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PROFESSIONAL EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICE
Emergency situations such as natural disasters, civil unrest, violent demonstrations and labor disputes create situations which security officers are not normally trained or equipped to handle.
A contract service should be staffed and equipped to professionally handle these unusual crisis and stress situations--or have a working relationship with a firm which can provide appropriate on site security management services during these events.
It can prove beneficial if the contract service has at least one local member of the management team with enough experience to qualify in court as an expert witness in the emergency protection field--or again, have associates who qualify here.
Additionally, the firm should have at least one member of local management with a good basic knowledge of NLRB regulations and general civil and criminal law (or have a competent consultant or labor attorney on retainer or otherwise associated with the local branch.) Frequently, during labor disputes, security officers and security management inexperienced in handling such problems inadvertently take actions which may result in unfair labor practices. Many well managed contract agencies realize their limitations in this area and, with the client's consent, arrange for an experienced specialist security agency to handle the front line high risk security during strikes. This is usually the preferable way to handle the security during labor disputes, as it eliminates--or at least minimizes the resentment strikers might harbor against the regularly assigned security officers following the agreement reached during contract negotiations.
In cases where a significant temporary increase in coverage is required, due to a natural disaster or civil disturbance, many security firms are able to provide additional personnel through associate firms located in areas unaffected by the event. Obviously, the client company would be expected to handle any additional costs involved with the temporary increased coverage.
Many security firms offer investigative services and some provide professional bodyguards. The bodyguards supplied by many of these firms, however, are actually just armed personnel with no real training in this specialized profession. However, in some cases, this may well be all that is required. Security services which do not provide these ancillary services usually have associations with investigative or personal protection agencies, or can refer their clients to professionals in those fields. In plant undercover investigations are common requests. Full service security and investigation businesses usually provide this service. Many security services, however, conduct no investigation work and here again, can usually introduce their clients to agencies which regularly handle these operations. Some less ethical services, however, simply take an officer with no investigative training or experience out of uniform and designate him or her as an undercover investigator.
Perhaps the best way to establish whether the contract service can provide or arrange for backup services is to request references specifically in that area, then contact the references.
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