Demand for Security Guards Rises

If you think you’ve been seeing more security guards lately, you’re not imagining things.

According to the state Department of Consumer Affairs, the number of licensed security guards in Los Angeles County jumped from 29,092 in 1980 to 55,292 in 1987.

There are 731 private security companies in the county registered with the state--almost twice as many as in 1980--and many of these companies have seen their businesses grow by more than 100% in the last five years.

Industry officials say the demand for highly skilled security guards has stimulated much of this growth.

‘More Security Conscious’

“The old image of a drunk sleeping on his post is changing,” said Frank Jones, Southern California regional manager for Stanley Smith Security Inc. “Now people are more security conscious and are willing to pay higher rates to get skilled people.”

Security companies and their clients are looking for people who not only know how and when to use a night stick or a firearm but who also can administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, monitor control panels, operate computers, write extensive reports and conduct lengthy inspections.

“There is an extremely high demand for the high-tech, state-of-the-arts security officer,” said Jim Clark, marketing director for the United College of Business.

Last July, the college developed a program at its Hollywood and Downey sites to offer students the technical experience necessary to land a high-paying security job, including more extensive training in the use of firearms, tear gas and batons.

Clark said students who graduate from the three-month course have little trouble finding an entry-level job at $6 to $7 per hour, about $2 per hour more than an unskilled guard earns.

Costly lawsuits have encouraged many businesses, commercial property owners and security-guard companies to improve the quality of their security staff.

Mike Pollock, corporate counsel for Duber International Security Inc., cited a number of cases in which the hiring of private patrol officers has cost security companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In one such case, involving the rape of a woman by a security guard while he was on duty, the guard had previously been arrested for credit card fraud, and his employers were found responsible for the attack because they had not properly screened the guard, Pollock said.

“It is hard to determine whether or not someone will commit a violent crime based on a history of nonviolent crime,” Pollock said.

Companies are attempting to reduce their chances of going to court by hiring guards who have gone through extensive screening and training processes, he said.

In addition to lawsuits, complaints against private patrol officers for the improper use of force have contributed to the demand for better trained guards.

The state Consumer Affairs Department has received a number of complaints against security guards since the early 1980s. But the department said that number has declined substantially since 1984.

“There has been a dramatic drop in the number of complaints against our guards since we began the training process,” said George Winters, who last month retired after 15 years as the Southern California regional security director for Kaiser-Permanente.

Kaiser began its in-house training program in 1975, Winters said, but many industry officials see the trend toward higher-skilled guards as a recent development.

Jobs Outnumbered Applicants

John Kraut, president of Los Angeles Security Personnel Services, an agency that finds employment for guards, remembers when the number of openings for unskilled guards more than doubled the number of openings for skilled guards.

“In 1985, we placed about 3,000 people, 70% of whom were unskilled,” Kraut said. Today, almost 70% of the patrol officers Kraut places have had formal training in first aid, word processing and other skills.