By Grayling D. Livingston, PrivateOfficerBreakingNews

New York March 17 2018 Choosing a professional security guard vendor is not an easy process. If a business fails to perform a due diligence inquiry on the prospective vendor, it may result in considerable personal and financial liability for their organization. There are numerous problems that can be encountered and there must be no assumption that advertising material is factual and will protect you from negligent security litigation.

Several factors need to be considered when choosing a security guard vendor. Most security guard vendors are honorable, ethical and perform their responsibilities in a professional manner. The problem arises when dealing with the less-professional vendors. A business owner or operator, by law, cannot relieve themselves of liability for the safety and security of his or her property or individuals on his or her property by hiring a guard services firm. The business owner may outsource the operation of the security program to a vendor, but the wise business owner makes a business decision that only a professional security vendor will be responsible for security operations.

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Unfortunately, the security guard industry is price driven and may not always meet the necessary legal standards and training required to protect the business owner. Organizations must be wary of the claims of professionalism stated by some contractors that may be found on a website or other marketing material which may be exaggerations or outright falsehoods.

Key Considerations and Questions

The question every business owner must ask themselves is: how do I protect myself from unscrupulous security guard vendors? Companies should realize that the lowest bid may not always be the wisest bid. As in any business decision, return on your financial and personal investment must be the primary decision factor. As the old adage states— “you only get what you pay for.” Quality is not an inexpensive consideration.

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There are several critical items that should be considered when selecting a security vendor, including:

Does the company have the required professional and business licenses?

Does the company have professional liability, workman’s compensation and automobile insurance?

Are the individual security officers licensed as required by law?

Are the individual security officers trained as required by law and your business requirements?

Are the individual security officers properly equipped and do they present a professional appearance?

How are the individual security officers and security operations supervised and managed?

Has the security company or its individual staff members and officers been defendants in a security negligence litigation matter?

Does the security company have the required professional and business licenses?

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Each state and local jurisdiction has a licensing requirement that normally mandates the minimum standards for a security company operation. In some jurisdictions, the mandate may require an accomplishment of minimum requirements for a security agency license and/or individual security officer licenses. Also, many jurisdictions require a business license for tax and revenue purposes.

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