Anecdotally there seems to be a trend at corporate level of increased private security. Brought on by the recession where a lot of managing directors and CEOs have to engage in hiring private security firms in order to protect themselves and sometimes their staff. As there are a growing number of customers that have lost so much so quickly some of who are resorting to violence in order to express their anger. It goes without saying that this behaviour cannot be condoned; however it Can be understood in the present circumstances. Just think that you had spent 40 years saving your lump sum and within the space a year that lump sum (if it was put into a high-risk fund) could have been almost wiped out. Large companies whether they be banking, equity or construction related would have hundreds and thousands of customers and all you need is a tiny percentage of these customers to resort to violence which would make the need to hire private security in order to protect oneself.



What is involved in hiring private security where would you start, who would you contact and what are the questions that you would need to ask before you make the decision of what company to hire. If you are the CEO of a large company you will have the resources to investigate and the contacts to ask in order to find out which is the right company for you. However the rest of the population would have to make that decision on a lower budget. The professionalism of private security firms can often be called into question. After 9/11 it became common knowledge that the standard of security in airports was in adequate to protect the public. The comparisons that were made were that an employee at McDonald's is getting paid more than those security personnel in an airport. With all due respect to the employees of McDonald's but security at an airport should be held with the higher prestige.

Before signing with a security company, you need to decide what level of security you need and how often you need it? What are the services you require. I have made a list of the following questions that you should ask yourself before you make any decision. Apart from hiring a security firm you must go through your home or business to make sure that the basics are covered. A good security for would give you free consultation as a result of a successful tender and tell you what you should do in order to make your house or business secure.

As with any investigation once you start asking some questions they will need onto others start with the topics below and hopefully it will lead to decent research before you make your decision.

1. What is the list of clients that the company already has and can you get testimonials from any of the clients. If you can get names and numbers and make the call yourself this is much better than relying on second-hand information.

2.Does a company have the required license to trade? This is something that should have been submitted to you during the tendering process if not I would get suspicious. Ring your local government office or counsel to find out what are the required licenses to have in order to trade as a private security firm.

3. How long have they been in business? The question that you're really asking is not how many years experience do they have, but rather years in business as a going concern. They are two fundamentally different questions. The longer they have been in business for greater the chance they will be around in five years time.

4. Do they perform background checks on their employees? This is an important question in any business but hugely important in the private security industry. Think about what you are asking these people to do, you need to trust them implicitly. I would not like anyone with a criminal record protecting my premises.

5. What is their level of expertise? What training do they have? Is all staff trained up to the same standard? Is the person handling your account trained to your satisfaction?

6. Are there any hidden costs with regards to the contract?

As you can see there is a lot to consider, this is by no means a comprehensive list of questions that you need answered however it is a really good starting point and should get you on your way. Another question that you should ask yourself is how long will it needs the service for? Private security is one of these services that the longer you have it the less likely you will do without it. You should have a review period every three years, this will help you to ask those type of questions.