[AMA] I'm a Security Adviser, 10 Years in The Industry, Security and Law Enforcement, Some Answers May Surprise You, Bust Myths

typhoonadventure on 06/03/2018 - 03:38
Last edited 06/03/2018 - 07:58 by 1 other user

Security adviser of just over 10 years.

Just over 10 years of what I do, various roles everything from personal protection, loss prevention, some degree of law enforcement and so on you'd be surprised what goes on in this industry.

Obviously I can't divulge any confidential information or break any NDA's but feel free to ask anything, if it's something i'm allowed to talk about happy to answer.

Before you get into it, not all security are failed cops.

I'm failed army get it right :)

But all jesting aside, ask me anything you like from any corner of the industry, or don't.

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

        • [Deactivated] on 08/03/2018 - 14:42

          @oscargamer:

          I'd be interested in you doing an AMA so I could ask you why you are so intimidated by security guards.

  • LadyCocoa1234 on 07/03/2018 - 14:29

    Did you need to do a degree? How did you start off in security? What are some of the things you did to get where you are now?

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 15:04
      +2

      In extremely general view in most states and territories :

      You need a security license, you CANNOT work in the industry without one, to get one you need :

      -Certificate II in security operations are required to apply for a security license.
      The package of this certificate II differs from state to state.

      Once you have your security license you can then specialize in areas to get further endorsements allowing such things, most companies such as mine won't even touch you unless you have a certificate III in security operations, it used to be known as the management qualification, due to it covering things in more depth.

      Generally most states and territories will including responsible service of alcohol in your certificate II, as this is a requirement for crowd controlling.

      There is a massive push to make certificate III the bare minimum to apply for a security license but at this time to my knowledge this has not been declared a standard anywhere in Australia.

      You can then look at advanced areas such armed security which in most states is one of the highest level qualifications for it and is very intensive to get and maintain.

      Requirements differ from state to state, at current licenses cannot transfer between state, there are allowances made for this generally for large events, such as commonwealth games, large scale car races etc.

      Qualifications can transfer to apply for licensing and so on, but again different requirements, we've recently had a guy come here from one state where he qualified here as a general guard and k9 handling but did not qualify for RSA approved crowd controller.

      It's also now becoming a very big thing in the industry and we even practice this as well to not take people with certain training backgrounds, for example we've had to report several RTO's after being sent people with their qualifications who pretty much had to be trained from the ground up, where we found their training was not only useless it was incredibly dangerous.

      So if you are interested in the industry look up in your state the most reputable firms as in recent times, many RTO's have appeared out of nowhere, started training as well as some better known places (tafe used to do it here and lost their qualifications for it here) where the training did not stack up.

      So once you have the qualifications, i'd recommend starting with a reputable company, most of the companies know each other, if you were to apply to me with no experience, things I would be looking for would be :
      -Customer service roles
      -Club sports, Community involvement
      -Problem solving skills

      Show some other great strengths apart from basic training from a reputable place and anything building on this will be a great advantage.

      Say you come to me from another company, it's not hard for me to checkup on you, you tell me that you were operations manager for Fictitious security services, if I don't know someone there, I will know someone who knows them most likely and we can check this.

      If a company is doing the wrong thing, don't go along with it, stand up try to do the right thing, the amount of times people have ruined their career with someone getting them to do the wrong thing, just following orders sometimes is not a reasonable or legal excuse, i've had a situation where I had an ex-police officer in my younger days demand I kept a bar open at a music festival when they were in clear breach of liquor licensing, I had plain clothes inspecting it already that day, I saw them walking by again, signaled them over and asked them as I was unsure of the laws on what was going on but was pretty sure what I was being ordered to do was illegal due to breaches.

      Got told it was a massive breach and if I allowed it to go on, myself and the company would be in a lot of trouble, if I shut it down i'd be good, however they briefed me the company would likely discontinue my services. Contacted my boss at that company who started telling me what to do to avoid doing the right thing and a bunch of dodgy tricks. This is a lot of responsibility and a hard choice to place on a 19 year old.

