11/01/12
Whoever thinks that all security guards can do is call the police is really…missing something important..
Especially in a public setting (like me, guarding a mall).
We can / have a duty to:
-Enforce rules and regulations of the property (if you owned a building, and set your own rules, wouldn’t you want someone to make sure it’s run that way?)
-Detain for police investigation (iffy subject…)
-Perform a citizen’s arrest and Charter the subject if a crime is witnessed in our presence
-Physically remove a subject if they are trespassing and charge them with Assault by Trespass
-Fight you if you fight us
-Trained in self-defense and arrest and control procedures
-Blend into crowds (even in a high-vis uniform)
-We have a tactical mindset (the ones who take the job seriously anyways..) so, think twice.
-We READ people’s body language. We know when you’re lying to us.
-Perform medical aid
-Crowd control
-Perform equipment safety checks (extinguishers, sprinkler valves and systems, alarms, etc)
-Preserve crime / incident scenes for investigators
-And most importantly, we protect life and property
We may not have the powers of a peace officer. But we are agents of the property owner. Which means, if you are on OUR property, and you do not FOLLOW OUR rules, we have the legal authority to enforce what the property owner wants.
Why people believe we can only call the police?
Because they don’t understand the concept of liability.
Liability. Some companies and clients are too scared that if their guards do anything to hurt a subject who obviously broke the law, they can be sued in civil court. The company loses the contract, the client loses money, the employee (guard) is fired. This includes performing first aid. Even if someone’s trained—they can’t do anything because the company or the client is too scared that ANYthing can happen that will be redirected back towards them.
Or.
We don’t want to create a scene and fight someone when we are in fear of our own safety. Taking an individual down and fighting him while being paid $11 / hr isn’t worth it. Sorry, but I’d like to go home and not worry about contracting AIDS or that I was almost run over by a person trying to escape me (yes this has happened to me).
Besides, if we take someone down, we have people yelling “rent-a-cop brutality!!” anyways.
So, think twice before you call someone a “Rent-a-cop” or a wannabe. Those who take the job seriously do it professionally and for the better good. We remind people of reality and do things objectively. The young ones do it for practical experience before becoming a police officer, the old guards do it to give back to the community after retirement. So yeah, just think about that for a second.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Evac
11/01/05
Off-duty
I decided that while I was at another mall (where our headquarters was near to) with a good friend of mine, I would be nice to my supervisor and pick up some supplies for our mall. I picked up some evidence notebooks and decided to head home but first to my site.
I get there and I enter the office, drop off the notebooks and had a chat with my supervisor and a former guard of the mall that was leaving. Good fellow, just some things he had to take care of. Anyway, while I'm dicking around the security office, an emergency call goes to my supervisor who took it instantly without saying much and left the office.
About twenty minutes later, the afternoon guard comes in and the first thing he says is.
"Martin, there's cops with rifles everywhere."
I had a sudden "What the fuck" moment and the two of us took off, the former guard already having said his goodbyes to us. We rounded the corner, and there was a crowd that had formed, with my supervisor telling people to get back.
A female law enforcement officer was also there, helping as much as she could. When I turned the corner, there were at least twenty other law enforcement officers, carrying G36 rifles and I may have seen a C8A1 in the crowd somewhere. They were pointing it into one of the local cell phone stores.
So I give a look at my supervisor, who nods at me, and he tells me to get the crowd back. I do so, with the afternoon guard doing it.
Now it was weird--I was out of uniform, only wearing a black hoodie, gray t-shirt and blue jeans. I was telling people to move back or redirecting them away from the situation. Even the female cop was confused and at one point yelled at me to stay back too but I told her I was with security and was off-duty and she understood and gladly accepted my help.
Now, my supervisor told me to get the mall manager, who was just packing up to leave, and told her of the situation. I escorted her to the scene where she began to talk to the police as I went back to controlling the crowd. At this point, they had the subject subdued and cuffed. Then, by police orders, we evacuated the mall and had the mall tenants and employees assemble in their areas.
The afternoon guard and I then took attendance of some of the shop employees, a few of them had turned up, others were around but just not where they were supposed to be.
Now, we waited.
I was then ordered to clear one of the entrances to the mall in case emergency vehicles needed to go through there and had quite the fun time explaining over and over,
"There's a major police incident, the mall has been evacuated and closed. Please move along." I said that to maybe...fifty or so people who kept trying to enter the mall despite seeing police and security personnel and a crowd of people outside of it.
