Is Security a Thankless Job?

On the afternoon before Thanksgiving, I had a client call me up and very nonchalantly tell me that she had "decided that they would like security to be onsite at their location the next day."  For a little background, we typically service this particular client only during the overnight shift.  Additionally, we had contacted every client at least a week prior asking each one if they were going to have any special holiday hours so that we could ensure proper staffing.  Now, because we strive to serve each of our clients to the best of our abilities, I cheerfully replied to this client that we would absolutely take care of it, and wished her and her family a Happy Thanksgiving.  But, upon hanging up, my heart began to sink a little more and even a little anger set in, because this client didn't even seem to give second thought to the fact that I was now going to have to ruin somebody's Thanksgiving in order to ensure the coverage by taking away the prized holiday off.  After a bit of deliberation, I decided that rather than do that, I would simply cover the shift myself, rather than taking an employee's time away from his or her family on Thanksgiving who had previously cherished in the fact that they had not been scheduled for it.  While I felt better about the situation now, I still felt a little upset.  Not necessarily because now I would instead be working (after all, in our industry, it is a rarity to not be working a holiday), but because of the fact that all too often, we in the security industry are so overlooked and rarely thanked for our services.  Of course, I'm not looking for a pat on the back, or a big hug for going above and beyond... but as mentioned previously, we had literally contacted each client more than a week prior, and to receive such a last minute expectation, knowing that we always take care of our clients, brings very little feeling of satisfaction, but rather, more of a feeling of thanklessness.  Will this deter us in the future?  No, of course not.  We will always strive to faithfully and gladly serve each client in the absolute best manner possible.  But next time you leave your place of business over the holidays to enjoy time at home with friends and family, or head off to that company Christmas party, or sit around the dinner table with the delicious feast in front of you, please remember to take a moment and offer a "thank you" to that security officer at your place of work, or who is patrolling your residential community, or who is standing at the entrance of the big box store that you are rushing to in order to obtain that "special deal".  Please let them know that they are appreciated... that their time away from their own friends, family or feasts do not go unnoticed... and that maybe somebody does realize that we serve no matter what.  After all, to Serve and Protect does not only apply to police officers.  And, on that note, we at Denver Metro Protective Services wish to offer our sincere thanks to each of our personnel who did serve and protect - on Thanksgiving, and on every day of the year.  We would not be as great as we are without each and every one of you, and we are so happy to have you all a part of our family.

Security Guards or Wanna-be's?

As security professionals, we have been called many different names. Whether the preferred titles of security officer, security guard, or public safety officer is offered, to the attempt to belittle our personnel by calling them "wanna-be's", "flashlight cops", or "rent-a-cops", to the opposite end of the spectrum of vulgarity, rarely a day will go by that those in our organization are not given a "title". We can only laugh, however, when referred to as wanna-be's or rent-a-cops. To be referred as such, is actually more equivalent of referring to a paramedic as a "wanna-be doctor", or even more ridiculous as a "rent-a-doctor". Both of those individuals utilize many of the same tools to perform their jobs, and both do everything possible to act as professionals and to be respected by the community. However, if an individual told you that he or she was a paramedic, you would not automatically begin thinking down upon that person for not being a doctor, or making the absurd assumption that they were merely a paramedic because they couldn't "make it" as a doctor. Couldn't it be possible, rather, that the individual actually enjoyed their work in the emergency medical field, and did everything possible to be well-trained, have all the necessary equipment, and work towards having a positive impact on those they serve? Who in the world would roll their eyes seeing a paramedic with a stethoscope and then proclaim "yep... he's a wanna be."

Similarly, as security professionals, we desire to be prepared to handle the numerous types of incidents which we handle on a daily basis, strive to have a professional image, and seek out to better ourselves through training and continual education. Are many of the tools which we utilize the same as those used by members of law enforcement? Of course. They are professional. They have duties to perform. They must protect themselves and those around who they are hired to protect.

We are hired by our clients to serve and protect as well. They have a certain expectation that the services we perform are completed in a professional and efficient manner, and because we take pride in what we do, at Denver Metro Protective Services, we will provide each one of our personnel with every single tool possible to handle that expectation, and ensure our own safety in addition to those we serve. As such, our uniform standards will be meticulous, our vehicles will demand a presence, and our demeanor will be courteous, friendly and professional at all times. And, if that makes some people feel that makes us "look like wanna be cops", then we will gladly accept the title.

