Private Security Company Provides Public Service
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) January 29, 2015 -- Private security officers are often first on the scene when lives are in danger, property is at risk, and crimes are underway. According to the most recent data published by the U.S. Department of Labor, more than one million security officers are currently employed in the United States. Those officers, including more than 40,000 employed by the Atlanta-based security company U.S. Security Associates (USA), play a potentially critical supporting role in the work of law enforcement professionals, emergency responders, firefighters, and other public safety officials.
Security officers must be prepared to perform essential safety functions, including providing observation, reporting, enforcement, and medical assistance until public responders arrive. According to Hank Hiday, president of USA’s Southern division, the company’s security officers were put to the test time and time again in 2014. “Many of our security officers saved lives this past year by providing life-sustaining medical support until paramedics took over. In several different instances, our security officers reported fires in time to prevent devastating damage and did everything from contain flames to evacuate buildings to assist firefighters on site.”
Hiday also points to countless examples in 2014 alone of U.S. Security Associates officers stopping crimes in progress and assisting law enforcement in tracking down suspects. Security officers at three different client locations provided information that led to the apprehension of thieves stealing copper and scrap metal. An officer at another client site was instrumental in breaking up a copper theft ring.
Three suspects were located and a large quantity of methamphetamine and stolen property recovered after a U.S. Security Associates mall security manager reported a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. At a different shopping center, a security officer pursued a known gang member caught shoplifting and, despite being stabbed repeatedly, prevented the suspect from reaching a gun before he was apprehended. In another retail incident, a loss prevention officer heard an agitated customer threatening to shoot up a store; the man was found to be carrying a semi-automatic weapon and two clips.
Bill Farrar, vice president of media, entertainment and special armed services for Andrews International, an affiliate of U.S. Security Associates, reports that the company provides private policing in direct cooperation with local police, under a program called CAPS, which stands for Community Assisted Problem Solving. The CAPS mission is to improve public safety by taking on certain safety and quality of life issues that police do not have time to address. Whether or not security officers are working with police in any formal capacity, the assumption is inherent in the U.S. Security Associates company culture that private security, law enforcement, and other emergency response personnel are partners in public safety. “Private security forces and public responders are dependent on one another,” notes Farrar. “Positive outcomes are a joint effort that begins with the actions taken by security officers at the scene of an incident.”
ABOUT U.S. SECURITY ASSOCIATES
U.S. Security Associates (USA) is North America’s security solutions leader, with 160 locally-responsive offices providing premier national security services and global consulting and investigations. The company provides career paths for over 46,000 security professionals serving several thousand clients and a range of industries. Innovative applications of leading-edge, proprietary technology enable USA to rank annually among the world’s best training companies, meet the globally recognized ISO standard for quality management, and underscore world-class customer service with unparalleled accountability. USA’s rise as one of today’s largest security companies is a natural byproduct of these differentiators together with a commitment to investing in employee reward and development, giving back to local communities and relentlessly striving to be the best security company delivering Solutions for a Safer World® For more information, visit http://www.ussecurityassociates.com.
Ginger Dillard, U.S. Security Associates, http://www.ussecurityassociates.com, +1 (703) 655-2573, [email protected]
Share this article