Armed Security Guard Job Description

The life of an armed security guard, contrary to the glamorized versions that we see on television and in the movies, is one that involves a lot of peril and infinite chances of accidents and injuries. These accidents and injuries can range from small and slightly serious, to extremely dangerous and sometimes, even fatal.

To become an armed security guard, you need to undergo specific training in armed as well as unarmed combat, in addition to other basic physical and educational requirements that you need to fulfill. So, let us see what exactly the job description of an armed security guard is all about in this story.

The first, foremost and unarguably the most obvious duty of an armed security guard is to protect his assigned subject. The 'subject' may be different for different armed security guards. While some may be posted to protect important personalities, some armed security guards are hired to protect institutions and organizations like banks, jewelry stores, etc.

It is a part of the armed security guard's job description to ensure that the premises are completely safe, not only for the people within, but also for visitors.

Armed security guards appointed to protect people have to see to it that the person is surrounded only by trusted people and also that any unsafe elements are kept at bay. The families of the VIP are also people whom the armed security guard is hired to protect.

An armed security guard is required to ensure that the environment around his subject is safe and secure. However, in the course of ensuring this security, he may come across certain people who behave in a suspicious manner, or in a manner that may cause harm to the others present in the vicinity.

For instance, an armed security guard may come across a person who is acting in a manner that is disrupting the functioning in a bank that is crowded with people. Based on his training and his observation skills, the guard can detain any person who he thinks may be a threat to his client.

This client could be an individual or an institution. After detaining a suspicious person, he must notify the authorities, after whose questioning and investigation, the person may be further detained or let off.

Another important duty that an armed security guard performs is, he canvasses the area around his subject, to identify and remove any unsafe or threatening elements from it.

This includes physical rounds of the area, commanding his subordinates to sweep the area for bugs, monitoring with the help of surveillance cameras, maintaining entry and exit records along with each person's photo identity, etc. Again, the extent and the type of monitoring that an armed security guard performs depends on the people he is hired to guard.

By doing all of the above, the security guard is performing the very fundamental function that he is hired to perform: prevention of a potentially hazardous situation. One of the chief requirements of a security guard is that he should be an extremely alert individual, who can sniff out any danger right in the beginning.

By doing this, he not only protects and safeguards the life of his client(s), but he also helps to avoid any loss and damage of property.

In case he does encounter an armed infiltrator or a person threatening to inflict physical harm on the people he is expected to protect, the security guard is permitted to use his weapon, for which he is specially trained by a training academy.

The use of the weapons provided is something that may vary from one armed security guard job description to another, depending on the type of contract he is under. Also, the level of training, backup and experience matter tremendously in case of use of arms. Hence, it is important that the person be well trained, physically and psychologically to handle pressure situations, which may have grievous consequences.