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charged by the contract service is the profit--the amount they would save by handling security in house.
Although, proprietary security officers are unregulated in many states, there are predictions that this may change in the future. It is often stated that it makes little sense to regulate officers employed by contract services, but exclude others who perform identical duties simply because their employment arrangements are different.
Another prediction, at least by some optimistic proponents of big government, is nationwide legislation requiring mandatory training of all security officers by certified instructors. Should such a change occur, the business served by a proprietary force would need to either employ a certified instructor or send the entire security team through a certified course. Contract services, of course, would be obliged to provide this additional training at no cost to the client.
The removal of an undesirable contract service officer from the post is a relatively simple matter compared with terminating a proprietary officer and taking on the exposure of a wrongful discharge suit.
In house security forces are generally managed by one supervisor, captain, or chief. If an emergency arises when this manager cannot be reached, the officers on the scene usually have no one to call for instructions or advice. A well run contract agency will have at least one backup system in place so a qualified person in authority can always be reached by officers on duty
Often smaller proprietary services are never inspected on any regular basis raising the question at the beginning of this section: Who will watch the watchman? A professionally run contract service will provide regular inspections at no cost to the client company, as a regular part of their service.
A comprehensive instruction manual, usually known as post orders, is a must on the post. This must be written in a clear, understandable and precise manner, so officers know specifically how to handle predictable events. Often proprietary security supervision lacks the experience, writing skills or time to prepare this necessary document. In some cases, proprietary officers operate without orders, deciding for themselves what to do and how to respond to situations. An effective contract service normally can provide the talent and expertise to prepare and update post orders in accordance with the client company's specifications and desires at no charge. In other cases, the contract service can handle this through an outside consultant.
Many contract services are capable of providing specialized ancillary services when emergencies or unusual situations develop. This is a real asset since the typical proprietary security force and its supervision may have limited experience and facilities to deal with it--and have no one to go to for advice. An experienced contract service, which regularly handles emergencies and unusual events, can often provide backup capable and qualified to make the right recommendations and decisions during high stress crisis events. This is particularly important when the wrong decision--based on inexperience--could result in personal injury or loss of life.
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