I even had some tenants tell me they needed to lock up their stores. Now I understand that you may lose your business to some person whom may have been left inside. But the tenants didn't know what was going on--no one did (or, we wanted the public to not know just yet). I'm just glad none of them argued with me.
Still waiting around, it began to rain a little harder and the temperature dropped a little more. Some tenants and employees went to the McDonalds at the little corner of the mall property (which was not on our property, so I couldn't go there if I had to). Others waited in their cars and from what I heard, a few went home. Customers were still asking if they could still enter the mall. Again I explained the situation without revealing too much.
Then as it always works, hear-say went about...
"The guy had a bomb!"
"He threatened with a gun!"
"Maybe he was a terrorist!"
Really. Yeah sure, go around telling others that and see how they'll feel. Especially those who are already shitting their pants.
After another hour or so, they reopened the mall--employees first, then the customers and it resumed like normal. I was being compensated for helping out in the event and allowed to stick around if I wanted to.
I began to think to myself how well people can handle situations like this if there were police and security around. But if it was left up to them, I began to get curious. People always say "Fuck the police" or "Goddamn tyrannical enforcers!" (heard that from some hippy) or even "We don't need police."
Really?
I've always respected control and we need it. I learned that once you have no kind of control, shit flies off the handle and people get hurt, sick, and even die. I realized that a while ago when I was a child and here it was again being proven in my life that our society, as unfortunate as it seems to some, needs control. We are animals on this planet--we're only adapting to the way the world works. Yet no one sees that.
If something worse happens, and no one's around to answer their call for help, we'll just have to see what happens.
Maybe people should pick up on my preparedness lifestyle in case that happens :D
-HappyMallCop
By the way; without revealing too much, the subject got out of jail and made threats to the phone company and the mall.
Off-duty
I decided that while I was at another mall (where our headquarters was near to) with a good friend of mine, I would be nice to my supervisor and pick up some supplies for our mall. I picked up some evidence notebooks and decided to head home but first to my site.
I get there and I enter the office, drop off the notebooks and had a chat with my supervisor and a former guard of the mall that was leaving. Good fellow, just some things he had to take care of. Anyway, while I'm dicking around the security office, an emergency call goes to my supervisor who took it instantly without saying much and left the office.
About twenty minutes later, the afternoon guard comes in and the first thing he says is.
"Martin, there's cops with rifles everywhere."
I had a sudden "What the fuck" moment and the two of us took off, the former guard already having said his goodbyes to us. We rounded the corner, and there was a crowd that had formed, with my supervisor telling people to get back.
A female law enforcement officer was also there, helping as much as she could. When I turned the corner, there were at least twenty other law enforcement officers, carrying G36 rifles and I may have seen a C8A1 in the crowd somewhere. They were pointing it into one of the local cell phone stores.
So I give a look at my supervisor, who nods at me, and he tells me to get the crowd back. I do so, with the afternoon guard doing it.
Now it was weird--I was out of uniform, only wearing a black hoodie, gray t-shirt and blue jeans. I was telling people to move back or redirecting them away from the situation. Even the female cop was confused and at one point yelled at me to stay back too but I told her I was with security and was off-duty and she understood and gladly accepted my help.
Now, my supervisor told me to get the mall manager, who was just packing up to leave, and told her of the situation. I escorted her to the scene where she began to talk to the police as I went back to controlling the crowd. At this point, they had the subject subdued and cuffed. Then, by police orders, we evacuated the mall and had the mall tenants and employees assemble in their areas.
The afternoon guard and I then took attendance of some of the shop employees, a few of them had turned up, others were around but just not where they were supposed to be.
Now, we waited.
I was then ordered to clear one of the entrances to the mall in case emergency vehicles needed to go through there and had quite the fun time explaining over and over,
"There's a major police incident, the mall has been evacuated and closed. Please move along." I said that to maybe...fifty or so people who kept trying to enter the mall despite seeing police and security personnel and a crowd of people outside of it.
I even had some tenants tell me they needed to lock up their stores. Now I understand that you may lose your business to some person whom may have been left inside. But the tenants didn't know what was going on--no one did (or, we wanted the public to not know just yet). I'm just glad none of them argued with me.
Still waiting around, it began to rain a little harder and the temperature dropped a little more. Some tenants and employees went to the McDonalds at the little corner of the mall property (which was not on our property, so I couldn't go there if I had to). Others waited in their cars and from what I heard, a few went home. Customers were still asking if they could still enter the mall. Again I explained the situation without revealing too much.
Then as it always works, hear-say went about...
"The guy had a bomb!"
"He threatened with a gun!"
"Maybe he was a terrorist!"
