Security: The Price One Has To Pay

           It was thought appropriate to share with the readers/viewers of this Newsletter the following thoughts from an internationally-acclaimed security professional:

 Mr. Nath:  In response to your newsletter Editorial:

 During my security career which spans four decades I've agonized over the fact that the face of this most worthy profession has been the lowly security officer who stands alone in the rain at night, poorly trained, poorly paid, enjoying little, if any, respect for his or her contributions to society.  Indeed, they compete with janitorial workers for room at the bottom of the working class' pecking order.

 Why?  Because those in management in the security service industry intentionally undervalue their staff by low bidding and under-bidding for guard contracts.  Only a few have raised the standards for their services and refuse to bid down.  Those few are stars in the security sky. 

 It was the universal belief that poor pay and poor training was the hallmark of private sector uniform security service, and when the fateful event of September 11, 2001 occurred and the focus came on airport security, the many thousands of uniform security officers were condemned. 

 It only made sense to law makers in the United States, that the "poor" performance of officers in the private sector had to be replaced with a better performance which would be the result of better pay and training offered by the public sector.

 It was a well-deserved slap in our industry's face.

 So thousands of jobs, which we bid low and deemed of low value went to the public sector and deemed to be of much greater worth.

 Has the security industry learned a lesson here? I'm not sure.

 I pray an era will begin in which all security management decision-makers will stand tall and hold that the services they provide can't be discounted, aren't cheap, and wouldn't dream of undercutting a competitor's bid.  Rather, like I have done as a security management consultant through-out my career, have gladly recommended other consultants who charge a lesser fee for services.  Hence, I've attempted to instill an understanding of "you get what you pay for" and the client should want, needs and will pay for quality. 

 Mr. Charles A. Sennewald, CMC, CPP,
28004 Lake Meadow Drive,
Escondido, California-92026, USA.

Thank you very much, Mr. Sennewald,

D. C. Nath, IPS (Retd.)
Former Special Director, IB, MHA (Govt. of India),
Executive President & CEO, IISSM.