One of the critical questions arising when you hire security guards, or have another responsibility for guards you’re employing, is: armed or unarmed. It is both a pragmatic question, as well as an ethical question for the party making the decision. A CEO or an event manager needs to decide whether guards bearing firearms (and also batons, tasers or pepper sprays) is the right approach – considering all of the consequences (intended and unintended) that can come from the presence of guns and the authority to use them. These are life and death decisions that security personnel must make in highly-volatile situations, and those life and death decisions also involve the original decision maker. Nevertheless, in certain venues armed guards are a logical necessity. Banks and jewelry stores, for instance, are environments of high potential for armed crime.
Armed security guards can be seen in banks, hospitals, airports, government facilities, museums, courthouses, warehouses, precious gem or gold items and other venues with heightened potential danger of threat or crimes undertaken. However, a mall, a grocery store chain or a school and many other venues may not be. Guards carrying pistols and a belt full of hand combat tools sends a clear message to visitors or customers, as well as to wrong-doers. In many cases that is not the message you want to convey.
On the side of armed security, these officers are supposed to be highly trained and experienced in the use of and authorized use of such weapons. These are specialized guards. Typically, they are in venues with high-dollar-value items. In our WWPro security company, our armed guards are highly trained, with police or military backgrounds.
In some cases, unarmed guards to carry batons or pepper spray to use if a threatening individual needs to be subdued. That is a balance, a balance that we at WWPro work out with you in determining what is best for your circumstances.