      So figured i'd rather backup the cops i'd dealt with than someone who was asking me to break the law, during the shut down a manager from a security company handling another contract there approached me asked what was going on, I told them and was offered a job on the spot being told as soon as i'd make it back to the office i'd have my hours cut, got back was able to talk my way out of losing my job, still got abused for doing the legal option.

      It ended up working in my favor, I ended up with a much better job out of it, and i've even done the same thing for people in similar positions, if someone has had to make a hard decision to make the right one, you gain respect in the industry for that, you work for a well known dodgy company, it reflects upon you and it is upon you to prove you are not like them.

      I made supervisor in my first shift for a large company in my city when I had my first day working in the industry at 18… this is not a brag, it was a highlight on how poorly managed the company was and they were widely known for actions like this, it happened because I was the only person who could speak English properly and could remember liquor licensing laws. For years after when people would apply with us if they had this company on their record we'd ask very specific questions about their roles and responsibilities and it was very easy to tell who would do the right things and who would not.

      So the best advice I can give you is, try to do the right thing both as a guard and as a human, if something is outside your duty but not outside your humanity do it if you can, you show companies skill and character you will progress in the industry.

  • good grape on 07/03/2018 - 14:50
    +1

    Who is actually writing incident registers for pubs/nightclubs?
    I have read so many incidents reports where the writer is in serious need of spelling lessons/english lessons in general.

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 15:26
      +5

      Bingo.

      You will find a lot of places don't even bother doing incident reports, or any reports.

      A lot of venues will only have security because they've been forced to and had it written in as a condition of their liquor license, many venues will even job shop companies to not only find the cheapest staff, but ones who are literally there to be liability dummies.

      I've seen numerous job function role descriptions telling staff, your role is to stand outside X door all night, not talk to customers and only do anything on DM's request. One person reads that as, oh the staff have the place locked down pretty well, just want visual presence and don't want guests intimidated.

      Then you go into the venue and find it dodgey as anything and they don't want security inside for fear or the place being cleaned up, they only want them there for when they get busted and blame the security company, which sadly works a lot of the time.

      I can explain a model of rights and responsibilities but we'd be writing a novel.

      Pretty much Security or DM should be writing reports, and the reports are considered legal documents, we've taken several staff on board where their spelling and English were terrible but they were great guards with great verbal skills so we started doing report writing training for them and they have improved over time.

      I've not seen many companies institute such policies or training programs.

      Most places are more concerned about the security register, which unfortunately as well despite being a LEGAL requirement they are often put together poorly.
      This document must contain certain information about the staff, contact details, license info etc, most places assume if they have this an incidents register and report writing is frivolous, and many employees / venues also seem to hate paperwork and will go to great lengths to avoid reporting.

      A company I discontinued working on a long time ago once took a written report from myself and from my 2ic who's first language is not English, he can write to an interpenetrate state over a 30 person brawl where we stopped a guy bleeding to death after having his head put through a window and gashed open. Obviously as you can tell it became a police matter, I had the owner throw my report away for being too detailed. My 2ic's was written in bad broken english pretty much said, guy got hit, guy bled, we first aided. Knew this report would instantly get shot down in court without the more detailed report from another angle coming from a professional witness.

      The reasoning given from my boss at the time was along the lines of "If we put yours in, they are going to do a massive investigation, if we put his in, they will dismiss us as meat heads and quit bothering us". Upon challenging them on this I get told "Do you really want to waste weeks sitting in court and answering questions when the guy they booked will walk anyway?".

      So that is an example of places loving reports like that, on the other hand most people have not had proper report writing. As you can see above with certain comments, after nearly a decade of report writing, it gets pretty hard to get out of the habit of writing things in a report structure to which we are accustomed to, to average joe off the street, it reads as too many details, confusing writing etc, it's because if it goes to cross examination it gets picked apart.

      So you normally have to write in a way you can read back, refresh your memory off to give the best statement for court.

      End of the day we're effectively babysitters that get treated as professional witnesses.

