Davies’ began by noting that her career goes back to around 1980, when she started to work with a private security contractor in Calgary, Canada.
“I was attending university and needed a job to support myself so I went to work with a contract agency that employs security officers,” Davies said. “I started in the administrative section of that organization and soon worked my way into personnel. What was an eye opener for me was that I would see young people coming into the office and within about five minutes, they would have a uniform underneath their arm and go off to protect people, property and assets.”
Realizing that these new security personnel would have no background screening, that they would be protecting facilities with little education and no post orders, Davies understood that this needed to change.
Working with the president of the contractor company, she established a training program that would be implemented into that organisation. Shortly thereafter, the company was sold but the development of the training programs continued. They then made it available to other corporations and contractors – marking the start of the IFPO in 1988.
Davies highlighted that at that point, security officers had a very different image then they do today – being perceived as ‘nightwatchmen’ with a poor reputation.
“My mission and vision early on was to change that image,” said Davies. “The term ‘security guard’ is not the description I choose to use – instead I changed ‘guard’ to ‘protection officer’, hence the name of the organization.”
As time went on, Davies explained that they moved forwards with the premise of the IFPO, eventually developing a not-for-profit organization and an Advisory Board that could provide advice on how to elevate the perception and need for training and security officers. Today, the IFPO currently has a global footprint, with students in 56 countries.
Davies remarked that her job is to make sure the IFPO is keeping abreast of what is required of security officers and to make sure the organization delivers the best and most relevant educational opportunities in the current climate.
Goals of the IFPO
While important to educate officers, Davies noted, it is also important to educate the industry.
“In conjunction with raising the bar of security officer education and perception, the IFPO is also here to educate employers, visitors to facilities, state departments, licensing agencies, government officials and so forth, so that they consider protection officers as serious professionals,” said Davies.
One of the projects that the IFPO took on in 2020 and released in 2021 was an international research project that outlines the specific roles and responsibilities of security officers in the 21st century, which Davies emphasized was the first of its nature to be completed.
“That serves as a tool that we can use when we develop our programs, but also serves as information or guidance to other organizations to help teach them what is required for protection officers,” noted Davies. “For example, customer service, first aid and crisis intervention to deescalate situations are some of the main skills needed, but another essential skill is the ability to act as a liaison for community policing.”
Current issues
“What is most timely right now is crowd control. If there is an active shooter or hostile environment, there are a number of situations that protection officers have to be able to deal with,” said Davies. “They have to be able to identify potential hazards, which is critical.”
Another key topic that Davies highlighted is professional development. “In the US, you need professional certification to cut hair, but in some states and some other countries, there is no license requirement for a security officer to protect a bank or other high-end target. So, it’s important that officers also continue their specialist training. While they might pass a test one day, they should keep up-to-date with the latest education.”
For the IFPO, Davies said that it is therefore important to be flexible and ensure any programs they have can accommodate the demographic that protection officers may come from.
An international reach
“We have to take into consideration when we’re developing programs that what roles and responsibilities for security officers are in the US may be completely different in Mexico or South America or elsewhere.”
The global footprint of the IFPO is clearly of great importance to Davies, who also commented on its continued expansion. She mentioned that early on, she realized the importance of having a representative in several different countries as the IFPO cannot understand the needs of all countries – however, this system means that they can respond to the demands of other places around the world.
“Through my networking, I’ve had the opportunity to reach out to professionals who have the same vision and mindset as me – they want to see education and certification brought into their demographic,” she said.
Davies explained that these representatives can ensure that the guidelines set by IFPO are met in other parts of the world and are also in a tone and language that suits those demographics.
“What they do is take our programme and modify it so that it’s more suitable for other regions,” she said. “That’s really important because we can’t have one product and brand it for every region.”
A focus for 2023
Thinking about the coming year, Davies revealed that one area of extreme growth is the number of young people coming into the industry.
“High schools are putting security-related programs into their curriculum because in a multitude of regions, the desire to become police officers is decreasing,” Davies said. She explained that security is one of the fastest growing industries in the US currently and there are more opportunities than previously because of how the industry is evolving, particularly with the rise of technology.
“A younger generation and their way of learning is different from people who are over 30. People are no longer coming into the industry because they didn’t get hired at the pizza place – this is a career now.” Therefore, she explained that it is important to develop IFPO training programs that can appeal to a new age group.
A part of this is the key pivot that the IFPO has made it to a more digital way of working – programs are no longer delivered just in the classroom, but online and in a variety of formats, including mobile. Additionally, certificates are now sent digitally so that they can be posted on social media.
“That exposes our organization to a whole new audience,” noted Davies. “We’re seeing significant, positive outcomes from that initiative. So, we have to be very diligent on making sure that our programs are accommodating to a completely new breed of security people.”
Another demand that the IFPO is rising to is the requirement for more specific training, Davies said. “People want a program solely on active shooters, drone security, church security, school security and so on. They want unique, relevant programs for their industry.”
A big project
While broadening the accessibility of the IFPO, Davies also emphasized that the organization is now in conversation with the US Department of Labor, which could be a first step in making the IFPO’s programs a national guideline in the US.
“Having completed the research project and having been a recognizable and well-received organization for 34 years, we’re now in a position where we have gone to the Department of Labor and they are creating a security officer competency model,” explained Davies.
“Once the US has a national guideline, then we will push it out to our regional representatives so that they can work on it in the various regions to ensure security officers globally have all the education and training they need.”
This article was originally published in the January edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
