the cottage industry for stoners and drunks. People like me who would be cops if we hadn't done too much drugs in the past.

We are the most under appreciated profession in the civilized world. Possibly only comparable to Correctional Officers, Garbage Men, Cleaners, and things like that.

Security is expected to be a fascade; if we don't do anything and just observe we are called lazy and good for nothing, if we do something we are seen as power trips....LP is similar. Depends on who you work for.

In my opinion there are 3 type of security officers

1. Someone that wants to be a sworn law enforcement officer, but is completing a college degree, age requirement, in the process of applying to a department and is working security job to until the time is right.

2. Someone that enjoys community policing, but can not become sworn , because of previoous bad mistakes in life. However has proven to be a good person of morale character and can do the job with the best of them.

3. People wanting quck employment, and a check every two weeks. Couldn't become cops, or were previously employed as cops but terminated for various reasons. Also, ones that are drug abusers, wife beaters and know security is the closest thing to becoming a cop. Those that don't have the common sense.

[LPGuy]

Also, ones that are drug abusers, wife beaters and know security is the closest thing to becoming a cop. Those that don't have the common sense.

What is this based off of? Personal experiences? I myself have yet to work with drug abusers or wife beaters (as far as I know) in this industry. In all reality, I commonly find that drug abusers have a hard time holding down any kind of employment, unless it's fast food and doesn't require drug testing.

In my opinion there are 3 type of security officers

Granted, I'm sure you could find all three examples of those types of people in security work. But you're perpetuating stereotypes here. People work in security for any number of reasons, like any other job.

[Guest]

hat is this based off of? Personal experiences? I myself have yet to work with drug abusers or wife beaters (as far as I know) in this industry.

Bad Boy is right. You may have worked with drug abusers that you didn't even know of. On my first LP assignement, two LP coworkers were pot heads and they smoked after work together. Pot is so common these days, I wouldn't put it past anyone.

Granted, I'm sure you could find all three examples of those types of people in security work. But you're perpetuating stereotypes here. People work in security for any number of reasons, like any other job.

Thats true people work for different reasons. But those stereotypes are around, I've seen people who fit them.

[HospitalOfc.]

Security is the cottage industry for stoners and drunks. People like me who would be cops if we hadn't done too much drugs in the past.

We are the most under appreciated profession in the civilized world. Possibly only comparable to Correctional Officers, Garbage Men, Cleaners, and things like that.

Security is expected to be a fascade; if we don't do anything and just observe we are called lazy and good for nothing, if we do something we are seen as power trips....LP is similar. Depends on who you work for.

In my opinion there are 3 type of security officers

1. Someone that wants to be a sworn law enforcement officer, but is completing a college degree, age requirement, in the process of applying to a department and is working security job to until the time is right.

2. Someone that enjoys community policing, but can not become sworn , because of previoous bad mistakes in life. However has proven to be a good person of morale character and can do the job with the best of them.

3. People wanting quck employment, and a check every two weeks. Couldn't become cops, or were previously employed as cops but terminated for various reasons. Also, ones that are drug abusers, wife beaters and know security is the closest thing to becoming a cop. Those that don't have the common sense.

After reading these two posts I'm not sure why I'm in the Security Industry at all, I guess that because I'm not an ex-convict drug abusing wife beater and already have a college degree I should just run out and get a job as a "real" policeman and stop playing cops and robbers as a security "guard" . I'll admit that when I started out in Security it was just a job to pay the bills until I could graduate and become a cop, but by the time I received my degree I was making enough that I would have had to take a significant pay cut to move to public sector law enforcement, not to mention giving up training opportunities that no Police Department anywhere in this area would be able to provide me with.

In my humble opinion it is people like these two, who can in no way be called professionals, that are holding back all efforts to advance the level of professionalism in our industry.

[Investigation]

Security is the cottage industry for stoners and drunks. People like me who would be cops if we hadn't done too much drugs in the past.

We are the most under appreciated profession in the civilized world. Possibly only comparable to Correctional Officers, Garbage Men, Cleaners, and things like that.

Security is expected to be a fascade; if we don't do anything and just observe we are called lazy and good for nothing, if we do something we are seen as power trips....LP is similar. Depends on who you work for.

Wow, what a POS post this is. I highly doubt you work in any form of the security industry. Sure, this may have been the norm 10 - 20 years ago, but the industry (and government) have policed the industry up to the point where persons, like yourself, are filtered out. If what you say is true, then it’s just a matter of time before your company hires someone like myself to dig into your background and find out about yourself.

And, if you are not being treated with respect, then you’re working in a low grade security position. But with your alleged background that would be expected.

[BadBoynMD]

After reading these two posts I'm not sure why I'm in the Security Industry at all, I guess that because I'm not an ex-convict drug abusing wife beater and already have a college degree I should just run out and get a job as a "real" policeman and stop playing cops and robbers as a security "guard" . I'll admit that when I started out in Security it was just a job to pay the bills until I could graduate and become a cop, but by the time I received my degree I was making enough that I would have had to take a significant pay cut to move to public sector law enforcement, not to mention giving up training opportunities that no Police Department anywhere in this area would be able to provide me with.

In my humble opinion it is people like these two, who can in no way be called professionals, that are holding back all efforts to advance the level of professionalism in our industry.

Obviously you need to re-read my post.

Giving up training opportunities that no police department ANYWHERE in your area would be able to provide you with? Wow, please enlighten me and everyone else about this training that you can recieve, but the cops can't.

Those of us that have been in the industry long enough know exactly what I am saying, or atleast trying to say.

[SEO_09]

I know that Maryland has strict controls on Private Security, Similar to those in Virginia, so I do not know how you have been in the industry for a long amount of time and have not been weeded out. The perfession may not be as glamourous as what the pubilc has made Public law enforcement out to be, but there is a serious need out there for these professionals, and I for one have always held myself and other officers that I worked with to a high professional standard. I am on the pathway to becoming a sworn officer, and am paying my dues through working security and going to college, but I have never once discounted an Officer that has made a career of being a Security Officer, unless they are a discrace to the title.

[SecTrainer]

It's always disappointing to read posts from people who work in security that clearly show they don't understand the first thing about what the field truly involves, or how broad AND deep the domain of security really is.

The field of security involves science and technology, ranging from the forensic sciences, to computer and networking technologies, to simulation and modeling, to biochemistry and physical chemistry (hazmat substance detection, for instance) and physics. It involves mathematics, statistics, probability, intelligence, counterintelligence, forensic accounting and crime analysis. It involves the methods of electronic surveillance and countermeasures. It involves the social sciences, including criminology, organizational behavior, emergency and disaster management, sociology and, of course, the law - criminal, civil and administrative. It involves the methods and principles of business management, strategy and executive leadership. It is necessary in virtually every area of life - both public and private. It is simultaneously local in impact, and global in scope.

Anyone who says that security is "the cottage industry for stoners and drunks" betrays an abysmal level of ignorance about the subject that is so profound and so hopeless that it approaches a state of intellectual darkness on the order of what one would expect from a mushroom or a fart, although I'd take long odds on the fart if it ever came down to a battle of wits between them.