https://www.ktxs.com/news/local/lone-star-tactical-services-explains-roles-and-training-of-security-officers

Recently got out of military became a security guard, recently joined an armed post and went through the requirements including OPOTA. Still waiting on fingerprints and background check

I was discharged under honorable conditions for failing a drug test. I was charged under UcMj but never went to court martial. I received an Article 15 which are biased and don’t reflect the facts on the plaintiff side.

My question is can I still become an armed security officer even with that one thing on my background even though I wasn’t charged with a felony

Every Utah school must now have an armed guard. Here’s why schools are struggling to comply KPCW | By The Salt Lake Tribune Published October 23, 2024 at 1:34 PM MDT

Student Resource Officer Tom Poer interacts with a Hunter High School student on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A new Utah law requires armed guards in every public school, but schools are struggling to comply. Rachel Rydalch / The Salt Lake Tribune Student Resource Officer Tom Poer interacts with a Hunter High School student on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A new Utah law requires armed guards in every public school, but schools are struggling to comply. Utah education leaders say that without increased funding, many schools may not meet the mandate. A new Utah law requires armed guards in every public school, but without enough funds or personnel, schools are struggling to meet the mandate.

HB84, which was passed during this year’s legislative session, requires every public school in the state to have armed security personnel on-site during school hours. But the initial allocation — roughly $100 million — isn’t nearly enough to make that happen.

Members of the state’s School Security Task Force came to that conclusion last week after meeting to discuss how the new initiative was going.

“We have [schools] that — they want to do the right thing, they’re in the process of doing the right thing,” said Utah State Board of Education member Joseph Kerry on Oct. 14. “The funding continues to be something that they struggle with.”

Kerry said USBE plans to request another $100 million from lawmakers during next year’s legislative session, which would raise total allocations to over $200 million. The additional funding would help schools hire armed guards and comply with new “minimum” security standards outlined in the law, such as video surveillance; ballistic windows or security film on ground-level floors; and internal classroom door locks.

However, Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, said he estimates the final price tag could be much higher — about $800 million.

“That $800 million number is ... what I think probably really exists based on the number of schools, and what we’ve seen so far,” Wilcox said.

Task force members haven’t specified how much funding they ultimately will request, as the amount will largely depend on the results of school “safety needs assessments.” The law requires schools to complete the assessments to identify gaps in safety and security. The deadline for schools to complete the assessments is Dec. 31.

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

Armed Guards Become Part Of School Community In Connecticut

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2024/10/22/armed-guards-become-part-of-school-community-in-connecticut/

As he walks by the lunchroom at Hazardville Memorial School in Enfield on a recent fall afternoon, School Security Officer Jeremiah Dowd gets many smiles and enthusiastic waves from the kids.

Greeting them with a wave back, Dowd cracks a joke that the students – ranging from kindergarten to second grade – are always taking his cookies, leaving him with only chips.

“The best part for me is to interact with the kids, to have lunch with them,” Dowd said. “That way, you know, they get that connection.”

Dowd, who retired from the Granby Police Department after 20 years, is one of the armed school security guards that cover each public school in Enfield, a program that just re-started this fall. Enfield initially had an armed guard program after the 2012 school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School – which claimed 26 lives – in Newtown. Enfield eventually went with unarmed guards, but in recent months, the discussion started to bring the armed guard program back.

Enfield has school resource officers (SROs), who are active police officers at the middle and high schools. The armed security guards – or school security guards (SSOs) – are all retired law enforcement officers who have undergone state-mandated training via Connecticut’s Police Officer Standards and Training (POST).

Many districts have been using armed guards in schools. Enfield Police Chief Alaric Fox said he contacted districts in Ellington, Columbia, Glastonbury, East Hampton, Killingly, and West Hartford when he was researching pay rates ahead of bringing the program back to Enfield.

Enfield, Fox said, supplements the one day of POST training with more than two weeks of additional training for those the town employs as armed security guards. They went over, among other areas, crisis intervention, de-escalation, and active shooter drills.

“I feel like Enfield has set us up for success,” Dowd said.

Fox said having the guards right there in the schools means having someone who can immediately address a safety threat.

“We prepare for what we hope will never happen, but ‘it’ll never happen here’ is the last phrase repeated by every police chief in America,” Fox said. “So the town has been appropriately proactive to build up and stand up this program for the safety of kids. We’ll never know how many crises we’re averting just by having the presence.”

