What would you do?

[Tennsix]

There are times when the word, included in a quotation, conveys the sense of urgency and purpose in a verbal command. Most of our field guys who have issued verbal commands will know exactly what the situation was when someone is giving verbal commands the Samuel L. Jackson way.

Part of tactical communication is knowing both when to be nice, and when to be abusive and verbally intimidate the suspect. When the suspect is trying to kill a fellow officer, the tactical communication method should convey speed, shock, and maximum violence of action upon immediate failure to comply.

I do not make it a habit to curse in the performance of my duties but there times when a few well placed curse words do serve a purpose. There are some people that do not understand the concept of civility and one has to speak in their tongue to effectively communicate.

[HotelSecurity]

Working in a suit & tie with a badge on a chain around my neck or clipped to my pocket is an advantage in a situation like this. Whenever I respond to a call for a disturbance in the bar or restaurant I remove the badge & hide the walkie-talkie. I enter & observe before I put the id back on.

In dealing with these types of calls I have another problem. I regularly get a call "Security is wanted at the bar" PERIOD! No other info. I call the Operator back & ask "what for?" I'm told "I didn't ask". This drives me nuts Am I walking into a robbery, do I need to bring a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher? I keep telling the Operators over & over that they MUST get as much information as possible when giving me this type of call but still it happens often.

[N. A. Corbier]

Working in a suit & tie with a badge on a chain around my neck or clipped to my pocket is an advantage in a situation like this. Whenever I respond to a call for a disturbance in the bar or restaurant I remove the badge & hide the walkie-talkie. I enter & observe before I put the id back on.

In dealing with these types of calls I have another problem. I regularly get a call "Security is wanted at the bar" PERIOD! No other info. I call the Operator back & ask "what for?" I'm told "I didn't ask". This drives me nuts Am I walking into a robbery, do I need to bring a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher? I keep telling the Operators over & over that they MUST get as much information as possible when giving me this type of call but still it happens often.

We had a policy on that. Find out why we're going there, or we won't respond. Period.

[1stWatch]

If you walk in on a robbery, you're going to have an issue really fast. Most people don't see anything but the uniform and badge...

...Remember you are a uniformed officer, a symbol of lawful authority before you get out. Do not lower your guard or "color condition" because you are off shift. You are, until your uniform comes off, on duty as far as the public is concerned. You a threat to the criminal and a source of protection to the public. "Any port in a storm" and all that. Keep this in mind when you go in.

My company had a rule that extended "performance of duties" to convinence stores during or directly after our shift. If we were in a company vehicle, we were to remain armed at all times. Florida's 493 stated you had to disarm if "not in performance of duties" or not on "the client's site." Well, your performance of duties was driving that vehicle.

Also, if your wearing an empty holster and walk into a robbery, all the bad guy is going to take note of is gun, badge, shoot!

This is precisely why I object to mandatory removal of weapons before entering such a facility. Texas has a law that states we may only be armed while at our "place of assignment" or while travelling directly to or from the place of assignment or while conducting duties as a security officer. Unfortunately, the interpretation of that law has been applied such that "place of assignment" is only at places where a contractual agreement to provide service is in place and "conducting duties" only applies if an incident such as the one you described is actually in progress. Walk in with an empty holster while an armed robbery is in progress and you're most likely going to get shot or get someone else shot. Walk in with the gun on when a robbery isn't in progress and you risk getting locked up for a felony.

[1stWatch]

Following someone in a company vehicle is basically a low-speed pursuit. The only time I suggest this is if something really bad has happened (such as a murder or forcible felony you personally observed or have probable cause to believe the actor is the person you're following) and you are the only person who knows where the suspect is. You have 911 on the speakerphone or your dispatcher does, and you're calling it out on the air or to 911 as a pursuit...

...The second you follow someone in a marked company vehicle, or even an unmarked, you just became a pursuing officer attempting to make an arrest. You have to be extremely careful - all the liability concerns of a police pursuit apply to you! If the suspect drives crazy, and all you're doing is following him, they still might consider it a "pursuit" and try to go after you civilly.

Those rules basically apply to my area as well; however, there have been problems with it. Some departments here would laud action such as what you described as excellent work and perfectly legal. Others, such as that of the big fat ugly D, would take such action as impersonation of police and you would be locked up if it involved flashing lights and siren or air horn equipment. They're really sensitive about that stuff and get their noses bent about it easily. We've also had problems with their 911 ordering our people to stop following, which is for prevention of civil liability on the part of the city, but it makes it easier for the bad guy to sue you just for following him since 911 told you otherwise.

