Security guards have to wear recognizable security uniforms if they want the people that he confront to respect their authority. Dressed like the average Joe, they will not be very effective in moving people along or confronting them about their questionable activities.
The world is changing. It seems that over the past five years, security issues have come to the forefront of everybody's attention. Terrorism has become a major topic in the media, in politics and for some in every day life, due to changes in policies and the accessibility of certain things. Both national, local and private security stepped up a lot for a while but now for the most part has reached reasonable levels again.
Uniformed and plain clothed police and security units have always been an integral part of any society, however more so today it seems. There has been an extremely strong push towards homeland defense and protection, where as in the past, the emphasis might have been to guard and place surveillance on our borders or in other places on the globe that held items of economic interest to us. A guard is usually placed in a location because a few problems already exist and those in charge decide that they want to deter any further occurrences of the problem.
On a local level, security offers are and have always been a part of every day life. They offer protection to store owners, residents of up-scale apartment buildings and to individuals that have the funds to hire them. Uniforms worn by security guards are generally dark in color and are often fashioned after police uniforms, although obviously not identical. The designers and manufacturers of security uniforms want to create an association between the authority of a police officer and the authority of a security officer. This does work the majority of the time however there many hardened criminals that will not obey a police officer, much less a security guard.
Security guard uniforms usually have some type of shield or other insignia that identifies what security company the guard is working for. The reality for most security guards is that they have a lot of responsibility but generally very little authority. Limitations on the amount of authority that they have can tie their hands in certain situations. Still, the presence of a security person in uniform is, more often than not, the only defense necessary to avert and deter crime and other negative activities from taking place in the areas where they are stationed.
There is so much rebellion amongst young people that hang out on the streets these days that if a security officer is expected to enforce any type of rules or regulations they have to be dressed in some type of uniform or garb. The public has to be able to recognize that they do have a certain amount of authority to approach or confront them.
Security guards can be an intimidating sight but this usually is the case when they are large, hulking men like the bouncers that often work at night clubs and bars. In a situation where a conflict arises between someone that has done wrong and a security guard, their only option is to call the police although often fights occur instead between security staff and the offender.
