My Badge Is Junk!!

[nightguard]

to those with custom badges, or high end ones, i salute u! mine is junk!! the company i work for issues us these cheap generic badges. they are heavy, made by pemier, and the plating wears off quick. i just found out the other week if we lose it, it costs us $35!! $35 for a cheap, generic badge?? come on!!! i brought mine to work with me today to clean it, and i noticed that there is brass showing thru where i rubbed it with a warm, damp cloth!! common, cheap, generic. at least they decided to do away with the state seal!!!

[FireEMSPolice]

We get ones that are custom with our company name for uniforms and then I issue generic "SECURITY OFFICER" ones for jackets.

[mjw064]

.........................

[Charlie Fox]

Our Officers are offered the opportunity to purchase custom badges after they receive positive 30/60/90 day reviews. Otherwise we issue the generic ones - with the turn-over and uncertainty of uniform return it's the best way to go.

[nightguard]

my company just tosses us these cheap ones, say that to many people lose them. but, they are gonna spring for new LED mags soon, cant wait for that!! i still cant get over the chrome wearing off though...i must have gotten a badge from a bad batch or something!! mjw064...u have a nice badge!!!

[Security]

Our department used to use those cheap "security enforcement officer" badges found pretty much everywhere. I just got rid of badges in general though after becoming manager because I didn't see any need for security to wear them. I have since started ordering photo ID tags for my guards, instead, because 1.) they are not as cheap looking, 2.) they are a lot less wannabe looking and 3.) I like the fact that my guards can have their pictures on them, where a generic or even custom badge cannot.

[Charlie Fox]

Our department used to use those cheap "security enforcement officer" badges found pretty much everywhere. I just got rid of badges in general though after becoming manager because I didn't see any need for security to wear them. I have since started ordering photo ID tags for my guards, instead, because 1.) they are not as cheap looking, 2.) they are a lot less wannabe looking and 3.) I like the fact that my guards can have their pictures on them, where a generic or even custom badge cannot.

Not a bad idea. We are constantly having the "You can't carry your badge off duty" talk with new officers! Another company I used to work for used only emroidered badges and did not allow metal ones. I'd implement something like this, but the boss likes metal badges, so....

[Security]

Not a bad idea. We are constantly having the "You can't carry your badge off duty" talk with new officers! Another company I used to work for used only emroidered badges and did not allow metal ones. I'd implement something like this, but the boss likes metal badges, so....

I actually like the embroidered badges and have considered getting them for the polos our guards wear in the summer time. The nice thing about them is that they are inexpensive and you don't have to worry about losing them! I also think they look very professional.

[N. A. Corbier]

Our department used to use those cheap "security enforcement officer" badges found pretty much everywhere. I just got rid of badges in general though after becoming manager because I didn't see any need for security to wear them. I have since started ordering photo ID tags for my guards, instead, because 1.) they are not as cheap looking, 2.) they are a lot less wannabe looking and 3.) I like the fact that my guards can have their pictures on them, where a generic or even custom badge cannot.

You have this strange fascination with the "police uniform," as reflected in your previous posts, and how anyone but a police officer wearing said uniform and related insignia is a "wannabe cop."

In your previous posts, you have suggested that a night shift wear plain clothes (completely defeating the purpose of the client paying for a visible deterrence) because of break-ins on your site.

Unless you have prior management experience in a contract security firm, you have approximately five months, possibly seven, of experience working at the mall. Four or so months at some supervisory capacity. You have an MBA degree.

When you first started posting, you called yourself a security officer. Now, you refer to your site personnel as "guards." Why haven't you removed their uniforms entirely and put them in suits?

[N. A. Corbier]

We are issued 3 metal custom badges (shirt, outer garment, credential folder), 1 cap plate and embroidered badges on tactical uniforms and 5.11 coats.

Are DC Protective Service Police Officers city commissioned Special Police Officers, or are they federal law enforcement officers under USC?

[Black Caesar]

We are issued 3 metal custom badges (shirt, outer garment, credential folder), 1 cap plate and embroidered badges on tactical uniforms and 5.11 coats.

I like. Very nice design..

My Department only issues the one Shirt badge plus a flat wallet badge and a cap badge (and nowadays new guys only get the cap badge that the Lt. is hoarding before a special event like a funeral or something). We use embroidered cloth badges of the same design on our coats and jackets now.

Don't have any pictures of the current design, but it based of of this older design (this badge from our sister campus Eastfield, each campus' name is printed on the 2nd from the top plate):


The differences are that "DCCCD" is on the bottom plate where the badge number used to be, we don't have printed badge numbers on the badges anymore. The top plate (where "DCCCD" is on this older badge) now has the officer's rank (officer, Corporal, Sgt, Lt, ect ect). Ofc. and Corporal/Det badges are silver, Sgt and up are gold.

