Cellular Use by Protection Officers

Problem:

Once again, it has been brought to our attention that certain Protection Officers in the industry have resorted to (what we will call ) the modern day version of "Romancing the Stone". To wit: extensively using a cell phone while on duty.

This complaint/problem has come up in the past from clients in a wide range of industries. Their consternation with it is that they feel that they are not getting their moneys worth from security officers who are diverting their attention away from the clients needs (and their own surroundings) so that the officer can carry on his personal business over a cellular device.

The majority of these conversations seems to be between the officers and their significant others, hence the term "Romancing the Stone. Ha Ha.

(P.S. the use of blue tooth ear pieces doesn't fool anybody and if you have ever driven behind some clown swerving all over the place only to pass them and see a cellphone stuck to their face, well this is the same way the client is viewing your services. ) By the way the clown driving the car thinks he is doing a fine job too.

Well it is not funny, and I whole-heartedly agree with the clients. This is an image industry and as such, people have a tendency to judge the whole industry by the behavior of a few.

Believe me, it is hard enough trying to obtain higher paying contracts (so the officers can prosper) only to hear; why do you need more money is their cell bills getting too high?

Again: this is an image industry you have to be aware and be capable. Having one hand (or your attention) compromised by a non-essential conversation is negligent behavior. (again: even with an ear-piece)

Not only is this an image industry, it is the protection industry and not only does your own life depend on you being "totally" aware of your surroundings but so do the lives of our clients and the general public.

The abuse of cell phones while on duty has become such a widespread problem that I have taken the time to set out a plan that I believe will help polish the industry's image starting with my own back yard.

The way I look at it is this if you are given an assignment and you are on the cell phone and:
a) it is not the client or his staff transferring work related info to you
or
b) it is not your supervisor or superior on the phone and it is not a work/safety issue
then

Apparently you are not "on" your assignment for that duration now are you.

SOLUTION

Fortunately, most of our protection clients use CCTV therefore it is easy to document our officers performance. So if one of our clients or their staff claims that a protection officer is on the cell too much it will be easy to calculate the time spent "off assignment" and dock the officers pay and credit it back to the client, Get It.

Not only will the client benefit from this but so will your fellow protection officers and the industry itself.

Oh ya, the people who pay you, do not benefit from this payback plan at all so I would not count on your pay being docked too many times before you find yourself in another type of employment.

I am really looking forward to hearing any thoughts you might have on this topic.

G. Hagerty