Security guards are often the first line of defense for business owners and the government, so guards face dangerous situations that ultimately require law enforcement intervention. Training in likely scenarios under realistic conditions gives officers opportunities to exercise their skills outside of a typical training environment.

Concept

Security guards are sometimes required to use firearms in the course of their work. Training on a standard shooting range has certain disciplines that must be adhered to for safety purposes, such as only pointing the gun towards the target backstop, or reloading from a pedestal on the firing line. There is little if any movement while shooting. Scenario training stimulates the senses with a realism that can give guards an edge in a life threatening confrontation.

Classroom

polizei equipment 2 image by Thomas Brugger from Fotolia.com

Some scenarios, such as a routine traffic stop, can be easily recreated in a classroom. But the classroom offers little in the way of inciting fear or bewilderment upon a trainee. The classroom is ideal for book learning and discussions, but to physically go through the motions a dangerous confrontation can pose helps guards experience challenges they should not have to work through for the first time, in real life.

Training Aids

Effective scenario training is conducted in the field with the same equipment and under similar conditions the officer will be forced to operate under, such as dealing with oncoming vehicles while working at a traffic stop beside a thoroughfare. Conditions can also be recreated so trainees experience an adrenaline rush like they might experience when confronted with deadly force.