Security services use outdated technology in the retail industry

Security services is big global business dominated by less than 10 companies or so (e.g. Securitas AB, Allied Universal, G4S).

However, many of the jobs the security service industry are low tech, low paid, and not too attractive. Take a typical shopping mall security guard in the United States. In the 21st year of the 21st century, he or she will be still equipped with a clunky, analog radio (typically Motorola) and an old fashioned paper notepad plus ballpoint pen. Security guards usually have to memorize all the many procedures applicable (e.g. all valet service locations and their differences), locations of many of the myriad things in a shopping mall (e.g. access to roof hatches for HVAC technicians), many other arcane things, and much, much more.

Of course, the security guard is encouraged to use his or her personal smartphone to e.g. take pictures of an incident and forward it to his or her supervisor by text message.

Supervisors or other security guards still spend enormous amounts of time sitting in front of usually only one or two PCs to enter their daily or incident reports.

Training is frequent, but boring! The security guard gets to sit in front of the one or two PCs in the break room to study text heavy learning material often quite irrelevant to the job at hand.

One of the few consolations to such security guards, police officers still use old fashioned paper notepads as well while attending to e.g. a shoplift. However, they are also frequently equipped with laptop computers and their radios are better.

In brief what a waste of resources and a hit on providing better relevant and comprehensive security for retail businesses.

Equipping these security guards with e.g. tablet computers would significantly improve premise security and all the other related services that security professional provide on a daily basis. With tablets perhaps more shop lifters would be quickly apprehended, more incidents would be better identified, reported for later analysis and better remedies etc.

The security industry is ripe for some serious overhaul to bring them into the 21st century!