Keeping shoppers safe

Kirsten Halcrow, Director of the EMPS Loss Prevention Training Academy says: "We feel that the time has come for retailers to raise their expectations of the standards and professionalism of security guards deployed in their stores.

"Often guards are placed in retail outlets with minimal understanding of the retail industry, in more extreme cases they are put in their stores right off the street."

Ros Neilson, Training Manager of the Academy, believes: "It is incumbent on retailers themselves to insist that private security guards are correctly 'retail' trained so they can better detect potential threats and breaches of policy and procedure in their stores.

"We can only make our stores safer in the months and years ahead if our retailers insist on having security guards at their stores who have been correctly trained and understand their security needs."

At a recent EMPS Retail Security Management workshop Captain Vermaak of the CPU Linden SAPS, suggested to delegates that in order to proactively control losses they should ensure that private security guards are proficient in observation skills, know the implications of being 'the first line of defence'; and finally understand the importance of visibility.

It is clear that security guards are the true first responders on-site, however research has shown that many do not know how to effectively and proactively respond to incidents such as armed robbery, even though criminal 'behavioural' signs are apparent.

"Amongst other things, guards need to understand the inherent complexities of the retail industry, know how to better detect fake documents and how to protect the crime scene especially after incidents such as armed robbery," says Neilson.

Although there is much criticism that security guards are often paid minimum wage and perhaps lack the incentive to go beyond their regular duties Halcrow comments: "We have noticed that many guards do see their work as "career path" jobs and specialised, continuous training increases the security guards commitment to his duties as the first line of defence."

Neilson insists that guards need to know the methods used by robbers, learned from recent attacks on retailers in South Africa: "It is imperative that they also know best practice post-robbery procedures and what do in the event emergency workers, such as the Ambulance service, are called to their building. They will also better understand those crimes of intent that retailers experience and relevant best practices to deal with them."