How safe are we? A look at the Security Officers in Singapore.

With the rise in security issues since 9/11 more emphases is being placed on the security of the malls, local companies and now even the MRT. While many feel the level is at a good level and we are all safe how safe are we and what of those protecting us from the threats. Over 50,000 Security Officer are working in Singapore, this does not include the police force. 30,000 are estimated to be working for security agencies while the remaining 20,000 are employed by companies directly, this officer are refereed to as In House Guard.

Most Security Officers work under one of the many agencies that provide protection to office buildings, factories and other remote locations. These guards come from all walks of life and cover ever age group but the majority of them being over 40 years in age and some as old 70’s.

Most of the workers are in the security field are there only to fill the gap between jobs after loosing their last one either due to age or company cost saving. While many of the older worker don’t have degrees or certificates in a job skill security is an area that willingly takes them on and provides some source of income. While this has been the case for many years change is in the wind and is coming soon. There is a school that all Security Officer will have to attend to be qualified to be hired as a security Office to ensure that they know the basic of the job but that is all they will know. This 5 day class teaches them just enough knowledge to get by with in the performance of their job. So the Singapore government sees the importance of the Security Officer knowing what they are doing while standing there post.

In March 2005 all Security Officers have to had passed the school for security. If they fail to qualify they will be out of work and not allowed to work until they do pass the course.

Working 12 hours days 24 to 26 days a month these men and women guard our people and property from harm and destruction. But how effective are these workers in the performance of the jobs?

To start with very few get any training before being posted to their location and learn on the job with the training period being only a day or two before being left on their own to stand the post. With fire protection systems, intruder protections systems, passes being issued to visitors, and everything else that concerns the job it not possible for them to learn everything quickly. While the courses some have attended cover many of the areas within the job requirements it still only teaches the very basic workings of the job. Each location is different and with employers having no real ideal of what security is and how to use it correctly the effort is noble and look good to upper managements it fall short of being effective in many locations.

With such importance and responsibility being put on the security office you would think that the pay would reflect, wouldn’t you? Well it doesn’t. Many make less than $1,500 a month and some bring home less that $1,000. When you think about the fact that they are working 72 hours a week, or 288 hours a month it doesn’t seem that there is much of an incentive for the workers to go out of their way to their job very well. But what you find is a dedicated force doing the job most of the time.

Security Officers receive little respect from the employer or the public as a whole which is a problem since many look down on the job as something for the old and uneducated. Which now a day is not the case as many of the guards have held good jobs in the country but due to the shift of work force and employers wanting degrees and certificates in job fields they no longer find them selves marketable and have no other place to find work to support their families. So with the deadline of March 2005 coming soon what will happen to those that have not passed? Where will they find work next?

Starting work at 8am the worker need to get up in the morning about 1 hour to 1 and half hours before to arrive at work on time depending on where their post is. Taking this in to account the worker can spend as much as 16.6 hours just dedicated to working each day. That makes getting a good 8 hours sleep so they can be fully alert at work out of the question. Add to this that the average daily take home pay is in the $45 range how much effort are they will to put in if something serious should happen? Is it worth putting your life on the line for $45 if there is a fire or even bomb threat? Think about it, because they do!

The security agencies receive in the range of $1,900 and up for each security office posted at a location but little of this money makes it down to the person standing the post for the 12 hours. Sure the companies are making money; you know that the bosses are getting their large pay checks. But that’s a different story!

At night when all the workers go home and the security office is left to protect the factory which can cost in the millions of not billions, there stand a person making a grand a month with the responsibility of keeping the company safe. I think that should warrant some respect and a much better pay check too. There is a saying, “if you pay peanuts, you get monkey!” So what do we or should we pay for our safe being?

Until the security job field in Singapore is looked at as a profession I fear that all the country will have is a false sense of security which is sad because one day something bad is going to happen and it may have been because the 70 year old man at the end of his 12 hour duty was just too damn tired to go on his last patrol of the shift.

