Is it our Village Patrol or Village Security? 4/09/2008

I was surprised when told by employees of our in house non-security staff patrol that since its inception, our management has not provided any particular updated procedural guidelines or training. I've been told there has been no training in the use of our pricey defibrillator. Our Village spent $2500.00 to have a usable machine and lightly trained people on hand in order to help save your life or mine. Most of the eight staff members are gone that passed what is believed the first and only CPR and AED (defibrillator) training on April 7th, 2004. The few remaining employees may have forgotten most of what they had learned. After four years I know I have.

It appears that Management’s involvement in any consistent training of our Patrol Staff has virtually been non-existent. In fact the staff has said that they have to rely on using the same old handbook that was left from the previous licensed security company for procedural guidance.

Should we blame our management that appears to have had zero training, experience, or background in the area of security? Should we blame our management which had tried for months and failed to acquire a Texas Security License ?

I think not. Last year our Board made the decision to have them run it.

I feel no one is to blame for this but ourselves. We elect the people who serve for us on a Board. This Board oversees the running of all daily activities of our Village. They are in control of management policies and procedures.

Most on the Board work hard and all get paid nothing for their efforts. Their only reward may be the knowledge that they are making a difference to better our Village. Most have agendas, some do not. They all try to do their best, but when it’s all said and done, the outcome usually ends up as a non-pay what have you done for me lately thankless job.

I'm all for stopping the blame and focusing on correcting a problem to which I feel is an inevitable law suit waiting to happen. I understand we have several lawsuites currently pending, so why gamble for more. Even more important is improving an owner's or renter's chances of not having a harmful experience in our Village.

The problem;
Our Village is giving every indication that this gated community has a full time trained security staff. This Staff is constantly called Security in our Board meetings, newsletters, and is advertised as 24 hour security in rental ads. Visitors entering our Village can’t help but think they are Security. They see uniform employees screening people that enter, doing patrols, and inforcing Village rules. Thinking this makes anyone feel somewhat safer which promotes letting their guard down. Our Village is promoting this illusion which makes us responsible. The Village's liability should reduce drastically if our Board would put in motion some simple actions in protecting ourselves.
Such simple actions are:
Have an annual security audit. The local police or independent security agencies will often conduct a security audit of the premises, pointing out potential areas of weakness. Follow their recommendations. The audit demonstrates due diligence on the part of the association.
Continuous training that should include patrol techniques and procedures, visitor and vehicle access control, crime prevention, incident report preparation, physical security equipment and inspections, hazardous material response, company and property policies, fire prevention and suppression, use of force, basic emergency first aid procedures, reporting incidents to emergency services, and interpersonal relations specifically designed to meet the requirements of the property. Sounds a little complicated? It is and this training should be done regularly.
Have our board set the performance goals. Job performance should not be judged by management but by the Association. Keep accurate records of these job performances.
A proactive approach of this manner is the only way to drastically reduce our liability while making our Village a safer place.

Let's git er done!

Similar article was posted 3/09/08