Reference no: EM133044093

Training Security Guards

In 1999, Patrick Shand was wrestled to the ground by security guards at a grocery store in Toronto. He was handcuffed and kept face-down on the ground, where he died of asphyxiation after being accused of shoplifting baby formula.

In February of 2004, a coroner's inquest ruled that Shand's death was accidental, and that he died of restraint asphyxia with complications from chronic and acute cocaine use. One of the findings of the inquest was that Shand might not have died if the guards who apprehended him had been trained in the use of force and life-saving.

The inquiry made 22 recommendations to reform Ontario's security industry. For example, it recommended that all in-house security guards and bouncers in Ontario be licensed and receive mandatory training (in areas such as first aid, CPR, and the use of force) that identifies the hazards of restraint asphyxia and excited delirium, and appropriate training in the use of handcuffs and expandable batons. The inquest concluded that "It is important that the government act quickly, responsibly, and diligently."

The Ontario government responded to the inquest's 22 recommendations with amendments to the Private Security and Investigative Services Act in 2005. This was the first time the Act had been updated since it was passed in 1966. The updated Act went into effect in August 2007, and specified August 2008 as the deadline for 22 000 previously unlicensed security guards and bouncers to get licensed.

In addition to mandatory licensing for all security personnel and standards for uniforms, equipment, and vehicles used by security personnel, the Act also includes mandatory training standards. The basic training standard would be developed to include knowledge of relevant legislation (the new Private Security and Investigative Services Act, and the Trespass to Property Act); power of arrest; use of force; communications and public relations skills; first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); on-the-job skills (report writing, note taking, and diversity sensitivity); and the use of equipment (batons, handcuffs).

Security guards and bouncers in Ontario now must pay $80 to meet the new requirements. However, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services did not implement the training program that is part of the licensing. Those in the industry were left questioning the law.

Thus, despite a proposed curriculum and government plans for a 40-hour mandatory training program, the licence requirements only required in-house security guards and bouncers to submit an application to the ministry, pay a fee, and pass a criminal record check. No use-of-force training or first-aid training was required. As a result, security guards continued to work at local stores and nightclubs without the basic training needed to safeguard lives.

In May of 2008, the Ministry announced that it was pushing back plans to implement the training program from November 2008 to an undetermined later date because the curriculum for training had only recently been finalized. However, according to the director and registrar of the Ministry's private security and investigative services branch, which is responsible for the new licensing procedures, "The onus of responsibility is at this state on the employer to make sure that their staff are adequately trained." As for the province's slow pace in implementing the training, he said that it takes time to implement such a wide range of changes in an industry that has never had to be licensed or trained.

However, other provinces already have similar training programs in place. British Columbia has a 40-hour course for security guards that is taught by the same people who train the police.

Unfortunately, the problem has not gone away. In 2008, a 20-year-old man died in Hamilton after being pinned to the ground by a security guard and store employees who suspected him of stealing a $15 radiator hose from a Canadian Tire store.

In June of 2008, bouncers found a woman unconscious and frothing from the mouth in the back of an after-hours club. The bouncers did not have first-aid training and did not know how to help the woman, who later died.

In February of 2009, two security guards at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto were dismissed following the alleged beating of a man who had broken ribs and a punctured lung. The hospital said that it will assess and review its use-of-force policy and procedures, and that it intends to provide additional diversity training to its security officers.

Finally, on April 15, 2010, the new basic Training and Testing Regulation came into effect. The regulation requires that individuals must take a mandatory basic training course and pass the basic ministry test before they are eligible to apply for a security guard or private investigator licence.

The security guard basic training program must consist of at least 40 in-class hours and must include certification in Emergency Level First Aid. Basic security guard training obtained through Web-based, instructor-led distance learning (e.g., virtual classroom) meets the ministry's requirement for in-class training. However, Web-based courses must include some real-time interaction with an instructor.

Sources: Popplewell, B. (2008, July 14). Training lag angers guards. Toronto Star, pp. A1, A9; Security industry cleanup overdue. (2007, August 23). Toronto Star, p. A6; Black, D. (2004, April 24). Tough rules on security demanded: "This is Patrick's legacy," Shand's mother says of coroner's jury findings. Toronto Star, p. B1; McGuinty government ­introduces new legislation to make Ontarians safer. (2004, December 9). Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional ­Services, Government of Ontario. Retrieved from www.ogov.newswire.ca/ontario (March 16, 2009); Henry, M. (2009, ­February 19). Man says ribs broken by hospital guards. Toronto Star, p. A2; Henry, M. (2009, February 27). Hospital CEO ­apologizes to beaten man. Toronto Star, p. GT4.

Writing Training Objectives

Writing training objectives involves more than making lists of behaviour verbs such as recognize and evaluate. The real skill is the ability to rework needs analysis information into performance outcomes. A training objective should contain four key elements of the desired outcome, as follows:

1. Who is to perform the desired behaviour? Employees and managers are the easiest to identify. In a training situation more accurate descriptors might be "all first-level supervisors," "anyone conducting selection interviews," or "all employees with more than one month of experience." The trainer is not the "who," although it is tempting for some trainees to write, for example, that the trainer will present five hours of information on communication. The goal of the instructor is to maximize the efficiency with which all trainees achieve the specified objectives, not just present the information.⁴
2. What is the actual behaviour to be used to demonstrate mastery of the training ­content or objective? Actions described by verbs like type, run, and calculate can be measured easily. Other mental activities, such as comprehend and analyze can also be described in measurable ways. This represents the essence of what it is that the trainee must be able to do as a result of the training. Therefore, it is important to clearly indicate what that behaviour will be. One way to do this is to use Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives, which includes six main categories (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create) that are ordered from simple to ­complex and concrete to abstract.⁵ Table 4.3 lists the six main categories and subcategories.
3. Where and when is the behaviour to be demonstrated and evaluated (i.e., under what conditions)? These could include "during a 60-second typing test," "on a ski hill with icy conditions," "when presented with a diagram," or "when asked to design a training session." The tools, equipment, information, and other source materials for training should be specified. Included in this list may be things the trainee may not use, such as calculators.
4. What is the standard by which the behaviour will be judged? Is the trainee expected to type 60 words per minute with fewer than three errors? Can the trainee list five out of six purposes for training objectives?

Question

Write 3 training objectives for the security guard training program.