Think about it!

Update March 26, 2006

Well it look as if things well start to change, but how fast that is the big question. Better pay is on the rise already for the Security Officers; training is becoming a yearly thing soon as well as standards for the Security Officers to meet. The working hours are being looked at but don’t expect much of a change in the whole industry anytime soon.

The security industry as a whole has to come to terms with it self before any major changes can take place. The government has told the owner of the agencies to get it together and start improving things for the workers which some have. But when you get in to telling a company how to do business you’ are on thin ice. No on like their rice bowl messed with.

And for the workers what dose this mean? Well if they include age and health limits well you could loss 15% of the present force. If you include language restriction as in all security office by fluent in English and must be able to read and write in English you could loss another 3 to 5 percent. God forbid they have and educational requirement that would include another 10 percent easy. So we are looking at 30% max if these where put in place to day. Where did these figures come from? Me, and the 1800 students I saw come though the school I taught at for 15 months.

One thing to remember the schools that teach the security course do it as a business and that is all. Like any other company it’s one and only reason for being is to make a profit. At S$500 per student you stand to make a pretty good profit too. So if your school could have 20 students per week for 50 weeks that is a cool $500,000 you made. So if that is your goal you will take any and all students you can to reach that mark, right? Get them in and push them though. If they fail, oh well, not your fault, you got your money. Now one safety catch that the government has in place is that if a school falls below a 75% passing rate it will not have it license renewed but his is checked every 2 year. So if you don’t make that 75% you close your school and changes the owner name, change the name of the school and reopen again.

Many of the school that where operating like this are gone now, but one can never really know for sure, can one!

Casino’s coming to Singapore

Wow big money in Singapore with 2 resort casino in town. Let’s talk security now! Here you will have people coming from all over the world to visit expecting the same if not better conditions found in other locations that have casinos. The quality of the security Officers will have to be of the highest caliber being educated, well groomed, able to deal with people of all races and back rounds and have the ability to think on the feet quickly and oh yeah be able to speak English as if they were born in America. Now this is my own opinion again but how else could it be any other way here in Singapore? All will have to be trained in the use of firearms and I would hope self defense. Back round checks which are done now for the Security Officers should be extended to other countries in the region. They may be clean here in Singapore but have a record of some type in Thailand or Malaysia.

March 2008, Woops he got a way!

Mas Selamat bin Kastari

Yep the guy who planned to crash airplane in to the Control Tower at Changi Airport escaped from jail and the man hunt is on but after 2 weeks nothing yet.

The story goes that he went to the bathroom and escaped out of the window. Wow I that is really messed up and doesn’t say much for the location or guards where he was being held.

Now I don’t know the facility where he was being held nor have I seen it but one would think that any prison would have bars on a window where anyone could get out of to start with. Second no hand or ankle cuffs on the prisoner, and you let him go a lone on top of that? WFT?

Worst case scenario is he gets out of the country grabs a plan and continues with his plan anyway.

1. He gets pickup on radar and the air force is sent up to intercept the plane. But he will no follow their orders to land at the location they tell him. They have to shot down the plan with passengers on board, (not a good thing but no choice) if they are able to bring the plane down over the water great, if not, well the plane and debris will rain down on the ground, flats and people below costing even more lives.
2. He sticks to a flight plan so he is not picked up on radar and when it comes time to land he diverts and hits the control tower.
 

Either one of these are something anyone wants to think about but it cat is out of the bag now so what to do until e is found. Interpol has issued a
Red alert for him world wide and they are pretty good at getting their men so far.

But this issue here is the security and our safety in the country. While his escape will have little impact on tourism but is he is able to succeed with is plan it could have a very very bad effect on Singapore. I have every faith in the government to find out how it happen and to make the needed corrections so it will not happen again. Sometimes we need things to go wrong to find out how can make things better. So lets just mark it up as lessons well learned.