What do you think of when you think about a security officer? Is your perception tainted by Hollywood which generally paints security officers as comedic caricatures with delusions of grandeur? Do you think of security officers as “wannabe cops” who have no career path? If your answer is affirmative, I ask you to push aside these dated and inaccurate perceptions about security officers and learn what is truly involved in this critically important profession today. Security officers act as community ambassadors where they assume customer service roles. They are first responders in emergencies, act as a liaison with local law enforcement, lead safety efforts, escort patients in hospitals, raise personal security awareness with students and check in on residents in gated communities.
What would your perception of security officers be like if they saved the life of your child? Saving the lives of children or coming to the aid of a choking victim are “regular” heroic acts performed by security officers all the time. Security officers act as first responders who make the difference between life and death, as understood by the parents of the child saved when security officer Myisha Pullum performed CPR after a near-drowning incident, or the parents of the 3-year-old boy saved by off-duty security officer Mike Garrigues, when he used CPR after finding him face-down in a puddle of water on a beach.