      If Wang Faruq I'l Salladin can barely speak English but can put down a report :
      "Man in green hat, white skin hit man in blue hat with stick in right hand".

      To me or you, that is either basic or seeming missing many details, that report could be then translated by him as a statement to :

      Male in a green coopers hat of Caucasian appearance produced a wooden club appearing of hard wood construction in his right hand, he then proceeded to strike another male in a blue Ford hat".

      One really common thing you will hear stated in court under any questioning, and you are taught this in training even if you know what you are going to say "I would like to refer to my notes (or report) from the occasion in question". Even if it is a poorly written garbled mess, this still builds your credibility as a professional (and believable) witness.

      • good grape on 07/03/2018 - 17:00
        +1

        If all the reports are like what you have written, lawyers (or interns) would kill themselves because they have to spend 10 times of their time reading your report and makes it so much harder to pick apart in court.

        But your description is so damn accurate for all the incident reports I've read.

        "Young women hit another young women, they fight, 2 more women fight together, they bleed, they sit on floor, we call police, police come, ambulance come." LOL.

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 18:28

          Bang on.

          Same reason for N and Z if you know what I mean there.. those scrawls can save a dismissal.

        • good grape on 07/03/2018 - 22:04

          @typhoonadventure:

          not exactly sure what you meant by N and Z ….

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 22:06

          @good grape: When doing on on the spot incident report, the "squiggle" or "N" / "Z" scribble at the end of the report as a safeguard so no one can claim anything was added after the fact or tampered with.

        • good grape on 07/03/2018 - 22:08
          +1

          @typhoonadventure:

          I don't recall seeing weird squiggles, maybe I was too focused going through the boxes of incident reports or I thought they were signatures at the time of reading.

          I'll keep an eye out next time haha

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 22:26

          It doesnt apply to typed ones after the fact as they fall under statements.

  • KLoNe on 07/03/2018 - 16:11

    May I please have the publishing rights to the memoirs you've written for us?

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 18:29
      +1

      haha, one of my mates is actually publishing a book soon based of his experiences.

  • Duram on 07/03/2018 - 17:11
    +2

    Was it really because of my shoes or is it because I'm male.

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 18:31
      +1

      Most likely the guard. We all have the ability to bend rules except where it breaks law or presents risks.

      As long as the shoes were safe and you were nice, him saying no was either due to him being afraid of the staff at the venue, the owner being a dick to him enforcing the dress code and not caring about the business, or sadly enough may just be a power tripper.

      If they were crocs though, i'm on his side :P

  • centrelink on 07/03/2018 - 17:37
    +1

    Yes have been chosen to travel back in time to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Only you are capable of time travel and you want to save the jews and end the war early. However you find out that the moment you kill Adolf, your existence will cease to exist along with everyone on earth who were born after since it will be a different future you live in. Do you

    A) Decide to go ahead as saving millions of lives and lose your existence as well as every single person living in the current time?
    B) Do not go and change the past and admit you need Hitler to kill everyone so you could exist and that we should all praise him to create a world we live in today?

  • ahly92 on 07/03/2018 - 17:47
    +8

    Am I the only one scrolling looking for short answers :) …

    Just kidding great insight OP!

  • Tuftsdude on 07/03/2018 - 18:21

    Have you done many gigs at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl? If so, what are those like compared to other venues?

    What is your favourite part of the security industry to work in?

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 18:43
      +1

      No. I've

      Favorite part is a hard one, as despite all the horror stories you hear, it's a very vast and diverse industry, and sometimes it can be down to the environment you are in and people you are with.

      You can have a favorite part of it and then have a bad day in it and get put off it, you can have an area you hate and have a great night with some great people.

      Some of the worst roles i've ever had, i've had the best times in.

      To be honest the older I get I love training staff, I used to love response team, plain clothes and so on, but probably the most fulfilling roles are where you are put in any position where you can help someone and take them from a day that sucked to a reminder that there are good humans in this life, it does not take much to do this.