[Security]

You have this strange fascination with the "police uniform," as reflected in your previous posts, and how anyone but a police officer wearing said uniform and related insignia is a "wannabe cop."

In your previous posts, you have suggested that a night shift wear plain clothes (completely defeating the purpose of the client paying for a visible deterrence) because of break-ins on your site.

Unless you have prior management experience in a contract security firm, you have approximately five months, possibly seven, of experience working at the mall. Four or so months at some supervisory capacity. You have an MBA degree.

When you first started posting, you called yourself a security officer. Now, you refer to your site personnel as "guards." Why haven't you removed their uniforms entirely and put them in suits?

Interesting observation there... I have always refered to myself as a guard, even when I once was one. I used the term S/O because that seemed to be the more popular title here. I don't see one being any better than the other. It is just that guard rolls off the tounge easier, so that is what I usually say. I see it as being no different than saying "cop" instead of Police Officer.

You might say that I am interested in distinguishing security uniforms from the ones police wear. But it is not because I think Security Officers are any less important as a profession, or whatever else you might have been alluding to there. It is simply a matter of personal preference. I am tired of people referring to us as "rent-a-cops" and I want to get away from the whole yesterday's police uniform look. I want my department to look as professional as possible so that when people see us, they don't think, "Oh, here comes the rental cop doing his tours" (which I have heard countless times here already.) I want people to see as the hard-working professionals that we are and not a group of slackers who can't hold a real job. The police uniforms just give people (at least the ones I've been unfortunate enough to deal with) a bad image of who we really are.

And that leads me to my final point. Please know that when I use the word "wannabe," it is because this is what people usually think when they see us (us meaning my department.) Maybe you do have a point, though, and that is that I shouldn't care so much what others think. But until my guards/security officers get the kind of respect they rightfully deserve, I want to dress them up as the type of professionals that right now only I see them as. It is my hope that once people stop perceiving us as wannabe cops (hence my reason for eliminating the metal badges,) only then will we be taken a little more seriously.

[jeff194307]

I agree that the currently used "police" style uniforms are continuing to make us look like wannabes. Another thing that is demeaning is the trend of clients to require patrols using things such as golf carts or three wheel electric carts. If I had the influence, I would suggest going to a blazer coat with small company logo. As to patrol vehicles, why not allow the officer to use his private auto?? In the case of industrial sites, use something more practical than those three wheel carts. We realy need to get away from the rent-a-cop image if we are going to advance our public image.

[Black Caesar]

Interesting observation there... I have always refered to myself as a guard, even when I once was one. I used the term S/O because that seemed to be the more popular title here. I don't see one being any better than the other. It is just that guard rolls off the tounge easier, so that is what I usually say. I see it as being no different than saying "cop" instead of Police Officer.

You might say that I am interested in distinguishing security uniforms from the ones police wear. But it is not because I think Security Officers are any less important as a profession, or whatever else you might have been alluding to there. It is simply a matter of personal preference. I am tired of people referring to us as "rent-a-cops" and I want to get away from the whole yesterday's police uniform look. I want my department to look as professional as possible so that when people see us, they don't think, "Oh, here comes the rental cop doing his tours" (which I have heard countless times here already.) I want people to see as the hard-working professionals that we are and not a group of slackers who can't hold a real job. The police uniforms just give people (at least the ones I've been unfortunate enough to deal with) a bad image of who we really are.

And that leads me to my final point. Please know that when I use the word "wannabe," it is because this is what people usually think when they see us (us meaning my department.) Maybe you do have a point, though, and that is that I shouldn't care so much what others think. But until my guards/security officers get the kind of respect they rightfully deserve, I want to dress them up as the type of professionals that right now only I see them as. It is my hope that once people stop perceiving us as wannabe cops (hence my reason for eliminating the metal badges,) only then will we be taken a little more seriously.

I think that's an excellent (and utterly realistic) attitude, something you don't always get from people in charge. I feel ya (lol) on the whole police uniform thing, when I was a kid 1st getting into private security I couldn't wait to get in to a "cop style" hard uniform. My opinion now is that when , years from now, I do get back into the private side, I'll be damned if I ever don a hard uniform again, it'll be slacks and blazers for me dang it! .


Just one note, about the part of your post I highlighted. If you're the guy in charge you damn well better care about what "others" think. I've seen far too many private security managers/owners (like the one who promoted me to the exalted rank of Sergeant Major of Security LOL) and many police administrators who don't understand that the image your organization projects is incredibly important.

[mjw064]

....................