Security: To Arm or Not to Arm?

On nearly a weekly basis, one can open a news story about another occurrence of some form of violence in the workplace.  Whether from a tragic shooting incident, to a disgruntled employee, to a domestic violence situation that has found its way to an office, the potential for danger to a business and its employees and customers seems to be more prevalent now than ever.  With so much happening, though, what is the best method to protect your company and those who work there?

When deciding whether an armed or unarmed officer is more suited for their location, potential clients often begin thinking about cost rather than ability.  Most believe that by utilizing armed officers, the amount that must be budgeted for their security services will be prohibitively high, rather than considering the true ability of protection.  Security officers are generally the initial person that one encounters when entering a business, whether that business is a downtown highrise, a construction site, or a warehouse.  Obviously, security should not appear intimidating or aggressive, however, as a potential customer or employee of said business, wouldn't you feel more protected against possible acts of violence is you initially saw a professional, neatly-uniformed (or suited) officer than knowing that the individual "guarding" the location was little more than a door greeter?

Unfortunately, many security providers in the industry do little to train their staff, whether in regards to a firearm, or for something as simple (but no less crucial) as evacuation and emergency procedures or verbal de-escalation of situations (also known as "verbal judo").  They believe that they are best serving their clientele by ensure that the business is always staffed, and that their employees are polite.  This is, however, the mere tip of the security service iceberg.  Those staff members must have be properly and continually prepared to handle the numerous forms of potential incidents that can arise on a near-daily basis.

While we at Denver Metro Protective Services do not believe that every client truly needs an armed security officer for their protection, we do firmly believe that each staff member who is assigned to any client must not only be trained on the basic customer service and general duties, but also on a large variety of other topics, including basic first aid skills, proper report writing and scene preservation procedures, arrest control tactics, and (of course) continual firearms training and certification.

Only when we prepare, train, and continue to prepare can we actually find our skills finely tuned enough to instinctively act when those skills come into play.  Mark Twain once said "There is nothing that training cannot do.  Nothing is above its reach.  It can turn bad morals to good.  It can destroy bad principles recreate good ones.  It can lift men to performing excellence."  We strongly believe in these principles, and do everything we are able to show each and every client the difference it makes when we do our duties - armed or unarmed.

Armed Security in Schools?

There has been a lot of talk and debate recently about what many people believe is the need to have armed security/police officers in every school.  Numerous tragic events that have occurred around the country have caused many to feel that there simply isn't enough protection in our schools today, and that by staffing every one with some form of public safety, that the schools would be safe from such horrid situations.

Although we certainly would love the extra business, should all the schools in our areas suddenly call us and request Protection Specialists at each of their locations, I simply do not believe that would be the best situation in every circumstance.  For high schools or alternative schools, I definitely believe that there exists the need for such protection, and not simply in order to protect our children from madmen armed with AR-15's, but because there are so many other reasons that public safety in schools with older-aged children (teenagers) can benefit.  Fights, theft, vandalism, harassment, bullying, drugs and weapons are just a few reasons that armed security personnel can help to maintain safety and order in places of learning.  However, I can see few instances where children in middle school, and certainly not in elementary school, have the need of armed personnel and/or police officers patrolling their grounds.

The terrible situations that have happened around the country... whether here in Colorado at Columbine, or in Sandy Hook, are isolated, yet tragic events, and the loss of those young lives should never be forgotten or lessened.  However, the individuals who planned those attacks were individuals looking to make a name for themselves.  Whether in a school, in a movie theater, at a public political event (where, by the way, there are generally several armed officers!) or in so many other possible locations, if a person is mentally sick enough to cause such a desperate plea for attention by taking the lives of others around for no other reason than to make some form of statement, they will do it.  As unfortunate as that is, there is simply no possible way to always protect everyone at all times.  Even if there was an armed officer patrolling the grounds of Sandy Hook elementary that day, anyone with the intent to harm people may have simply waited until recess, or when school gets out, or so many other possible occasions.  An armed individual simply cannot be in every place at every time to protect everyone.

