Security has existed since people began to inhabit the earth. Archaeologists have discovered drawings attributed to “cavemen” that describe how early inhabitants hunted and went to war against other tribes or groups of people. The early inhabitants of the earth needed to protect themselves not only from invaders but from wild animals as well.

The first recognized set of laws is attributed to King Hammurabi of Babylon, who lived about 2000 B.C. Hammurabi devised a legal code that was designed to regulate the behavior of people to one another and to society as a whole. The Code of Hammurabi described what punishment would be enforced against a person who violated the code. The old saying “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” is generally accepted to have been initiated in this code. Ancient customs and traditions that sanctioned improper behavior were legitimized in the code of Hammurabi.

During 500–600 B.C., the Greeks developed procedures and implemented systems to protect strategic roads leading to and from their cities, thus protecting their vital interests from potential enemies.

Around the time the modern calendar began, the Roman Empire ruled much of the known world. The Roman army was well-organized and highly trained. Military units were used to protect their cities. The development of the first quasi-police department was considered to be that of the Praetorian Guard.

Laws in the United States are based on ancient common laws that were developed in England. In late 800 A.D., King Albert established the “King’s Peace,” which was an attempt to stop the private wars and battles that occurred between English noblemen who maintain private armies. The King’s Peace called for certain punishments to be inflicted for violations of the law.

The development of law and the original criminal justice system continued in England for the next several hundred years. In 1750, the first plainclothes detective unit was formed; the detectives were known as the Bow Street Runners. The members of this unit were responsible for running to the scene of a crime in an attempt to capture the criminal. In 1829, what is considered the first police department was formed by Sir Robert Peel, who was Home Secretary of England. Sir Peel was responsible for the establishment of this uniformed, full-time police force. The English term “Bobbie” for police officers was the nickname derived from Sir Robert Peel. In the United States, police departments were formed in several large cities during the 1800s.

In 1859, William Brink founded a truck and package delivery service in Chicago. When Brink’s carried its first payroll in 1891, it became the first armored car and courier service. In 1909, William Burns founded the Burns Detective Agency, which provided security during labor strikes.

At the beginning of World War I, the security industry began to grow because of concerns about sabotage and espionage, but the growth slowed considerably during the Depression. During the 1940s, with the outbreak of World War II, the industry began to grow again.

Before awarding defense contracts, the government required that munitions suppliers begin security measures to protect classified materials and defense secrets from sabotage and spying. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assisted defense contractors in ensuring their security was adequate. The government also granted the status of auxiliary military police to more than 200,000 plant security officers. For the most part, the jobs were to protect war goods, equipment, and personnel. As a result of World War II, manufacturing companies became aware of the need for plant security and its value. After the war, George R. Wackenhut and three other former FBI agents formed the Wackenhut Security Corporation. In 1955, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) was formed. Today, there are over 38,000 members of ASIS what is known now as ASIS International. In 1968, the federal government required increased security for federal banks when Congress passed the Federal Bank Protection Act. In January 1973, the Federal Aviation Administration began to require the screening of all air passengers and carry-on baggage due to the number of air hijackings that were occurring.

Many terms are often used interchangeably to describe security.

Security encompasses all of these areas to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the facility and industry where security officers are employed. This is not meant to imply that the term security is the same as all of the above terms. Rather, in the twenty-first century, security responsibility will continue to increase as long as the training of security personnel is considered to be a good value and return on investment to corporations. The terms can be generally defined as follows:

Safety refers to ensuring that the workplace or conditions in the workplace are not inherently dangerous to people or, if they are dangerous, ensuring that proper protection devices or procedures are implemented to guarantee the continued well-being of people.

Fire protection simply incorporates the equipment, devices, policies, and procedures that are in place to protect life and property from fire loss.

As you study the material in this manual in an effort to learn as much as possible with regard to security training, ask yourself, “What type of career or profession have I entered into?” Various studies have been highly critical of the security industry, citing training inadequacies, poor selection and hiring practices, low pay, high turnover, and intense competition. If these studies are true, why would a person want to work as a security officer? This is a question that each individual employed in the security field must answer.

In their book, Principles of Security, Ricks, Tillet, and VanMeter stated that it is well accepted that many people enter the private security industry because of “John Wayne syndrome”. In other words, many people desire to become security officers (and in many cases, police officers) because they can wear a uniform and possibly carry a gun. Although those of us in the security profession may not like the term John Wayne syndrome, unfortunately in many cases security officers deserve the label. For a variety of reasons, an increasing number of companies are disarming security officers. Today, a person who wants to work in the field of security must be willing to provide a service. There is little need for the macho, “tough-guy” approach to security. Security officers are promoted in large part based upon their ability to serve clients, and security services companies are retained on their ability to satisfy their customers with quality service.

The 9/11 attack, according to government experts, was planned for years. As a result of the attack, security enhancements and dramatic changes in the ways in which citizens travel by air were implemented, including the formation of the Transportation Security Administration, which replaced most of the contract security officers that had been hired by airlines to screen passengers prior to September 11, 2001. Private contract security officers were perhaps the final defense our country possessed as the hijackers proceeded through the security checkpoints that fateful morning. Many books have been written and movies produced detailing the accounts of that day and the years that have followed, but when one considers the role of private security in the world today, imagine just for a moment how the world may be different had the hijackers been thwarted and the attacks not carried out? Would the United States have invaded Afghanistan and Iraq? Would 3000 American citizens have died that day along with thousands of civilians and American soldiers in the years since 9/11? No one can say for certain, but it demonstrates that the “observe and report” role of security is vital and the importance of training the individuals employed in this profession is essential.

The Private Security Officer Selection and Training Guideline was written for both proprietary and contract security, but it is not intended to cover all aspects of training criteria for security officers. It is intended to set forth minimum criteria that regulating bodies in the United States can use to assist in recommending legislation and policies for the selection and training of private security officers.

Private security officer selection and training has been a topic of interest and much debate in recent decades. Various studies and research efforts have been undertaken to better define the role of a private security officer and also provide agencies with information needed to adequately select and train such officers. One of the earlier studies of interest on the subject was the 1972 Rand Corporation report by Kakalik and Wildhorn, titled Private Police in the United States. This report was one of the first descriptions of private security in this country and continues to be referred to as the baseline research on this subject.

We believe that this revised edition of The Effective Security Officer’s Training Manual meets the ASIS International guidelines. We hope that each person who reads and studies its contents effectively will become a professional security representative and will be able to enhance their career.

This manual is divided into several different modules or chapters. Every module covers a fundamental element in the training regimen of a security officer. In each chapter, there are definitions, questions, and points to remember in addition to the text, figures, and charts.

The purpose of this training manual is to provide the information necessary in order for a person to successfully and properly provide a high level of service as a security officer or supervisor. In the coming years, the security industry will continue to grow, diversify, and change. The persons who study the material contained in this manual must realize that the only determiner of a successful career in the security industry rests with them!