A suspect shot two police officers in a retail store. In response, the officers’ families are suing the retailer, the security company providing the guards, and the two security guards on duty at the time of the shooting.
Why?
Because the officers thought the guards had detained and searched the suspect for weapons. This asserts that when a business detains a suspect and calls the police, it’s standard practice to search and disarm the suspect as reported in The Dallas Morning News. Apparently, someone had searched and only found a can of mace. Yet, the suspect also had a gun. He injured one officer and killed another.
Too Many Avoidable Security Guard Incidents
This isn’t a rare occurrence. Security guards causing more problems and costs happens more than you think. In Nevada, a licensed security guard tried to fire at a robber. Instead, he accidentally shot the employee.
Another incident in Montreal
occurred between two security guards working opposite 12-hour shifts. Neither security guard checked on the building’s daycare, which had a window left open. This caused the pipes to freeze and burst, flooding the place. The flooding caused more than $1 million in damages.
Miami News reported on a mother who said a security guard tackled her 13-year-old daughter outside of a store. The guard suspected the teen had shoplifted. However, the teen didn’t have any stolen merchandise – she had left the items in the store’s dressing room.
You can find many more stories like these. The fact is security guards are not police officers. They do not have the same kind of training. Only those licensed by the state can carry a gun, but it doesn’t mean they will properly handle it.
A Safer Security System
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Hindsight more than likely wouldn’t be needed if the retailer in the first story was utilizing live video monitoring
instead of or in addition to security guards
A trained Stealth operator watching the cameras stays on the line with the police while tracking the suspect’s movements. As soon as police arrive, the operator lets them know the suspect’s location until detained. They can also see whether the suspects are armed and can relay that information to officers. The police can get in a better position to protect themselves with the information they gain from the operator watching the cameras.
The bonus? Remote video surveillance typically costs up to 60 percent less than security guards. The people watching your cameras aren’t on site and can’t be intimidated. You will have less concern about accidental shootings, improper arrests, or security guard-related lawsuits.
Video monitoring can watch more areas simultaneously than guards can. Monitoring systems can include audio speakers that allow the trained operator to alert the suspects they are being watched, often causing them to flee the property. Even when cameras aren’t being watched live during non-monitoring hours, they will still record and capture any incidents that may occur. Then a team of analysts will search through a reasonable number of hours of video footage on your behalf to investigate any issues you have and present you with the result.
Working with Stealth, you have many options available. We can design the right one for your needs. To learn more about video monitoring, please contact us or learn how security guards stack up against live video monitoring.
