ISSUES IN PRIVATE SECURITY

Issues in Private Security

Issues in Private Security

Introduction

This paper is based on a security plan for a legal firm that has hired the services of my security management services for the protection of high-profile individuals. At its core, private security involves the anticipation and appraisal of crime risk and the initiation of action to eliminate or minimize crime. The field of private security has developed into a proactive crime prevention industry that is present in every significant arena of modern society.

Discussion

Private contract security companies employing guards are most well known and most visible in shopping malls, business complexes, airports, and other quasi-public spaces. Being hired as a security management consultant, I would like to suggest the following steps of a plan to ensure complete security of the organization before hiring any high-profile personnel (Waard, 2007).

The dominant approach in private security management for a firm is preventive. In private security, the emphasis is on risk management. The first step in the process of risk analysis is personnel assessment. In performing an individual assessment, the security manager must identify those individuals that must be protected (Hess, 2006).

The second step in the process is known as threat assessment. Threats are defined as the kinds of loss causing events that might occur. Earthquakes, floods, fires, burglaries, terrorism, embezzlement, theft, and accidents are examples of the kinds of threats that must be considered. After having identified the likely threats, the security manager must evaluate the risk—the likelihood that a particular threat will occur (Cunningham, 2008). The best way to estimate risk is to review the history of the facility to see what has happened there before.

The third step is vulnerability assessment. After the individuals that are to be protected are determined and the threats to those individuals are identified, the ...