When you get hired by a new security company, part of your job will entail going through the company's specific training before you begin in earnest. Even if you have experience as a security officer, it's common for specific companies to want to train their new employees using their own methods. One of the more challenging parts of your training may be to get pepper-sprayed. Many security guards carry this self-defense tool, and their training can involve getting hit with a blast of this irritant. While unpleasant, this process is highly valuable for the following reasons.
You'll Know What It's Like
As a security guard, there's a chance that you may get pepper-sprayed while on duty. A suspect could use his or her own pepper spray against you, or perhaps disarm you and use your canister against you. It's also possible that a colleague's spray could accidentally hit you during a struggle. Getting pepper-sprayed as part of your training will help you to be calmer should you ever experience pepper spray while on duty. Instead of panicking, you'll be able to tell yourself that you've been through the experience — and that can help you to remain calm.
It Will Help You With Restraint
A combative suspect can be frustrating, and it can be tempting to use some degree of force to help subdue him or her. Pepper spray is a valuable tool for such a scenario because it only produces short-term effects, but you can't be reckless with your use of this tool. When you've been pepper-sprayed in your training, you'll have a clear idea of what the experience is like. This can make you less likely to hurriedly use it on a suspect out of concern that it might be too forceful in some situations. Instead, you may consider other solutions.
You'll See How Your Peers React
As part of this specialized training, you won't be the only one getting pepper-sprayed. Your fellow security officers will also go through this experience, and you'll likely get to spray one of them. In doing so, you'll see how he or she reacts. For example, someone will react differently based on how much spray he or she takes in and exactly where the blast of pepper spray hits. This can be informative for you to know if you ever need to spray a suspect in your role as a security officer.
For more information about aspects of being a security guard, contact companies that offer security guard jobs.
When my husband started considering some over-the-road trucking jobs that would leave the kids and I home by ourselves, we immediately decided we needed to get a dog. This was the first part of our home security preparations. He wanted us to have something in the house that would alert us if someone showed up, and would protect us if need be. Once we got the dog, I started calling home security companies. I wanted to be sure that my kids and I were secure. They walked me through a whole-home security system with monitoring. I learned a lot from them about areas to secure and what to watch for. I created this site in the hopes of teaching others about keeping their homes and families protected.