Private security services regulations in the United States today
Security services regulations in the United States began formally in the second half of the twentieth century. Many states - never the federal government - first set and then increased, and sometimes decreased, standards over the years. With the shock from the events of 11 September 2001 (9/11) and...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| In: |
International journal of comparative and applied criminal justice
Year: 2017, Volume: 41, Issue: 4, Pages: 287-304 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Security services regulations in the United States began formally in the second half of the twentieth century. Many states - never the federal government - first set and then increased, and sometimes decreased, standards over the years. With the shock from the events of 11 September 2001 (9/11) and the subsequent war on terrorism, the pace of regulatory growth increased. Even so, regulations for security personnel - especially security guards - remain at an indefensibly low level with 12 states having no requirements at all for unarmed security personnel and 14 having none for armed. Yet along the way, regulatory pre-employment screening requirements have incrementally improved, training demands, less so. Expecting a security officer with zero-to-a-few hours preassignment training to be a competent first responder, a skilled communicator with the public, a knowledgeable person about applicable law, an informed user of security technology, and a worker educated on the mission and operations of the workplace is not a convincing point of view. The security industry espouses higher standards, including through regulation, but then does not act upon its aspirations. For other security services - alarm installation and monitory personnel, investigators/private detectives, and locksmiths - regulations vary widely according to state. They don’t exist at all for security consultants. This article comments on and reviews regulations for all these security services. |
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| ISSN: | 2157-6475 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01924036.2017.1364281 |