What training do unarmed security guards have?

The state course

The Level II course is the state’s floor for unarmed work: 30 hours from a licensed training provider covering the legal role of a private security officer, including the limits on detention, search and use of force; observation and reporting; emergency procedures and evacuation; and professional conduct and the relationship with police. The officer submits fingerprints, passes the department’s criminal history check and is registered to the employing company. Renewal requires continuing education.

Company training

The state course teaches the law and the basics. It does not teach how to talk to a resident at midnight, how to write an incident report an adjuster can use or what to do in the first minute of a medical call. Price Protection trains every officer in security protocols, customer service, incident reporting, first aid and fire safety, and in reading and following post orders. Officers assigned to fire watch learn rounds, log-keeping and the difference between a fire they may put out and one they must report and leave. Training is repeated when an officer moves to a different kind of post.

Post orders as training

Before an officer works a new property, the post orders written with that client are read and signed: the route, the checkpoints, the access rules, the closings, the escalation contacts and the site-specific instructions. That is training for the property, and it is why the same small group of officers is assigned to each post.

The daily review

A supervisor reads each shift’s report against the post orders every day and addresses problems the next day. Training that is not reviewed decays; the review is what keeps it in force. The Level II course article describes the state course, and the officer training page describes the company’s standard.