Really. Yeah sure, go around telling others that and see how they'll feel. Especially those who are already shitting their pants.
After another hour or so, they reopened the mall--employees first, then the customers and it resumed like normal. I was being compensated for helping out in the event and allowed to stick around if I wanted to.
I began to think to myself how well people can handle situations like this if there were police and security around. But if it was left up to them, I began to get curious. People always say "Fuck the police" or "Goddamn tyrannical enforcers!" (heard that from some hippy) or even "We don't need police."
Really?
I've always respected control and we need it. I learned that once you have no kind of control, shit flies off the handle and people get hurt, sick, and even die. I realized that a while ago when I was a child and here it was again being proven in my life that our society, as unfortunate as it seems to some, needs control. We are animals on this planet--we're only adapting to the way the world works. Yet no one sees that.
If something worse happens, and no one's around to answer their call for help, we'll just have to see what happens.
Maybe people should pick up on my preparedness lifestyle in case that happens :D
-HappyMallCop
By the way; without revealing too much, the subject got out of jail and made threats to the phone company and the mall.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Training day
11/01/04
Afternoon shift (15:30-23:30)
New guard in the mall, training him for the entire afternoon shift. I'm not gonna mention his name for understandable reasons, but man is he one of the most awesome guys I've met so far. He's like me. Just like my supervisor, just like every guard I've met.
I noticed a trend among security officers (who take their job seriously). We all observe the life around us, we remind people of reality (shit doesn't revolve around you) and we protect those around us (even if YOU broke the LAW). We may not be like cops, but as someone said, we're like their cousins.
I just figured I should post this. It was an interesting day.
-HappyMallCop
Oh yeah, I took my supervisor's belt keepers again. I should stop doing that.
Afternoon shift (15:30-23:30)
New guard in the mall, training him for the entire afternoon shift. I'm not gonna mention his name for understandable reasons, but man is he one of the most awesome guys I've met so far. He's like me. Just like my supervisor, just like every guard I've met.
I noticed a trend among security officers (who take their job seriously). We all observe the life around us, we remind people of reality (shit doesn't revolve around you) and we protect those around us (even if YOU broke the LAW). We may not be like cops, but as someone said, we're like their cousins.
I just figured I should post this. It was an interesting day.
-HappyMallCop
Oh yeah, I took my supervisor's belt keepers again. I should stop doing that.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Really?
10/12/31
Afternoon shift (15:30-23:30)
I arrive at the mall and after noticing that the bike guard and my supervisor weren't around, I decided to get changed right away into my uniform. Time is 15:25, I'm not waiting around for the other two. Ballistic vest on, duty belt on, uniform tucked neatly. It's 15:30, on shift. I'm ready for the day.
With the mall closing in two hours, I decided quickly that I should find my supervisor. I called the radio phone and he picked up,
"Security."
"Hey, it's Martin--what's your twenty?" (Location)
"(Insert anchor store name), manager's office. Could you do me a favor and come right here?"
I'm thinking something must have happened, "Yeah copy I'm on my way."
I exit the office, took a left, down the hall and then another right all while thinking about what he must want. The grocery store he was in must have had another shoplifter? Fight which needed mall security's help? I finally arrive at the store after thinking through what was going to happen--yeah all while I was keeping an eye on everybody else, don't worry I can multitask. I enter the grocery store, staff and patrons look at me as I'm entering.
Someone said as I walked past, "Another one."
I turn the corner, and two local law enforcement officers are also entering the office as I do.
I see my supervisor, hearing him, "Yeah officer, I'm just waiting for my partner."
The officer looked at me hearing this, "Yeah, your partner's here."
Sitting in a chair in the middle of the rather nice, cozy looking office was a white male, maybe sixty years of age shaking nervously and rubbing one of his thumbs against the back of his hand. He kept looking around the room, glancing away at whoever stared at him.
My supervisor walked up to me and nodded, "I need you to just watch this guy for now."
I ask, "What'd he do?"
"We're detaining him for a police investigation. The lady standing outside accused him of stealing her wallet. I'll be back to fetch the camera and paper work."
So as I stood there, staring down at the subject, he hunched forward and ran his fingers through his curly white hair.
The officer walked up to him and began to question him.
The man responded with some respect, but obviously the way he was acting showed he wanted out. I stayed near by. He wasn't going anywhere anyways--two LEOs, me, my supervisor who now was back, and the two operation managers of the grocery store.
Upon further questioning, the subject noted his name and date of birth. LEOs ran it, date of birth, as well as the spelling of his name, came back incorrect. They asked him again, he swore he didn't do anything wrong, they asked him one more time,
"I'm a senior citizen! You can't expect me to remember everything."
