Industry body takes steps to support security officers
Industry body launches initiatives to support those who suffer abuse at work
The Security Industry Council (SIC) is taking steps to support private security officers who suffer abuse while doing their jobs, in the wake of a high-profile incident between a condominium resident and a security officer over parking charges.
Security officers have been told to report any cases of abuse to an e-mail helpline, stopabuse@hormatsecurity.com
SIC said cases will be routed to the existing mediation service of the Union of Security Employees (USE) for further assessment and follow-up.
"Depending on the cases, assistance will be rendered to the affected officers - this could be in terms of mediation, providing legal advice or supporting officers to apply for medical leave, medical claims or even change of site or roles," said SIC, an umbrella body of security industry organisations.
If necessary, the officers could be helped to lodge police reports.
COMPLAINTS AND VIDEOS
Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, president of the Security Association of Singapore, said the e-mail helpline provides an avenue for officers to send complaints and videos of abuse without having to get into trouble over doxxing and harassment.
SIC also brought up a poll involving 52 security officers which was conducted earlier this year by USE. About 73 per cent of the respondents reported some form of abuse - verbal or physical - in their work.
SIC added that most duties performed by security officers require them to advise the public of the conditions and rules put in place by the managing agent or site representatives.
"Should the officers fail to execute the rules, they or their employer are often faced with financial penalties," said SIC. But when they implement the rules, the officers risk getting abused.
To improve matters, SIC suggested that buyers of security services use a model that involves seeking expected performance levels from security agencies, instead of specifying manpower levels.
SIC also suggested proper threat, vulnerability and risk assessment (TVRA) to identify and analyse risks to the critical assets of a site.
It suggested installing the right security technology at sites, based on the TVRA analysis and to deploy manpower that has been trained to use the technology.
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