      • Tuftsdude on 07/03/2018 - 18:47
        +1

        Thanks for the reply. I enjoyed reading through your walls of text on this thread so far. I thought you might've been someone I've come across and done my Chief Warden training, you fit his description :)

        But yeah, I agree with what you say, all pretty spot on. I personally stay away from CC but have worked all over in my short time in the security industry.

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 18:57
          +1

          I think you as well as a few others reading this would probably get the most taken away from this AMA.

          Myself and my boss expected it to be full of the usual "ya'l think yo cops" or potential shop thieves drilling for as much info on how people get away with petty theft on a regular basis.

          But as you can see from a lot of comments, it is a very misunderstood industry with a lot of negative connotations that instantly come to mind.

          A lot of brothers and sisters out there working in the industry know the hardships as well as the good parts of the industry that many outside of it do not.

          For those doing the right thing and trying do right by society it can be a very painful, boring, chaotic, relaxed, depressing, life affirming, rewarding and fulfilling job all in the same day.

        • Tuftsdude on 07/03/2018 - 19:08
          +2

          @typhoonadventure: How cool, your boss is on OZB too!

          Yes,indeed. One can never stop learning.

          In regards to the petty theft - As an ex LPO, it's ridiculous how easy it is to steal and get away with it here in Aus. Before doing that job, I'd never imagined how many people do it and it never crossed my mind, as I had never done it myself or even considered it. Now most places I shop, very frequently I spot people doing it. Since I'm a regular at my supermarket and know the staff, etc I might tip them or get the items back if it's of decent value.

          Yes, there are also a number of guards who do ruin it for the rest because of their conduct with the general public/patrons at venues. There are also quite a few who have problems at home and bring it to work to take out their frustration and stress, I've come across both, not pleasant. A valuable life lesson, I learnt when to stand up for myself when needed.

          Your last paragraph sums it up, haha! I've kept security now to pretty much just weekends/public holidays as I've jumped over to another industry I'm qualified in, so I find myself working 7 days a week and/or back to back shifts from different industries, but thankfully my security job is the more relaxed one. Thanks for shedding some light on it to everyone interested in learning about it.

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 19:19
          +1

          @Tuftsdude: Cheers brother.

          Yeah well you will laugh how this came about… I still work in ops, still do field work, do a lot of risk assessment and training these days, you'd be surprised how much we use ozbargain, we had a really busy weekend as you can imagine and I left the laptop on in the warroom on ozbargain and some good pizza and booze specials came up, so boss shouted us… next thing we knew we were researching some stuff that had come up in the new deals feed and somehow ended up on the forum haha.

          As for the LPO, it's like music festivals, bars, clubs, once you know what to look for - drugs, concealed weapons, potential volatile situations it's near impossible to turn it off. It's hard to get out of the bubble once you can see outside of it.

          Thanks to the training the amount of times you end up talking to thieves and going please don't mate, you are literally just going to cause the staff a rougher day, make an insurance company justify their stupid prices, and if I decide to take this further i've just lot a couple of hours i'm not at work dealing with your bad decisions.

          Be surprised how often they suddenly put the item back. With drugs and guns.. among other things.. this job teaches you a lot about how common they are in the community and how much australia really can't drink responsibly.

          I miss the bubble some days lol.

          But this is the line of work we chose, we carry it out with pride. I think if a lot of people had a better understanding of the job, people would be a lot more tolerant and understanding, as well as knowing about those who do the wrong thing are in a minority.

        • Tuftsdude on 07/03/2018 - 21:49
          +1

          @typhoonadventure: Haha, that sounds like a great work environment. Kudos to your boss, heck, with that work environment I'd probably leave my trade!

          Pretty much, hard to get out as you say.

          I'll rephrase - I don't do anything give or take 90% of the time and almost always walk the other way, but there are exceptions, I'll give a few recent examples..
          - I saw a thief taking something of high value, concealing, I assess I can get him to dump the items without any hassles or attention I'd do so.
          - I saw a thief at a hardware store that would most likely dump the items from staff talking to him - I tipped them.

