Personal Safety for Security Officers

Why do Security Officers need to be extra cautious?

Society is becoming increasingly lawless. The number and quality of front-line Police Officers is just not able to effectively enforce the law anymore so now, more than ever, ultimate responsibility for your safety rests with you. As a security officer however you have additional threats to consider, and it is wise to identify them, and formulate plans to reduce the risk to yourself, your colleagues, and your clients.

Door Supervisors.

You no doubt encounter violence on a regular basis. Some punters however, sometimes fuelled by drink or drugs, hold a grudge, and will attempt to seek “revenge” or “payback” for being ejected or refused entry. This sort of behaviour is sadly increasingly commonplace with many accounts of Door Supervisors being attacked by knife wielding lunatics or even falling victim of drive by shootings, or “vehicle as a weapon” attacks.

There is thankfully, a lot you can do to reduce the chance of becoming a statistic, on or off duty……

• Vary your movements. Try to take different routes to work. Leave for work, and return home, at slightly earlier or later times than normal. Don’t use a set pattern. It is hard for a Psycho to plan an effective ambush, if they can’t be sure where or when you’ll be at any particular time.
• Park in different places, ideally NOT directly outside your place of work. Don’t get in of out of the car until you have had a good look around and are happy that you are not being observed. Try to alternate the driving with a colleague, so that different cars are used. This will drastically reduce the likelihood of returning to your car to find the tyres slashed and windows smashed.
• Don’t travel to and from work in full “uniform”. Don’t put your SIA License on until you get to work. The more different you look, the less certain any would be attacker will be that you are the nasty Door Supervisor that they want to do unfriendly things to.
• Situational awareness. At work, keep your guard up and head on a swivel. Especially if you had a recent difference of agreement with a potential source of trouble. At the front of the venue, try to make sure that you are not working alone. If you have to deal with a punter, make sure your colleague is keeping an eye on what is going on in the immediate area and visa versa.

Always try to ensure that there is an escape route behind you when interacting with punters or the public. If things go wrong and you need to rapidly withdraw and regroup, the ability to get out of Dodge, without having to pass ground zero, may just save your life.

On your way to and from work, remain alert. Utilise reflections in shop windows to assess who is around you. Try to take routes with the most people around. Do not walk near the road if you can avoid it. Anything that will delay a potential attacker reaching you, will give you vital moments to defend yourself or perform a high speed tactical withdrawal (leg it!). Please don’t wear headphones or ear pods, as you will massively reduce the chance of detecting a potential attack.

• At work, if you have to go anywhere alone, checking the fire exits or toilets for example, radio the Head Door Supervisor or a colleague and let them know what you are doing and how long you anticipate it will take you. If you encounter a problem, this will mean assistance will get to you sooner.
• In any potentially violent confrontation, attempt to deescalate in an area well lit and covered by CCTV. This will protect you from malicious allegations and provide evidence of a suspect if there is a subsequent confrontation off site. Always radio for assistance as early as possible. The more people dealing with a problem, the easier it will be to resolve and the less force will generally be required.
• There is a lot that your employer or the venue owners can do to help keep you safe on duty.
  • Body-cams are a great source of evidence, but also an excellent deterrent.
  • Offender marking sprays, that fire specially encoded liquid on an attacker or suspect, are a great deterrent and help the Police positively identify a suspect later.
  • Good, reliable two way-radios are a must. The ability to summon assistance is crucial. Always test your radio at the start of the shift and report any problems, or radio “black spots”, to management, immediately.
  • A compact yet powerful torch can be extremely useful, especially if it has a bright strobe function. This can help disorientate an attacker, buying you valuable time.
  • In rougher venues, with a history of violence against the Door Supervisors, I would suggest that a stab proof vest would be a reasonable piece of personal protective equipment to request from your employer.
  • Finally, make sure the venue has an advanced trauma treatment First Aid Kit. A standard first aid kit will not cut the mustard if you have to deal with knife wounds or God forbid, gunshot wounds. Make sure there is someone on site that is fully trained and can use the specialist equipment that it contains.
• Off duty, consider carrying a strobe torch, ideally with a loud attack siren built in. This will both disorientate an attacker, gain the attention of those in the area, and give you valuable time to think. If you are able and it is appropriate, take photos on your phone. Always report an attack or attempted assault to the Police. It is doubtful that Police will take any action, however it will record a pattern of behaviour if the individual or group concerned are repeat offenders.

Other Security Officers.

Although you may not face the threat of violence as a regular occurrence whilst on duty, there are other threats and considerations, regardless of the role you perform.

As a security officer you will have access to privileged information, control of site keys, possibly management of CCTV and access control systems. You will also know staff movements and the layout of the site. To varying degrees this will make you a potential target of organised crime gangs, corporate espionage or entities wishing harm to your client or their staff.

Bet you never thought about it like that.

Again, situational awareness is an essential skill to develop and utilise.

It has been known for a security officer to be intercepted coming home from work, stuffed in the back of a van, blindfolded and forced to disclose critical information about the bank, warehouse, or wherever they work. Door codes, CCTV blind spots, location of control rooms, security procedures and staffing levels, names and addresses of senior client management, are all massively valuable pieces of information for an organised criminal enterprise. Thankfully this sort of thing is very rare, but if you are aware of the damaging potential of your knowledge, you can take simple steps to make sure that it never happens to you.

• Vary your routes to and from work. Try to stick to the busier streets. Don’t walk on the side of the pavement nearest the road. Use reflections in shop windows to keep you aware of the position of those around you.
• NEVER publish photos of your work, or disclose any information about the site, your client, or your employer, on social media.
• Recommend that door access codes are changed regularly.
• Test panic alarm systems weekly.
• Always have the “find my phone” option activated on your mobile.
• Carry a bright strobe torch with a loud attack alarm. These are cheap, and an effective way to draw attention to any situation.
• Don’t go to and from work in your uniform with your SIA licence displayed.
• Make a note of unknown people that you seem to see regularly, especially if they are taking pictures or paying undue attention to site security systems, or your movements.

Summary.

Only you can decide on the level of preparedness that you need to adopt. Your site, its function, and the likelihood of a problem developing, should all be taken into consideration when deciding on your personal threat posture.

No matter what steps you choose to take, or not, the most crucial thing is situational awareness. Identifying a potential problem, before things get noisy, can save your life, in any environment.