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Originally Posted by Bodie
They are OPOTA certfied as SECURITY GUARDS. They are not the police and in my opinion should not be allowed to use the word POLICE in their name.
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Bodie:
I'm an old rent-a-cop.... Same as the Cincy guys.... I did OPOTA in 1967-68, one of the first few classes for
any OH LEO's in this area. (I just missed being grandfathered out of the requirement.)
My Commission from the City of Youngstown said "Private Police Officer", and the folks in Columbus took the same view.
(Some of my classmates were "regular" Officers. One went on to be Chief in Liberty Township - north of Youngstown - a few years later. In those days the courses were the same.)
(The City pulled all the Commissions in about 1985 -some idiot shot another idiot and the liability lawyers got into the act.)
I had no problem calling myself a "Police Officer" in those days, nor did it bother anybody. However that was always in the context of my LE work - mobile patrol of specific facilities, or guard post work. If somebody asked me what I did (besides the day job), it was "Private Security" or some such. (Or rent-a-cop....)
At the time, on the average, I had more LE education than the average City PD Officer I would be working with when they had to be called. But they usually had the street time, and were "in charge" as soon as they arrived. Once in a while one didn't understand the situation, but there were few problems. (In those days the City PD guys would get an FTO and work the street for a while. That was their training. A friend of mine - now deceased - was a Sergeant. He never took an exam to get the stripes, and when he signed on, was given a badge and a gun and told to "go arrest people.")
Things have changed.... "Regular" LE now are trained way past the Security Officer requirements, and spend a lot more useful time in training. I wouldn't last five minutes up against any of them.
The agency I work with (and helped create) won't take a detail from the regular Officers unless the employer is insistent, and has been advised about the disadvantages. I never would personally, either, back when I was doing this regularly. There are details out there where having the City radio on your belt and a half-dozen ready backups is essential, and I wouldn't want to work them in any case. Others are inconsequential, or downright boring. Those we'll fight for.... In the 35+ years I've been involved, there's always been plenty of work for everybody, and plenty of competition.
(In my "Security" hat at the former day job, I had to hire the competition for a building watch because "my" outfit didn't have anybody available at the time.)
(It's not that we want to avoid the dangerous jobs as much as we prefer to defer to those who are better trained to handle them.)
Some private agencies have requirements that are extremely rigid, and others will take anybody who's breathing. I was once offered Lieutenant's bars by another agency in town sight unseen on the recommendation of one of their low-level employees. I'm not naming names.... Another local agency hired a family member and his daughter. They don't carry weapons. You have no idea how happy I am about that part....
Unfortunately, the public (and working LEO's) have to identify the good and bad on the spot, or by the reputation of their agencies. The State's standards for armed Security are quite high, but don't really apply to unarmed SO's. Private Property also permits armed security without much constraint if the employer's liability folks don't get wind of it....
(BTW, a few years before Youngstown pulled their Commissions, all Private Security folks thus Commissioned were required to identify themselves as "Private Police" if they didn't have an agency behind them.)
My "job", back when I was on the road, was to be an extra set of eyes - to look for problems at places I was paid to drive over to and check. To be an early responder and agent of the owners in the event the "regular" PD found a problem or an alarm tripped. To secure the scene before the PD got there if I found something of interest. (I.e., keep the possible crime scene from being contaminated.) To watch the vehicles when the regulars got there.... I know how to lift a print, compare weapons ballistics, etc., but nobody in their right mind would put me on the stand. Eyes & ears, protect the scene....
Bodie - I'm not trying to impersonate or impress anybody. That can bite.... A different name might be helpful here, but the public probably doesn't understand, and to be honest, SO's don't always get the respect they need to do their job as it is. (I've been lobbying for "Special Agent", but I think it's taken....
WTH, mom thinks
I'm special....)
"You" and "I" have to understand who, what, and where we are, and try to keep the SO ranks clean so the public sees a somewhat uniform "blue line". I had a gal get mad at me for not jumping into a bar fight one night. I was driving a green Rambler with a "Security" sign on the side, and wearing a brown "Security" uniform. If the badge had said "Chicken Inspector" she'd still have been upset.... (I did have a car phone - our dispatcher had already gone to bed, so I called the City PD for her....)
Regards,
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