Security doing non-security jobs

[FireEMSPolice]

Does anyone else do things not even related to their job? I always thought Security was supposed to observe, identify, protect, and report. Seems as though my work (in-house mall security) has us doing part maintenance, part housekeeping. Its reached a surreal level that my Security Manager is resigning for this among other reasons.

Today I found out that my exterior patrol unit is now supposed to reset the fountains in the retention ponds. Sometimes when sediment collects on the fountain, it causes the fountains to "spray" lower. So now we shut it off for a minute and turn it back on. Well on the one, if you do it wrong, you can get shocked! Its already bad enough that I got an injury on the job that caused a concussion a few months back doing maintenance type work on the job.

Enough of my rant. Does anyone else have this issue?

[HotelSecurity]

I'm sure I've posted many responses to this question on this forum & in others. In short, it is my biggest complain working In-House, especially in hotels. At my smaller hotels we have a Night Auditor & a Security Officer. The Night Auditor can not leave the front dfesk where the fire alarm panels are. Security does EVERYTHING else.

[CorpSec]

Yeah, we end up doing non security stuff on the night shift. I don't mind it as long as it doesn't get ridiculous. From a management perspective it makes perfect sense for us to assume some additional duties that aren't security related really.

For example: One of our ramps is open 24 hours but between 2200 ad 0600 maybe 10-15 people leave it and most of them have contract cards. The ones that don't put money into a automatic paystation and the gate opens. Well, sometimes, the gate jams or the paystation doesn't work and we respond to assist and get the vehicle out. I can't really expect the Company to staff the ramp 24 hours a day when the person might only have 10 minutes of work all week.

Our cleaning crew goes home at 1am and doesn't work weekends. If some drunk urinates in the skyway, we clean it up. Although you can argue that mitagating a slipping hazzard is a security function.

[HotelSecurity]

Our cleaning crew goes home at 1am and doesn't work weekends. If some drunk urinates in the skyway, we clean it up. Although you can argue that mitagating a slipping hazzard is a security function.

Got to be careful with this though. My first duty is preventing loss to the hotel. Guests have been known to check out in the middle of the night because they have found their room not clean enough. this is a loss to the hotel. One might say that cleaning the room is therefore our respnsibility

[FireEMSPolice]

This just gets crazy. I dont think I will have any Security Officer reset anything or do anything that might put them in harms way.

[LPGuy]

Does anyone else do things not even related to their job?

No. I work in-house school district security. We answer only to the district security supervisor and not to school administrators. We are not expected to assume any duties unrelated to the security mission. On rare occassions, I may assist the school staff with setting up a table or pulling a ladder out of a closet, but only by my own choosing.

Today I found out that my exterior patrol unit is now supposed to reset the fountains in the retention ponds. Sometimes when sediment collects on the fountain, it causes the fountains to "spray" lower. So now we shut it off for a minute and turn it back on. Well on the one, if you do it wrong, you can get shocked! Its already bad enough that I got an injury on the job that caused a concussion a few months back doing maintenance type work on the job.

Having worked loss prevention for a mall department store in the past, I can tell you that mall security is busy enough on their exterior patrols monitoring the lot for car prowlers, muggings, teenagers screwing around, skateboarders on the sidewalks, folks soliciting and/or begging, domestic violence situations (yep, I've seen a number of them in my own parking lot), parking violations, responding as back up to the department store LP officers, and too many other things to list.

Expecting mall security to perform maintenance functions is just ridiculous.

[Chimpie]

Does anyone else do things not even related to their job? I always thought Security was supposed to observe, identify, protect, and report. Seems as though my work (in-house mall security) has us doing part maintenance, part housekeeping. Its reached a surreal level that my Security Manager is resigning for this among other reasons.

Today I found out that my exterior patrol unit is now supposed to reset the fountains in the retention ponds. Sometimes when sediment collects on the fountain, it causes the fountains to "spray" lower. So now we shut it off for a minute and turn it back on. Well on the one, if you do it wrong, you can get shocked! Its already bad enough that I got an injury on the job that caused a concussion a few months back doing maintenance type work on the job.

Enough of my rant. Does anyone else have this issue?

Is this during business hours when maintenance is on site, or after hours when maintenance has gone home?

If it's during the day then I say that it is there job to go out there and fix the situation. If it's after hours and a simple flip of a switch takes care of it, then I see no reason not to. If the switch is causing people to get shocked, then in my opinion maintenance should take a few minutes and fix the switch. Seems like a pretty simple solution to me.

Of course I would recommend that you log all maintenance tasks your department handles and bring the information up at meetings or reviews. Stuff like this will always help out your department and your officers.

<snip>... On rare occassions, I may assist the school staff with setting up a table or pulling a ladder out of a closet, but only by my own choosing. <snip> Expecting mall security to perform maintenance functions is just ridiculous.

Sometimes scratching a back will help out when you need yours scratched. I would think that a mall would have a pretty good maintenance department so I would think requests for security to do them would be very limited.

[Chimpie]

This just gets crazy. I dont think I will have any Security Officer reset anything or do anything that might put them in harms way.

So you're an observe and report type department?

[LPGuy]

Sometimes scratching a back will help out when you need yours scratched.

When I said "by my own choosing," I meant to imply that if I assist with non-security duties, it's because I chose to, not because I was ordered to. I'm always happy to assist with something small as long as it doesn't distract me from my primary job duty.

[FireEMSPolice]

So you're an observe and report type department?

What do you mean? We can not detain anyone. The only time to handcuff anyone is when there is a serious threat or assault.

Is this during business hours when maintenance is on site, or after hours when maintenance has gone home?

Yes, it is. Maintenance is there but doing their list of stuff. They typically have 1 maintenance person on in the afternoon, 2 in the morning. Our Maintenance staff consists of 4 persons. The mall is 1,580,553 square feet.

[Chimpie]

When I said "by my own choosing," I meant to imply that if I assist with non-security duties, it's because I chose to, not because I was ordered to. I'm always happy to assist with something small as long as it doesn't distract me from my primary job duty.

I knew exactly what you meant, and agree with you 100%.

[Chimpie]

Yes, it is. Maintenance is there but doing their list of stuff. They typically have 1 maintenance person on in the afternoon, 2 in the morning. Our Maintenance staff consists of 4 persons. The mall is 1,580,553 square feet.

Are they stretched pretty thin?

[FireEMSPolice]

Are they stretched pretty thin?

Since I have been there, I have never known them to keep more than 4 maintenance guys on staff. That may be maximum staffing level for them, I dont know.

[Chimpie]

I mean, are they able to keep up with maintenance requests? Are they getting too many of them? Is that the reason why they want you to flip the switch?

[Christopherstjo]

I worked for a small operation out in Colorado where the client wanted us to vaccume... Fortuntely, our boss said no.

I heard that Security at the Adams Mark hotel in Denver requires their s/o's to shine shooes and deliver newspapers - now tell me, what does that have to do with security - I just don't get it.