          And about an hour and a half ago I was at Bunnings looking for bargains in the tools section and I see a guy walk past, in his 30's, well dressed tradie and my gut feeling tells me something is off first glance, I give him benefit of doubt and keep browsing tools. I go to the last aisle for trade specific tools and I see him concealing and dumping package. I assessed him and how he acted, I came to the conclusion telling staff would do no good and I wouldn't get him to dump without hassles so I left it. It just leaves a really shitty burning feeling inside of me.

          So long story short, I avoid it 9 out of 10 times but there are few occasions things happen right in front of my eyes and I feel morally obliged to do something about it, as it's theft. I agree with you about getting staff involved, I'd only done it once and I'd rather not.

          Agreed.

          Anyways, My regards to you team if their reading this. I'll keep an eye on this thread and see what other interesting stories you have and what I can learn ✌️

  • justwii on 07/03/2018 - 19:28

    I don't know whats wrong in this world that weapons for protection purpose can be lethal?
    Should securities not equip with non-lethal weapons only?

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 19:36

      This has been brought up so many times before.

      Last training session I did in regards to this security can be armed with tazers… however no state or territory will approve it, I dont know why, you'd have to ask each state's police on this one.

      Fire arms are also not armed as "lethal force" they are as a duty weapon for protection of self in the process of certain duties which are extremely regulated.

      You will find many security officers will go their entire career never using it on duty, i've known 2 officers so far who have even drawn on duty, one of which handed in his h6 after, it was too confronting for them and gave them ptsd.

      • justwii on 07/03/2018 - 19:42

        Thats them. What about you? Your take?

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 19:56

          We have items approved for use and for good reason, with appropriate training, used appropriately they control risk.

          I've personally been in a situation where we've dealt with someone under the influence of methamphetamine, some situations with this like the one I am referencing in are nightmare worthy.

          On the evening in question the person had come into a venue, been a bit of a prick, was targeted for monitoring shortly after entry (did not give any reason to bar entry), pretty shortly they emerged from a bathroom instantly appearing affected by narcotics and was asked to leave and complied, seemed like a reasonable person, despite the narcotic use, later during the same night they snuck back on to premesis through an emergency exit a friend opened for them, and when discovered they'd also now taken something else, and instantly became hostile and attacked guards.

          Only a small guy, but was able to hold off 2 guards with what seemed a ridiculous amount of strength, guy went completely insane, ended up having 3 guards dragging them out, attacking them all without remorse of thought, by the time police arrive it took 3 guards and 1 cop to hold the guy down so he could be restrained. The guy did not feel pain. We then had some bright spark onlooker who decided to claim we were brutalizing the guy and had a bunch of drunken onlookers try to pull us off him at which point all of us got assaulted, instead of running away from arrest the guy went into a psychotic attack, even attacking those trying to help him, assaulted myself, my guards, one of the police, the other tazered him.

          Did not put him down he ripped the connections out and we had to jump on him again.

          It was scary, I dont know if it didn't make proper contact or he just somehow withstood the jolt and this was a small guy who when it made it to court we were told he was on meth.

          In another unsurprising situation ive been attacked by a roided up guy on meth as well, similar thing, went through a bunch of us and cops, he got sprayed with capsicum spray in the face and took 2 security and 4 police officers to take him down and it turned out after he tore something in his leg during it, which if he had not he probably would have kept trying to get up. Again did not feel pain, freakish strength, face full of spray.

          Nightmare level stuff, and a tazer probably wouldnt have improved that situation.

          In neither situation would a firearm have been an ethical, moral or legal solution, our laws would have expected us to deal with the situations in the same fashion.

        • justwii on 07/03/2018 - 20:07
          +1

          @typhoonadventure: I thought in that situations you only need FlexiCuffs?

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 21:04

          @justwii: Still requires getting them on them, only in a VERY rare situation will we do it, we generally only let police make arrests.

          I would rather do a detainment or a defense hold anyday over an arrest.

    • vicosads on 07/03/2018 - 19:38

      Tasers n shit lack reliability

      • justwii on 07/03/2018 - 19:46
        +1

        Well there are heaps of non-lethal choices other than tasers. Rubber, beans, pepper, flash, etc.

