{"id":31723,"date":"2021-10-09T10:32:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T10:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/?p=31723"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:00:07","slug":"is-mental-health-an-invisible-problem-in-the-security-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/is-mental-health-an-invisible-problem-in-the-security-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Mental Health an Invisible Problem in the Security Industry?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The private security industry has transformed in the last 50 years from a small niche sector to a huge global industry. In the UK alone, there are more than 350,000 licensed security guards<\/a>, with many others employed in jobs that don\u2019t require a license. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security guards play an important role in providing safety and protection in many aspects of an individual\u2019s daily life. They patrol public streets, shopping malls, retail stores and transport hubs, police night-time and entertainment venues; guard important and sensitive infrastructure such as government buildings, courts, social security officers, airports and ports; they also transport valuables and prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact with the general public is a key factor in most of the roles. Researchers found this often produces conflict, leading to many challenges. This could be anything from verbal abuse through to violent assault. In extreme cases, security operatives have been killed in the course of their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing Violence and its Impact on Mental health of Security professionals<\/strong>
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Violence and abuse in security work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Portsmouth investigating the impact of violence, verbal and physical abuse on security professionals is the largest study to date of mental health amongst British private security operatives. They interviewed a total of 750 workers and found that 40% of them had tendencies of  post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)<\/a>. The research was led by Professor Mark Button, Professor of Criminology in the School of Criminology at the University. Professor Buttons said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWith almost 40 per cent of those surveyed exhibiting symptoms of PTSD, it leaves a very clear message that the issue of mental health is not currently being taken seriously by security managers. There is an emerging picture of a failure by the security industry to address these issues<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequency of violence and abuse<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the occurrence and frequency of these attacks, the results showed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n