For those of you who either are hired to perform some type of security function for your job, or a friend or relative either is working in that capacity or will be, ensure that you have the requisite training and equipment provided by the employer. Some employers may, and some may not educate and equip their security personnel with adequate training and the equipment needed to do their job.
There are several considerations you need to keep in mind before you ever take on this security function. One of the first is to know from the company you may be working for are the rules of engagement. What does your employer expect you to do when you observe a violation of the law? Does your employer expect you to sternly admonish those violators or make any arrests?
During the early part of the Covid 19 Pandemic, some people violently attacked and killed security personnel for doing nothing more that asking customers to wear a mask.
Will the employer provide you with or allow you to be equipped with a firearm and allow for adequate firearm training?
Firearms training is not just time on the range that should teach you all the basic knowledge about firearms, but you should also be taught all you need to know about the justifiable use of lethal force.
There are also intermediate weapons such as chemical sprays and perhaps even the use of batons or tasers that might be used. But if your employer does not provide both the tools and the training that goes along with these items, they should at least provide personal training that emphasizes physical controls, defenses against physical attacks and the use of restraint holds.
If your perspective employer for any type of security job does not adequately provide for your safety, don’t take the job. There are a multitude of other jobs out there that do not place your personal safety at risk.