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 19:58

          I'd be all for any solution that can help deal with someone who has made a bad decision in a non lethal and humane way, but I hate to break a myth here :

          Firearms in these situations are not applied to be lethal force, they are applied to neutralize a situation, this can result in it, but it is never intended nor wished.

        • justwii on 07/03/2018 - 20:10
          +1

          @typhoonadventure: Human should invent this

        • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 21:05
          +1

          @justwii: Haha, the boss jokingly said we'd see a decline in assaults if we could let people solve arguments with sumo suits.

  • syousef on 07/03/2018 - 21:11
    +2

    @typhoonadventure

    I'm sorry but after reading your first comment I just can't read another novel-length answer. I'm sure this comes off as rude without the body language to back it up but it is sincere. If you're in management you should consider getting yourself put on a business writing course or get some one on one coaching with a focus on brevity and "front-focus". I'm sure you could claim it as a business expense and a tax write off.

    • typhoonadventure on 07/03/2018 - 21:14
      +1

      So writing in a casual capacity on a forum for a bit of a fun outside of a work environment didn't meet your standards?

      • syousef on 07/03/2018 - 21:16
        +15

        I'm going to be blunt. You have interesting content that have managed to make dreary and boring. I found it hard not to start skimming. Even when you were writing about rock stars. For your own sake understand that my criticism is intended to be constructive. I'm bound to cop flak for it, but I've taken the time to write to you.

        I was also, for many, many years known for my lack of brevity. It holds you back in ways you don't understand until you learn to write more briefly. It doesn't matter how interesting what you're talking about is, if no one can stand to read it! I still struggle with this myself at times.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/03/2018 - 21:53

    Security adviser of just over 10 years.

    What's with the sys admins? What do they have stuck up theirs?

  • danger163 on 07/03/2018 - 22:41
    +2

    You should try becoming a writer. Haven't read any of your answers, but a TLDR at the end of every answer would interest me to read.

  • Aceboy884 on 08/03/2018 - 11:46

    I tried a number of times reading the ops reply

    My attention couldn’t make it past the second paragraph

  • DiscoJango on 08/03/2018 - 20:12

    m14 or p90?

    • typhoonadventure on 08/03/2018 - 20:13

      f89, but thats a lifetime ago.

      • DiscoJango on 08/03/2018 - 20:15
        +1

        ah, thats taking it way back. guess that was a different world back then. much simpler in some ways, but still had its own particular issues.

  • gimli on 08/03/2018 - 21:22

    how many push ups, chin ups, one arm push ups, one arm push ups and star jumps can you do?

    • typhoonadventure on 08/03/2018 - 21:26

      0 zero actually. Have had a joint rebuilt.

      • gimli on 08/03/2018 - 21:28

        oh ok. Hopefully new joint is going ok.

  • Plug on 08/03/2018 - 23:50
    -1

    Further to the self defence question earlier, you say you are only legally allowed to use reasonable force.

    If someone comes swinging at you with fists are you allowed to beat them down or are you supposed to just fend them off?

    What if someone came at you with a knife instead? As this is a deadly weapon and you have no way of knowing for sure how far the perp will go what are your options? Would it be reasonable to assume that as a deadly weapon was in play then deadly force is intended and act accordingly?

    • typhoonadventure on 09/03/2018 - 03:10

      Our laws are very… interesting

      Most people have never read them

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-defence_(Australia) gives a rundown on it. It's a very hard area to deal with because a lot of it is open to interpretation.

      There is also what is law and what will actually be enforced.

      Situation 1 - Beating them down you are likely to end up being deemed using force beyond reason.

      Situation 2 - Comes down to the situation, most people off the street the main thing that will apply is did you have the opportunity to run away.

      One should never act with intention to cause excessive or deadly force.

      • Plug on 09/03/2018 - 18:39

        Thanks for the reply. What if I am not in a position to run?

