The guy who taught Obi Wan, one of Batman’s arch nemesis’, Zeus himself, fighting wolves with nothing but an army knife and broken miniature bottles of alcohol and kicking ass in Europe. If you still haven’t figured out whom we’re talking about, you need to start watching more Liam Neeson films. Yes. His name has become synonymous with ‘badass’ these days. Go ahead. Google it.
So how would you compare security guards with The Liam Neeson? First of all, is it even a fair comparison? Or are we going about comparing apples and oranges. Let’s find out.
Who
So who exactly is a security guard? He is a private person who is paid to protect an organization’s assets from various hazards such as damaged property, unsafe worker behaviour, and criminal activity. by utilizing preventative measures.
What
What do they do? Pretty sure they kick less ass than Mr. Neeson so that’s 1 for Liam Neeson, 0 for security guards.
The primary duty of a security guard is prevention and deterrence of crime. They also enforce company rules and act to protect lives and property (contractual obligation in most cases). They are often trained to perform specialized tasks such as arrest and control including handcuffing and restraints which are regulated in Canada, operate emergency equipment, perform first aid, CPR, take accurate notes, write detailed reports and perform other tasks as required by the client they are serving. No ass-kicking and only doing real work? Meh. Ra’s al Ghul 2, security guards 0.
Team
The A-Team, no not the movie guys, the team of security guards, the professional groups like GPS-Security group usually comprise of ex-military or ex-police force personnel. In Canada, it is required that companies providing security guard services and their employees, be licensed. The ones at GPS-Security Group are trained in various procedures of armed and unarmed security response, CPR, First aid and Construction Safety Training System. In addition, the company has programs to certify guards as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Emergency Medical records training.
Workplace
No it’s not as cool as dropping a tank out of an airplane and shooting down drones like Bradley Cooper and the gang. Yes, I used an A-team reference in the previous point I’m using it again. The workplace of a security guard can vary a lot depending on the employer. Some places where they are usually needed include public buildings, retail stores, and office buildings, museums & arts galleries, factories, universities, government buildings, military bases.
The history of security guards goes way back. The ‘vigiles’ were soldiers assigned to guard the city of Rome, which is often credited as the origin of both security personnel and police (although their principal duty was as a fire brigade). There have been night watchmen since at least the Middle Ages in Europe; walled cities of ancient times also had watchmen.
Jokes apart, you need a lot of motivation and discipline to conduct yourself as a professional security guard. Carrying out all the duties and ensuring the safety of your client is no piece of cake. Security guards are THE professionals who protect property and people and they don’t have to be Liam Neeson to do it.
