Sometimes, TV can paint a pretty dismal picture of security guard companies. They tend to be lazy, out of shape, and perpetually bored, as though doing their jobs is just some obnoxious chore that they’ve been tasked with. In reality, however, security guards are dependable and can end up putting their lives on the line if anything goes wrong. The job requires much more than just sitting in a chair, eating doughnuts, and watching a TV with a camera feed pointed in one spot. This is an occupation that can be employed in many places and has many different facets, very different from what TV sometimes demonstrates.

We’ll use the city of Miami, Florida as an example. There’s plenty of places in Miami that could definitely use the services of Nationwide Investigations & Security, Inc.’s security guard team. To generalize, there are schools, nightclubs, and parking lots just to name a few. One of the security guard’s jobs is to, of course, provide security. They ensure the safety of the people that use these establishments and make sure that those that are suspicious or maybe even mean to do harm are unable to act on their intentions. Granted, this is just a broad explanation of just one of the services that these people have to offer and it’s likely the first one that most of you think of when the term “security guard” comes to mind, but the job is so much more than just looking after others.

Hectic Holidays

The Benefits of A Residential Security Guard

We’ve gone over the most obvious of a security guard’s jobs, which is protecting people, but what about their property? To elaborate on this even further, let’s discuss how exactly this works during the holidays. Because despite the holidays being about love, family, and faith for many people; they can also bring out the worst in some and it’s always best to have an awareness of any potentially bad situation that you can find yourself in and what you can do to prevent it.

Let’s go back to our example in Miami, Florida. Say that you’ve decided to take a trip to the Bayside Marketplace (or maybe you prefer the Mall of the Americas) and you’re going to be out for a bit. Maybe in this scenario, you live in an area that criminals are very much aware doesn’t have security guard services. Your trip to the Marketplace is just for a few more last minute gifts, but you likely already have a few at home (Christmas shopping is best done early after all) and they have potentially become a target for an unsavory character. In order to make sure that this scenario never becomes a reality, you can hire a security guard to help protect your home.

What a Residential Security Guard Actually Does

You might be thinking that there’s no point to that if you have a home security equipment, but an actual human being would be able to alter their security routine to throw off anyone scoping out your home unlike security equipment, which can be predictable. Uniformed guards also have the advantage of being mistaken for policemen and that alone can ward off burglars.

Any guard that’s been well-trained and smart can recognize and inform you of any security risks and properly deal with them so that no home invader can use them for their own gain.

A security guard is also able to make arrests on your property if anyone does (and hopefully they don’t) break-in. This qualifies as a private person’s arrest as they are not police officers so the guilty party is then transferred into the custody of the local police department. One other job that a guard has is to help ensure that your equipment is in good working order. They are qualified to check and maintain the working status of whatever sensors, cameras and control panels are apart of the security equipment.

Crowds & Chaos in Miami

Why Security Guards Are Great For Crowded Places

Another good use for a security guard detail would be crowd control. It’s a very good precaution to have a team of people in place that can manage large groups of packed together people. And because we’ve already begun to use the holidays an example as to why some retailers want to consider hiring a security guard service, let’s take Black Friday into account. As all holiday shoppers and retailers probably know by now, shopping for gifts is best done early and Black Friday gives people an opportunity to do so.

Miami’s Holiday Shopping Madness

Why Retailers in Florida (Should) Consider Hiring A Security Team

For those of you that did decide to go to catch their Black Friday deals or were working that day, you may have seen first hand how chaotic things can get. For people who’ve never participated in this event, the idea may seem strange but there have been instances of property damage, serious injury, and even death. A security team could help to mitigate these issues and keep them from happening.

To give stores their due credit, they do take precautions of their own to minimize mishaps like stanchions and offering deals for their products over the course of a few days rather than just during the event itself. That said, security guards do have the advantage of being trained to handle huge groups of people and can keep lines orderly and ensure that all rules and safety precautions are followed.

In the case of an emergency situation, like a fire breaking out, security guards would have the necessary training needed to direct everyone and aid them in clearing the building calmly and safely. One other major reason that a retailer may want to hire security guards in Miami is so that they won’t have to waste time and resources training staff members to deal with a large crowd of people and instead employees can focus on their jobs while the security team is already equipped to keep the establishment, you (retailer or individual shopper), and the other customers and workers safe.

Security Guards for Special Events

Concerts and Other Crowded Events

Holiday shopping may seem an odd place for there to be an out of control crowd, but what about a concert? If the above example is hard for you to swallow, then imagine that you aren’t at the Mall of the Americas, but at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival instead. The music and atmosphere have you and everyone else excited. There’s plenty of people dancing, drinking, and having a good time for the most part. Maybe there are those few people that have had too much to drink, however, and then suddenly a fight breaks out between two or more people.

It’s the job of the security guards on the security team that the Ultra Music Festival has on duty to make sure that the altercation doesn’t escalate into physical violence or barring that, break it up and calm everything down. Drunk and disorderly conduct is rather common at concerts and even though this behavior may not necessarily result in actual fighting, it can be disruptive, bothersome, and the intoxicated person can end up accidentally hurting themselves and others as a result of their clouded mental faculties.

Security guards can also be employed for other events that may need crowd control, such as sporting events (marathons and stadiums), street fairs, the arrival of important foreign dignitaries and politicians, and public demonstrations. Guards are placed at these venues to ensure that there no rioting or crowd crushes occur and that the aforementioned example of drunk and disorderly conduct doesn’t result in any mishaps. Crowd crushes are especially hazardous as they are essentially stampedes of human beings that have trampled upon others. This is something that unfortunately can happen at events where there are large congregations of people— like Black Friday. At some events, security guards utilize metal detectors and sniffer dogs to make sure that no one brings in any weapons or drugs.

Of course, we all hope that we’re never caught in a situation where anything like these examples can happen, but the reality of the situation is that these are scenarios that are entirely possible. It’s not to say that these are things that you will face but rather that you could face them. You wouldn’t want to come into your home and find that your belongings—gifts or otherwise—are missing and that your home has been ransacked or to be stuck in amongst people who are drunk and angry when all you want to do is enjoy your music. And that is what security guards are for, It’s better if you think of less as people who stop a bad situation you’re in but instead of a force that prevents one that could happen. They can guard your home at any time, keep order when a store is filled to the brim with shoppers or make sure that your concert is all about you and the music you want to hear. Whichever situation best suits your needs, they can accommodate you.