Now this brings up so much for discussion on the right to carry firearms, who should or should not have concealed weapons (teachers? airline pilots?  postal workers? ???), however, this post is not meant to discuss the right that we have as citizens of this great country to bare arms, according to our constitutional rights.  I am simply explaining our belief that children at the youngest ages of elementary and middle school grades should be kept as innocent as we are able to... even in the face of those who wish to take that innocence away.  After all, the more and more we try to shield our children from such situation, the more and more that those who are seeking to do that harm win in their endeavors to spread fear.

Keeping Yourself from Being a Victim of Winter Car Theft

Recently, and as seems to be a yearly event, several cities have been experiencing a influx in the number of vehicle burglaries.  Most often, this is a result of persons who start their automobiles and then let it "warm up" while they leave it unattended, and as a vast majority of criminals are generally opportunists, they see these as easy targets.  After all... the vehicle typically has the keys in the ignition, and many people on the rush fail to lock the doors while the car warms up.  While we understand the desire for the comfort of stepping into a nice warm car before venturing off to your job, there are many things which you should do in order to lessen the chance of becoming another statistic of auto theft.  First and foremost is that if you do, in fact, decide to start your automobile and allow it to run unattended, locking the doors is an obvious, yet often ignored, necessity.  However, this can still be looked at as an easy target, with so many criminals utilizing easily acquired tools (such as the "slim-jim") that allow them to enter your running car in a matter of seconds and simply driving away.  A better solution, should you still desire to have your automobile running while you finish preparing for your day in your house, is to purchase a vehicle alarm systems which also allows you to remotely start your vehicle.  These systems do not require a key to be in the ignition, and (if you purchase the proper type) will not allow your vehicle to be placed into gear without disarming the alarm system and/or placing the key into the ignition.  This option, although safer than simply starting your vehicle and locking it, can still be considered a target by a potential thief who fails to look into the vehicle first to see if there is, in fact, a key in the ignition, and leads us to the truly safest advice.  Several years ago, it may have been necessary to start up your vehicle and let it run for ten minutes or more in order for it to be warm enough to drive safely.  Today, however, automobiles are made to warm up quickly, and typically without the need to start your car ahead of time.  Yes, it may be slightly more uncomfortable to wait that three or four minutes while driving down the road in your cold automobile, but rather than having no automobile in which to drive down the road uncomfortably for three or four minutes at all, this option is truly the safest and wisest choice to protect your ride.

Don't become another statistic of one more vehicle stolen every 26 seconds in the United States.  Instead, get out your window scraper, brush off the windshield of your car, and try not to think about that few minutes of cold temperature inside your vehicle before it nice and toasty warm!

Come check out our newly redesigned website!

In an effort to more clearly explain some of our services and capabilities, we have completely redesigned our website.  We hope that it is informative and helps to demonstrate the professional nature in which we strive to serve our various markets.  We encourage you to take a moment to check out our new site, and leave us a quick comment on what you think - good or bad - about the new design, and the information that we have provided on it.  If there are things that you feel we should better explain (or have over-explained, if that is the case!), or would like to see added to our site, please leave us a comment and help us make our site to be the most effective one possible!

Check out our new site HERE and give us your feedback! Thanks again for your support!

We at Denver Metro Protective Services want to wish all of our friends, employees, clients, supporters, and everyone else who just may not know us quite yet Best Wishes for the New Year!  We've made it through 2012, and gained many wonderful, and even at times, not so perfect, memories, and only hope that all will find this next year, 2013, to be filled with peace and happiness, prosperity and success, and love and passion for all that is life.

Every year, people around the world take the New Year as a time to renew - to refresh - to learn from mistakes of past and make goals to achieve in the future.  As each one of us do that in our own way, may we think back over the previous year, and think of times when we were not, perhaps, at our very best.  Think how we felt, and what we did... now make it your resolution, your goal, and your promise that if you encounter another situation similar to the ones from the past... act differently.  Be better.  Love more.  Understand that we have but one life to live, and if, at the end of 2013, you can sit back and reflect upon the previous 365 days, and know that if even once, you arrived at that goal, and you fulfilled that promise and resolution made today, then you can consider the year a success.

Again, Happy New Year, everybody.  We truly do cherish each of you, and look forward to continuing to grow our friendships and relationships in the days to come!