[1stWatch]

...In dealing with these types of calls I have another problem. I regularly get a call "Security is wanted at the bar" PERIOD! No other info. I call the Operator back & ask "what for?" I'm told "I didn't ask"...

We have a group of inexperienced security dispatchers like that. We get a call that sounds something like "the resident at apt 101 wants to speak to you" with no subject matter or details of the call. We show up and find out somebody's in the apartment smashing it up. Thanks for asking the caller what he needed us for, dillweed. I really wish they'd just eliminate that dept of the company and have the incoming calls forwarded to the supervisor's phone.

[N. A. Corbier]

We have a group of inexperienced security dispatchers like that. We get a call that sounds something like "the resident at apt 101 wants to speak to you" with no subject matter or details of the call. We show up and find out somebody's in the apartment smashing it up. Thanks for asking the caller what he needed us for, dillweed. I really wish they'd just eliminate that dept of the company and have the incoming calls forwarded to the supervisor's phone.

If you're going to have dispatchers, they should be trained to some standard. Doesn't have to be a police standard, but clear expectations and training should be given.

[1stWatch]

If you're going to have dispatchers, they should be trained to some standard. Doesn't have to be a police standard, but clear expectations and training should be given.

Unfortunately the director of patrol isn't in charge of dispatch or they would have taken remedial training in that regard by now. However, since the powers that be are in the positions they are in... (dysfunction syndrome)
They're not a complete waste since they do facilitate effective enough communication between alarm clients and respective p.d.'s to give a reasonable satisfaction to those clients and they do dispatch applicable calls to guards or patrol officers swiftly.

At least they are not given actual authority by the company to override a supervisor's orders or even take people off the clock like they were at another company I worked for that was much more severely dysfunctional. This group of people actually tries and normally has a good attitude about doing the job, which is more than I can say for others I've had the experience of working with.

Then again, that's just 5 cents of mine. I don't have any control over what those people do since I'm just a peon.

[HotelSecurity]

In my case it's the hotel switchboard Operator that dispatches us. It's a 500 room hotel with place for 2 Operators. There is one during the day shift & one on the afternoon shift. Overnight the calls are transfered to the one Night Auditor who works as Auditor/Front Desk Clerk/Operator/Night Manager!

[1stWatch]

In my case it's the hotel switchboard Operator that dispatches us. It's a 500 room hotel with place for 2 Operators. There is one during the day shift & one on the afternoon shift. Overnight the calls are transfered to the one Night Auditor who works as Auditor/Front Desk Clerk/Operator/Night Manager!

It's no wonder you get insufficient information about calls since non-security personnel answer the phones and give what they have to you. It would be nice to have a separate line for security that is answered by one of your staff instead.

[Bill Warnock]

I only sit in the corners with my back against the wall. It drives my girlfriend nuts. I showed this to her, and she's like, "Oh, good, other people are driven nuts too."

Nathan, my wife thinks that after a number in "retirement" I could act like the rest of the human race and sit where you want to. I have to remind her that there are certain people who do not take kindly to have been sent to prison based on what you did.
It took years to hone those skills and a sufficient number of near misses to keep them fresh in my mind. LEO or SO, some folks place great stock in the old saying, "Revenge is a dish best served cold."
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[Mr. Security]

I do not make it a habit to curse in the performance of my duties but there times when a few well placed curse words do serve a purpose. There are some people that do not understand the concept of civility and one has to speak in their tongue to effectively communicate.

Perhaps. However, I don't think civility is a problem here on this forum and I'd like to keep it that way.

[Mr. Security]

We had a policy on that. Find out why we're going there, or we won't respond. Period.

I agree. When I first started in dispatch, I quickly learned that officers want as much information as possible about the call they are responding to. That included checking in-house for any prior contact that LE might have had with the parties involved.

If a dispatcher failed to warn the officers, you can bet that their next stop was back at HQ to kick your rear end for risking theirs.

[Mr. Security]

Nathan, my wife thinks that after a number in "retirement" I could act like the rest of the human race and sit where you want to. I have to remind her that there are certain people who do not take kindly to have been sent to prison based on what you did.....

You can say that again! I just finished reading about two separate ambushes on the police at ODMP. Be safe and watch your back.

[HotelSecurity]

It's no wonder you get insufficient information about calls since non-security personnel answer the phones and give what they have to you. It would be nice to have a separate line for security that is answered by one of your staff instead.

I AM the Security staff