Terrorism and the Contract Security Market Essay -- Business Human Res

Terrorism and the Contract Security Market Contract security has become a billion dollar business within the last decade. It is by far one of the most profitable businesses today. Also, after the events of September 11th we can only expect this field to continue to grow. With the economy and country the way it is today, we can expect to see contract security and proprietary security forces increase in both size and tasks that must be managed. But is the contract security field ready to step up and perform the new duties we need them to perform? The truth is, the contract security field is plagued by many things that impede it's effectiveness: Pay rates are too low to attract the quality employees. Training is insufficient Turnover rates exceed 100% in many contract companies. These are just some of the problems facing the contract security field. Most of the companies manage to turn a profit by practicing the "warm body" approach. This involves recruiting anyone (which is usually the bottom 5% of the population) who will work for the low wages provided. The company provides minimum training. Some companies put their guards to work before paperwork and background checks are even completed. This is not true of all contract security firms. Some do process and provide very exceptional officers; a prime example being Wackenhut Security. Recruitment Recruitment practices have improved in many areas. Some "warm body" approaches are still being used but, overall this is practiced in places such as New York and other heavily urban areas where the process of "low bidding" is used (Hertig 2003). In these areas of the country turnover rates are higher than any other. For the most part this can be blamed on wages. The ... ... Manual. Dated: Oct 1999. Command Security Corp. (1999) Website . Accessed 17 Apr. 2003, http://www.cscny.com Goodboe Michael E; (2002) "How to turn around turnover" Security Management, Nov 2002; Vol. 46, Iss. 11; pg. 65, 3 pgs Hertig, Chris.(1999) "Contracts in Asset Protection." In Davies & Minion (Eds.) Security Supervison: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Butterworth Heinemann: Boston Mass. 1999. pg. 371-374. 4pgs Hertig, Chris. In class handouts.; Security and Supervision Class. Spring Semester 03 Johnson, Jordan; (2003) "Get The Most From Your Guard Force"; Security Management, Arlington; Feb 2003; Vol. 47, Iss. 2; pg. 73, 5 pgs Thibodeau, Charles; (1999) "Staff Training and Development." In Davies & Minion (Eds.) Security Supervison: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Butterworth Heinemann: Boston Mass. 1999. pg. 118-126. 9pgs