I have been in the security industry for many years on and off. I have worked as a field manager, security officer, and as a loss prevention/asset protection officer. I have gone through management classes, security training, and have interacted with over 1,000,000 people. As a person in the security industry I have found that 99% of all people come to a location with no intention of causing any trouble. While that 1% is there and we have to keep an eye out for hem, we need to focus on the 99%. This is due to in most areas of the security force we are the first and last persons that our client sees. Whenever anything is needed of us, they have to be confident that we are both able to and will to get the job done with minimal issues. When it comes down to the 1%, we have to handle the matter with both common and professional courtesy. Remind yourself that they are not mad at you but at what happened. When there is a complaint, it is usually not about who handled it, but how it was handled.
An officer has to use their training and common knowledge to solve problems and to fix them before the need arises. This is done by using deterrence through visibility. The fact that were there to secure a commercial, industrial, retail, or any other area is not good enough. We have to show the people/clients that we are there. The most powerful tool we have is visibility. Suspect will look for an area that has minimal visibility to commit a crime. If we can take those areas out of the equation then we leave them with nothing. The client needs to see us also. The client feels that we are needed to help his company. There is no need for something that he can’t see working. The best way to think of it is that our client invests time and money in to us. We have to show him that his investment is well spent.