Private Protection Professionals Need More Appreciation Not More Regulation

This article, State agency cracking down on unregistered security guards, companies, inspired my commentary below:

As non government employees, private protectors are already more than sufficiently regulated by laws governing our profession and those more broadly applied to any citizen.

I think we err in comparing our profession to, and modeling it after, reforms law enforcement is undergoing.

As great voices within our ranks correctly note, private protection and public policing are two very different occupations, despite steady cross pollination of members from each in both professions.

The private protection profession doesn't have the force field against individual criminal penalties and civil liability which is qualified immunity, unlike law enforcement counterparts. When one of us stands accused of excessive force, unlawful detention or negligence, the pathway to arrest, prosecution or being sued is instantaneous in most cases.
Against this sword of damocles shadow bringing swift accountability, I honestly can't grasp what more regulations heaped upon us is going to do except further burden an already burdened profession providing protection without violating civil liberties during a truly tumultuous time in history.

Private protectors aren't an untouchable threat to public safety and civil liberties. After high profile cases of security officer wrong doing, there's a rush to treat our profession like a rogue actor on the civic landscape instead of the stabilizing force it has always been.

As society's largest organized protective resource, and often its least regarded, our profession needs more appreciation, not more regulation.

Officers, guards, greeters, hosts, staff, agents, however they're called, are far more accountable to society than government counterparts in law enforcement--a point we shouldn't fail to stress during debates about more regulation.

Appreciating our profession's contributions to public safety and safeguarding civil liberties would better address concerns about professional overreach and abuse of rights.

EVENT SECURITY PROFESSIONAL. ADVOCATE.

Nadra Enzi aka Cap Black is a philosophical protector specializing in security management beside event organizers and owners of establishments serving the general public.