As you can probably imagine, there are plenty of differences between the attitudes, responsibilities, and legal duties of security guards in the UK and the USA.
Both share similar job remits: protect and defend property and/or people, but there is certainly a difference in approach taken by those on each side of the Atlantic.
Do USA and UK security guards do the same thing?
In the main, yes. Their primary responsibilities are to stop criminals in their tracks and protect the businesses of those who hired them.
In both countries, security guards work on construction sites, hotels, retail stores, and event venues and many many more locations across the separate nations.
Are there differences between UK and US security guards?
Yep, despite the similarities, there are still plenty of differences between the two. One of the main ones is the differences between the ways in which they are trained.
In the UK, you must be at least 18 years of age in order to become a security guard and have obtained a full SIA licence.
You must also be a full UK citizen, have the right to work in the UK and be able to pass certain background checks such as a criminal record check.
The cost of training in the UK is around the £184 mark but if you have secured a training position with a local security firm, they may well cover the cost of this as part of your training contract.
As part of SIA training, security guards must be able to pass a number of different courses and units related to the main responsibilities that they will have on a daily basis including first aid training, conflict resolution training, and crowd management training.
What is security guard training like in the USA
Surprisingly, there are very few requirements to becoming a security officer in the USA. However, given the difference in the legal system in America, these regulations do vary from state to state so the information that is given in this article can be considered as the norm but not without exception.
One major difference in the licencing of US and UK security guards is that there are two different licences, or classes of licence, available in the US known as Class D and Class G security licences.
The Class G licence is related to one of the other biggest differences between UK and USA, not only in security but in society in general, the right to bear arms. If you wish to be an armed security officer, you will require a Class G licence.
In contrast, this licencing is slightly comparable to the difference between a security guard and a door supervisor qualification in the UK, but rather than carrying a gun, door supervisors simply get the privilege of being able to work on licenced sites where alcohol is served inside.
Not quite the same we will admit! Overall, American and UK security officers share more similarities that differences but there are certainly some contrasts to bear in mind.