Page 19 - June July 2017

Elite Investigative Journal
Integrated Firearm Safety Principles, pg 19-21
©2014-2017 SYT Global, Inc.

The Threat of Ambushes to Private Security Are Real

By Donato Sinisi

Photo Courtesy of google.com
By now many of you know of the amount of violence that has been committed against law enforcement all
across the country. Some of these police officers were killed for the simple fact that they were in uniform and
were police officers. By extension Security Officers have been placed in the very same position along with their
counterparts in the fire and EMS services.

It’s become a sorry fact of life: ambushes are all too real now. The patrol car which was once considered “sa-
cred” as a place to safely write your reports, park to deter would be criminals or simply eat your lunch or dinner
now has a bull’s-eye on it, especially if the vehicle is marked. Sadly too, police stations have been shot at and
even fire apparatus and ambulances have been targeted and the trend appears to be more and more fire depart-
ments and EMS providers are now purchasing and requiring their staff members to wear body armor. What
continues to amaze me is that many of the security companies and private officers have not begun to take this
type of threat seriously enough to warrant such purchases and protections.

The reality is that Private Security Officers face many of the same threats and the sooner we come to realize
this, the better. Here’s my reality: there is absolutely no justification for assaulting, injuring or killing law en-
forcement officers, security officers, firefighters and EMS professionals - absolutely none!

The responsibilities of a private security officer are far reaching but all have the same basic job of protecting
people and assets. However, they should have available to them any equipment that will keeps themselves as
safe as possible. Everyone in public safety and private security deserves to go home to their friends and family.
It’s time to get off the “observe and report” wagon. Those days are gone- long gone! It’s unfortunate that there
have been too many private officers killed in the line of duty, approximately one-hundred so far this year, ac-
cording to Private Officer International. Additionally, one-thousand private officers have been assaulted, stabbed
or shot. It’s inexcusable these officers are not afforded the same protections as law enforcement officers. Many
of these officers are not armed and in many cases are not allowed to carry defensive equipment. We want them
to protect us but let’s face it, we are setting them up to fail from the very beginning.

Let me take a step back and be blunt because it’s very important that we understand that today’s world is much
more different and violent than in years past.

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