Reference no: EM133044094

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.

1. Refer to the needs analysis process in Figure 3.1 and explain its use and relevance for the mandatory security guard training program.

2. Explain the relevance and use of an organizational, task, and person analysis for the security guard training program. What information can be obtained from each level of needs analysis and how can it be useful in the design of the training program?

3. What methods and sources would you use to conduct an organizational, task, and person needs analysis? Explain your reasoning for each method and source.

4. Write 3 training objectives for the security guard training program.

5. Explain the following program evaluation models and how they would apply to the security guard training program. What model would you recommend and why?

a. The Kirkpatrick model,

b. The COMA model, and

c. The decision-based evaluation model