        • typhoonadventure on 09/03/2018 - 19:14

          Then it comes down to whether the investigation decides you should be charged, and then whether a court of law will deem you had no other option.

          It's a very, very dangerous section for legal advice.

          For example i've been in a situation where someone tried to jump both myself and a partner in an alleyway with an illegal weapon, first hit stunned me to a degree and during the moments it took me to regain my composure and stand up again they were using it on my partner, I didn't want my mate killed obviously, so I went to combat the offender unarmed and my only option was to turn the item in question on them and as a result they ended up with heavy damage to a knee joint.

          I can't go into specifics hence why i'm not mentioning the item in question, but they got a very good lawyer and were able to argue that despite them being there with an illegal weapon, that we were out there looking for a fight which was ridiculous, stuck to their guns claiming they never had an illegal weapon and that WE had planted it on them and so on.

          Police prosecutor got scared and dropped charges so that this person did not file assault charges against us and the officers involved… (claimed he was beaten senseless by us and the officers).

          Here is where it gets stupid, when we questioned the prosecutor we were told that if we had RUN AWAY during the situation, he would have no leg to stand on in court, as we stated that we stood our ground as we had no option, their lawyer instantly replied with one of the guards claims to be stunned on to the ground, when they were able to stand they then admitted to contesting my client when they had the ability to remove themselves from the situation, yet they chose not to.

          Argued that made it invalid as self defense… so they argued I was meant to run away leaving my mate to cop repeated hits to the head with a weapon…

          This is why you run a lot of hurdles with the system, you can have something as small as this derail it all, i'm not in a position to lie so yeah.

          The person in question a year later got caught with more illegal weapons threatening someone as well, I dont know what the outcome of that one was but you will be surprised how many career criminals have in depth knowledge of laws or lawyers who know how to get them out of trouble.

          So end of the day, if you are not in position to run, minimal force required to neutralize the threat and get out of there, a sad truth is, a lot of the time you will panic.

          Might come as a shock to some people but there are people there who fantasize about being in these situations… I dont for the life of me know why but it's a fact, people like to think of being in a life or death situation, adrenaline going, and how if that one situation you've heard of if it had been you there instead of the person who was things would have gone down different.

          I've seen mix martial arts fighters crying after being mugged, tiny old ladies who have beaten the crap out of stunned attackers, you can only prepare yourself so much for an event that even if you have been through it time and time again, it can always play out different.

          Just try not to make a bad decision should you find yourself unfortunate enough to be in one of these situations.

          If you can run, run.

          Don't be a hero, if the person just wants the money/items, do it.

          If there is a weapon involved, take it seriously, don't let youtube knife fight videos cloud your judgement, even a kitchen knife can ruin your life, so again if you can get out of dodge, get the f*** out of dodge.

          Best advice I can give you on this one? Don't get into that situation, if you can't do that, get out of it as soon as you can.

  • MementoMori on 09/03/2018 - 10:26
    +2

    FWIW just wanted to say thanks to the OP for this AMA and sharing your experience, it's a very interesting read from someone and an industry I'm sure many us computer nerds wouldn't have an opportunity to otherwise.

  • good grape on 12/03/2018 - 16:49

    Recently saw this security guard staying 24/7 in front of a restaurant near my work that had been taken possession by the owner(maybe not 24/7, but I see him day in day out, going to and leaving work), how long does that guard have to stay there normally?

    • good grape on 12/03/2018 - 16:50

      I have a feeling I will come back to this AMA on a regular basis. Hope you're still up for questions, typhoonadventure and his boss haha

      • typhoonadventure on 12/03/2018 - 18:40

        We're happy to help, as you have seen from the hecklers, we're happy to engage here in anyway that is a positive community interaction, my boss may even make an account and give his two cents as well, unless he gets kicked for some his more risque stories.

    • typhoonadventure on 12/03/2018 - 18:38

      @goodgrape Depends on the job, depends on the duty.

      Could be doing all the functions and duties asked of them, could be slacking, hard to say off that little info.

      He could also be risk assessment/management duties where you are can be doing many functions at once, again more info required.

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