One of the store managers snickered. I smiled.
"I'm going to ask you again, what your real date of birth is and what the real spelling of your name is. It's New Years Eve, I don't think we want to take you out of here in handcuffs."
He finally gave the real name, but as it already happened, I wrote down the last name he gave in my notepad and had to scratch that out. Then had the officer give me one of his ID cards with ANOTHER way of spelling it. This guy by the way, had no photo ID on him.
My supervisor told me to serve him the ban notice. After filling out the info, I read to the subject that he will no longer be allowed on mall property for twenty-five (25) years. I asked him if he understood.
He snatched the papers from me and left.
Did he learn a lesson? Maybe. Who knows, if he's capable of stealing a mother's wallet, then he can and probably will do it again. I understand if you do such a thing to survive on the streets--but we have our laws. There's a reason why we have them in place--otherwise we'll be killing each other left and right, no one would be equal and we can't progress.
I'm sure the lady did learn a new lesson. That even if you turn your back for a split second and let your guard down, anything can happen. This was the lesson I learned a long time ago.
-HappyMallCop
Afternoon shift (15:30-23:30)
I arrive at the mall and after noticing that the bike guard and my supervisor weren't around, I decided to get changed right away into my uniform. Time is 15:25, I'm not waiting around for the other two. Ballistic vest on, duty belt on, uniform tucked neatly. It's 15:30, on shift. I'm ready for the day.
With the mall closing in two hours, I decided quickly that I should find my supervisor. I called the radio phone and he picked up,
"Security."
"Hey, it's Martin--what's your twenty?" (Location)
"(Insert anchor store name), manager's office. Could you do me a favor and come right here?"
I'm thinking something must have happened, "Yeah copy I'm on my way."
I exit the office, took a left, down the hall and then another right all while thinking about what he must want. The grocery store he was in must have had another shoplifter? Fight which needed mall security's help? I finally arrive at the store after thinking through what was going to happen--yeah all while I was keeping an eye on everybody else, don't worry I can multitask. I enter the grocery store, staff and patrons look at me as I'm entering.
Someone said as I walked past, "Another one."
I turn the corner, and two local law enforcement officers are also entering the office as I do.
I see my supervisor, hearing him, "Yeah officer, I'm just waiting for my partner."
The officer looked at me hearing this, "Yeah, your partner's here."
Sitting in a chair in the middle of the rather nice, cozy looking office was a white male, maybe sixty years of age shaking nervously and rubbing one of his thumbs against the back of his hand. He kept looking around the room, glancing away at whoever stared at him.
My supervisor walked up to me and nodded, "I need you to just watch this guy for now."
I ask, "What'd he do?"
"We're detaining him for a police investigation. The lady standing outside accused him of stealing her wallet. I'll be back to fetch the camera and paper work."
So as I stood there, staring down at the subject, he hunched forward and ran his fingers through his curly white hair.
The officer walked up to him and began to question him.
The man responded with some respect, but obviously the way he was acting showed he wanted out. I stayed near by. He wasn't going anywhere anyways--two LEOs, me, my supervisor who now was back, and the two operation managers of the grocery store.
Upon further questioning, the subject noted his name and date of birth. LEOs ran it, date of birth, as well as the spelling of his name, came back incorrect. They asked him again, he swore he didn't do anything wrong, they asked him one more time,
"I'm a senior citizen! You can't expect me to remember everything."
One of the store managers snickered. I smiled.
"I'm going to ask you again, what your real date of birth is and what the real spelling of your name is. It's New Years Eve, I don't think we want to take you out of here in handcuffs."
He finally gave the real name, but as it already happened, I wrote down the last name he gave in my notepad and had to scratch that out. Then had the officer give me one of his ID cards with ANOTHER way of spelling it. This guy by the way, had no photo ID on him.
My supervisor told me to serve him the ban notice. After filling out the info, I read to the subject that he will no longer be allowed on mall property for twenty-five (25) years. I asked him if he understood.
He snatched the papers from me and left.
Did he learn a lesson? Maybe. Who knows, if he's capable of stealing a mother's wallet, then he can and probably will do it again. I understand if you do such a thing to survive on the streets--but we have our laws. There's a reason why we have them in place--otherwise we'll be killing each other left and right, no one would be equal and we can't progress.
I'm sure the lady did learn a new lesson. That even if you turn your back for a split second and let your guard down, anything can happen. This was the lesson I learned a long time ago.
-HappyMallCop
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