7 Important Tips for Hiring Professional Security Guards
If you’ve read the newspapers lately, you may have noticed that Texas crime rates have inched up slightly in recent years. This may be a result of the narrowing ratio of police to residents.
According to the FBI, there were two officers for every one thousand Texas residents in 2016. Unfortunately, this number has now decreased to 1.5 officers for every 1,000 residents. This literally means that Texans are not as protected by the police as they once were.
As the owner of a home or business, you may be looking for other options to ensure that your property and assets are safe. Maybe you are considering hiring a professional security guard agency? Well, it’s a good idea, to begin with. After all, you cannot compromise your home and business safety.
Hiring the services of a security guard agency can become a challenging undertaking, especially if you are doing it for the first time. We have outlined 10 important tips to help you find the best ranger security guards for your home or business.
Ranger Security Guards are Trained and Qualified
First and foremost, you need to make sure that the security guards are well trained and qualified to do the job. The guards need to fulfill the basic criteria of being civilian officers.
As far as the training of security guards is concerned, they are trained to perform different security roles. For instance, if the guards are guarding a bank or another high-alert place, they will need to be properly armed and trained to properly operate the weapons they carry.
The same is true for event security. Large gatherings can at times pose a security threat and armed guards are necessary for the protection of those at the event.
Experience is Key for Security Guards Yes, it’s true that educational qualification and licensing matter. But even more important to safety is a security guard’s experience.
In fact, a well-rounded security officer should be at the top of your list in hiring a security guard.
You can look to hire a professional guard who has been trained in criminal justice and law enforcement, as well as investigations. The guard may have multiple licenses and a weapons certification.
However, a person who has not used weapons in real-life situations will find it difficult to handle high-risk incidents and those without practical experience may miss important clues that would alert a seasoned officer to a dangerous risk. Hence experienced guards are understandably most valued and in high demand.
Licensed & Insured Guards
The rule of thumb for hiring a security guard is that the officer must be properly bonded, licensed, and insured.
It may seem like common sense, but it bears mentioning and checking. As a customer, when you are interviewing a security agency be sure to ask to see their state authorizations, insurance policies, and bonding documents. Verify that licenses are not expired and training is up-to-date. You need to carefully review the insurance papers to insure the agency is properly insured to avoid potential liability.
Security Officers Should Have Strong Communication Skills
It is important for police officers as well as private security rangers who offer loss protection services to act as protectors. It’s equally important that they have strong communication skills as well.
Yes, armed security guards can use their weapons in emergency situations but their ability to communicate can help resolve major conflicts and prevent misunderstandings and disputes. While officers may have to use physical force at times, security personnel are always expected to do their best to avoid the use of force when trying to avert a major crisis.
Conduct a Background Check
No security agency should be hired without a thorough background check. A background check will help you determine if a security agency is worth hiring and whether the security guards are fit for the job. You are hiring personnel to protect your assets and property so the trust factor is extremely important.
Choose Specialized Services
When you are choosing security guards to protect your home and business, you will probably have a few options to explore. All professional security firms provide specialized services in different areas.
Specialized services include unarmed officers, mobile patrol service, loss prevention officers, armed guards, security guards for special events and offices, and more.
Be sure to seek out a firm with guards to meet your specific requirements.
For example, a loss prevention officer or an unarmed guard is best suited to tackle retail loss prevention or shoplifting. Meanwhile, an agency specializing in ground patrol might be better for a ranch detail.
Consider Your Budget
Indeed, everything in life comes down to price, and security guards are no exception. You want to hire an agency with well-trained and experienced security guards within a reasonable budget range.
It is possible to find loss prevention services at affordable prices but doesn’t compromise the efficiency of a security firm with a price. You are protecting your most valuable assets after all. For high profile clients, check out https://www.
In Conclusion
Security guards perform a variety of roles while protecting your personal property from theft. You should choose a reliable and experienced guard and/or agency for the job. Considering these important factors should give you an idea of how to proceed with the hiring process.
It totally makes sense to leave your house security to a specialized guard that can prevent break-ins. I heard that my uncle wants to secure his new rural home from intruders. Maybe we should look around for a company where he could employ these experts for help!
Thanks for the reminder that a background check is important to have when hiring armed security services. I’m interested in looking for such services soon because I’ve been planning to hold a charity fundraiser event in my local area. Getting the place as secure as possible will be a high priority for sure.
I’m glad you talked about how a security guard should be properly bonded, licensed, and insured. And that you should check if they have those credentials up to date before hiring a professional. In my opinion, hiring an office has a very thoughtful process, due to they’ll be in charge of your safety or your property’s. You did a great job explaining how important is to verify that they are insured to avoid potential liability.
You made an interesting point when you mentioned that it is important to perform a background check before hiring a security guard company. My brother is looking for a security guard company to use to protect his business. I will have to share this article with my brother so that he can know that he will need to perform a background check.