The 21st century has already seen a wide number of changes brought about by advances in technology. From video cameras in everyone’s pocket to the ability to have a face-to-face conversations with someone halfway across the world, technology has enhanced our lives in many ways, but it has also brought about new concerns that were not present 20 or 30 years ago. The security industry is not immune to the changes brought about by technology and in fact technology has created an entirely new segment of the security industry: Digital Security.
Across the board, however, all branches of the security industry can benefit from new technologies, including how Security Guards are trained. Here are three ways the internet is improving training for Security Guards.
1) It allows for more in-depth initial and ongoing training, while simultaneously minimizing the training cost
When Security Guards are confident in their own ability to do their job and respond well in a crisis, they do. In the past, however, training a new Security Guard was time consuming and therefore expensive, which meant that security training for many positions was often a very brief and sometimes almost non-existent affair.
When a Security Guard feels out of their depth in a crisis situation, however, they are more likely to take rash actions that have the potential to raise a minor incident to major crisis levels. This means that untrained Security Guards represent a serious danger to themselves and the people and facilities they are hired to protect.
Not only does this put both Security Guards and civilians at risk, it can create serious liability for the company in addition to costing them future contracts. Remember that these days everyone has a video camera in their pocket, which means that any poor decision making on the part of a Security Guards risks going viral on the internet. This not only makes the officer look bad, it makes the company they work for look bad as well.
Video training has proven again and again to be a highly effective means of training and with thousands and thousands of hours of video available online, even small security companies can create their own comprehensive video training at minimal cost.
2) It provides site-specific training
More than ever before, it is not only important but possible to train individual Security Guards in site-specific policies and procedures. The demands, policies and procedures for a security guard working in a public shopping mall are very different from those for a Guard working in a private chemical company.
Video training can offer training for Mall Security Guards in surveillance techniques, crisis de-escalation and even the best way to assess and approach a person that represents a potential threat. For Guards working in a chemical plant, video training can teach them crucial first-aid skills and the appropriate policies and procedures to follow in the event of a chemical spill or other biological crisis.
3) Offers immediate real-time data and help with crisis management
While in-depth training can help Security Guards feel more confident in their own ability to do their job and respond appropriately in a crisis, mobile phones and tablets also give them the confidence of knowing they have immediate access to information if they encounter a situation which they were not trained for.
In addition, mobile technology also creates greater safety and security for the Guards themselves than ever before. Everything from GPS trackers that can help them be found in an emergency to having the ability to live-stream an event or crisis to help back-up respond appropriately or even protect themselves from liability.
There are also a great number of apps that have been created specifically for the security industry that can do everything from establishing secure communications in a crisis to taking pictures or recordings without making the subject aware they are being recorded.
