Private security guards play key roles post-9/11
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic - Jan. 22, 2006 - Forget the image of the pot-bellied security guard, asleep with a newspaper in his lap and doughnut crumbs on his chin.
Post-Sept. 11, the old rental cop in many cases has been replaced by security officers who are screened, licensed, trained and equipped better than their quaint predecessors.
Homeland defense experts, such as former FBI Deputy Director Weldon Kennedy, say the enhanced professionalism is critical because the private-security industry defends more than three-fourths of the nation's most likely terrorism targets.
"The great majority of critical infrastructure in the United States is not protected by sworn law officers," said Kennedy, now vice chairman of New York-based Guardsmark LLC, one of the world's largest security companies. "You name any industry, and you're going to find private security is protecting it. And I don't believe the public is really aware of that."
Private officers are defending power plants, oil refineries, financial centers, computer systems, dams, malls, railroad lines and other prospective terrorism targets. They are responsible for millions of lives and billions of dollars in assets. And they are most likely to be first on the scene in major disasters.
In Arizona, they protect dams on the Salt River, patrol the fence at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, defend Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Plant and stand guard at banks and Circle K's.
Bob Brown, vice president of an Arizona security company and former deputy director of aviation at Sky Harbor, said 9/11 transformed homeland defense and the security business with it.
"When that tragic event happened, a lot of people had to do some soul-searching," Brown said. "The government can't do it all. They need private security."
As a result, security firms today are consolidating, specializing and becoming more professional, and their employees are better screened and equipped to combat attacks, said Gregory A. Thomas, a senior manager at Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness.
"It's an evolving process," added Thomas, author of Freedom From Fear, a terrorism readiness guide. "It used to be a square-badge industry, and some guards didn't meet the mark . . . . It's not like that anymore. The importance of their role has resulted in a crackdown on those who think they can sit around and do nothing."
It's a big business
Worldwide, private-security company revenues have been estimated at $100 billion by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The institute, which studies issues involving worldwide security, estimates the industry income will double by 2010.
The Fredonia Group, a business research company based in Ohio, projects the international growth rate at 7.7 percent annually through 2008.
The nation's security companies employ 1.5 million people and spend $52 billion per year, compared with public police agencies that have 600,000 workers and spend $30 billion,according to James Pastor, author of The Privatization of Police in America.
Because government officers are more expensive, Pastor sees private guards rapidly absorbing roles once held by public peace officers, protecting stores and neighborhoods.
Proponents say the free- enterprise system often works better and at a lower price for taxpayers. Critics argue that government officers are better equipped to serve the public and are more accountable.
"There are two bottom-line principles: money and fear," Pastor said. "Where is the dividing line between the appropriateness of government and of private security? It's becoming blurred."
Changes over the years
Despite the industry's crucial role in defending against terror, the 9/11 commission, a government group that reviewed America's readiness and response to al-Qaida attacks, took only a sidelong glance last year at the role of rental cops in its 567-page report.
"Because 85 percent of our nation's critical infrastructure is controlled not by the government but by the private sector, private-sector civilians are likely to be the first responders in any future catastrophe," the commission acknowledged. Yet there was no follow-up or evaluation of whether the industry is ready or properly regulated.
Congress paid a bit more attention, conducting hearings about questionable industry standards. Four years ago, Arizona and 31 other states had laws governing security companies. Today, only 10 states have no restrictions, allowing guards to be employed without background checks or training.
Kennedy and other experts said the industry, with a combined 2 million private guards and corporate security officers, has undergone a quiet, dramatic metamorphosis.
Federal crime computers are screening guard applicants. The Department of Homeland Security has begun certifying security-guard companies for certain duties. Private agencies are cutting manpower costs with an array of robots, aerial surveillance drones, computer systems and transponders that detect trespassers with biochemical sensors.
Even before 9/11, international conglomerates had begun swallowing some of the best-known security agencies in the United States. The Swedish firm Securitas bought out Pinkerton and Burns International. Group 4 Securicor, based in Denmark, absorbed Wackenhut.
At the same time, terrorism convinced security providers and consumers that quality can be more important than price when it comes to saving lives and property.
"You get what you pay for," notes Joe Ricci, executive director of the National Association of Security Companies, "If you want somebody to baby-sit your children, are you going to do a reverse auction and take the lowest bidder on that?"
Many companies promote themselves by boasting about employee background checks, pay and benefits. They've launched niche marketing strategies, creating specialist security divisions with guards who are trained to defend particular targets. And they're hiring government experts.
Working together
Brown, now with Phoenix-based AT Systems Security Inc., said his company recently formed an aviation branch with guards who get extra training in skyjacking tactics, the terrorist mentality, airport design, aviation law and incident response.
The company already defends the tarmac at Sky Harbor. It's also developing corporate branches with expertise in protecting harbors, transit systems, military bases and other industries.
"All of those need specialized, private security," Brown said. "It's not an either or. It's got to be a partnership, a joint venture between government and private industry."
Brown and others said cooperation between the public and private sector is a vital part of industry change. As rental guards have become more professional, terrorism investigators are turning to their counterparts in free enterprise much as local police officers rely on Neighborhood Watch.
One example: The Arizona Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Center recently created a training and information-sharing program for about 19,000 security officers who are employed by 201 private companies statewide. ACTIC is a central command for FBI anti-terrorism agents working with state and local law enforcement specialists.
"We started looking at our state and how we could protect it," said Detective Todd Parentau, who oversees the program. "We thought, 'Wow, what a resource! They are the eyes and ears. We'll train them on what to look for and how to report it.' "
Arizona Department of Public Safety Lt. Larry Burns said that system could not have worked five years ago because security agencies were allowed to hire employees for six months before background checks were completed. He said an audit revealed that 43 percent of the private guards in Arizona were not qualified for licensing, mostly because of criminal records.
But the state Legislature erased that loophole in 2002 and established minimum training requirements for licensing and for armed rental cops. Today, state officials are recruiting private guards as a second tier of terrorism watchdogs, complete with shared intelligence and an alert system for specific threats.
Ten private agencies signed up at an initial meeting, and Parentau said others are clamoring to join because they see the promotional benefit to promoting themselves as part of the state's counter-terrorism campaign.
But an industry marked by consolidation and automation also faces a major marketplace quandary: trying to do the security job correctly even as companies engage in bidding contests for contracts that force them to scrimp on manpower, training and overall quality.
When earnings plummet, some corporate executives see the security budget as an easy place to reduce costs. Kennedy, who spent 34 years with the FBI and once served as special agent in charge for Arizona, said some are deceived by the fact that al-Qaida has not launched a successful attack in the United States since 2001.
"Our concern in private security is we are seeing more and more complacency creep in," Kennedy said. "Some are beginning to question the commitment they've made, and are pulling back to cut costs."
Reach the reporter at dennis .wagner@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8874. _______________________________________________________
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