Dowd and fellow School Security Guard Frank Torres, who is stationed at Edgar H. Parkman in Enfield, said they blend into the school communities by helping oversee student drop off in the morning, watching the school building and grounds, and interacting with the students at lunch or recess and overall just blending in.

Parents tell Dowd and Torres that they are glad to have them at the school.

“I know when I first started, you could tell the ones that are for it and the ones that are against it,” Torres said. “But even the ones that I felt were against it, they seem to be for it now because we converse more.”

Community on board in Derby

Over in southwest Connecticut, in the city of Derby, armed guards have been in the schools for seven years, according to Derby School Superintendent Matthew J. Conway, Jr., adding it gives the community peace of mind to know there are individuals in school buildings whose sole job is to protect the children inside.

Conway said Derby followed the model in North Branford, whose officials went over their policies with him and the Derby school board. The program did not move forward with anything until the public got involved in the discussion.

“We held public forums, surveyed parents, and asked the community,” Conway said. “This is something the community would have to be supportive of.”

CABE: Armed Guards Has To Be A Local Decision

Patrice McCarthy, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Connecticut Boards of Education (CABE), said that the organization doesn’t take a stance about whether armed guards should or should not be in the schools, but that whatever a district decides should be something the community is aligned with.

“We advise them to do the training and make sure they are hiring individuals that are compatible with the school climate,” McCarthy said. “Our position is these are local decisions dependent on the circumstances of the community and the will of that community. Some feel that it’s safe. There are some that feel it is not compatible with the educational environment.”

Reports of active shooter at East Hampton schools

Over in East Hampton, school officials and police had to respond to a report of an active shooter that resulted in lockdowns at four schools earlier this month. The report, however, was determined to be false and led to the arrest of a Lebanon woman.

Nancy Kohler, chair of East Hampton’s Board of Education, said this recent incident is all the more reason to share that district’s perspective.

In 2019, the East Hampton school board voted to approve a request to arm the security guard that was already employed at East Hampton High School.

Kohler said the decision was made after input by the community, including parents, students and staff.

Then in 2022, a teenage gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, resulting in growing concern that armed security was needed at East Hampton’s three other school buildings.

“Again, the Board invited input from the community, and again, despite some differences of opinion, the majority of stakeholders supported the idea,” Kohler said via email.

East Hampton has now had armed security officers in all of its schools for just over two years, and has been successful, according to Kohler.

“We have highly trained officers who have become beloved members of the school community. They engage and interact with the students daily and have become familiar faces and trusted adults for our learners,” she said.

Kohler said in 2019, she was a parent who supported the initiative and was a parent as well as a board member in 2022.

“I said at the time that while armed security is part of the solution to school safety, it is not the only part. I still believe that,” she said. “East Hampton has worked hard to build a strong support system of mental health resources and educational initiatives, we have invested in infrastructure upgrades in our buildings, we regularly engage in appropriate drills and training, and we have a cooperative relationship with our local police department. School safety is an incredibly complex issue that requires a multi-layer approach

What’s it like working over there I’ve been stationed in Okinawa a couple years ago. I’m out of the Marine Corps. Obviously Okinawa is way different than Mainland. Just curious and would like a little insight. Pros/Cons

Hi, I live in Knoxville TN I’m trying to find a company that provides the training or if someone can tell me the total cost for me to get it on my own

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A Portland cannabis store employee was charged last week with murder for shooting two armed robbers. But according to the district attorney’s office, it wasn’t self-defense.

On Thursday, 34-year-old Jason Steiner pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

In recently released court documents, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office claims Steiner was in no danger when he pulled the trigger.

According to the DA, Steiner told police he was held at gunpoint by three armed men on Oct. 3 at the La Mota dispensary in the 9400 block of North St. Louis Avenue where he was working alone.

He told police he let the men take what they wanted and then Steiner says he left the store with a gun hidden in a bag.

He told investigators that he walked around the outside of the building and looked inside through the drive-up window, then opened fire on the men, who he believed were still holding their weapons.

In the documents, the DA’s office says there was no apparent reason for Steiner to stay nearby and video evidence shows that the men did not have guns in their hands.

The two men shot and killed were identified as 18-year-old King Lawrence and 20-year-old Tahir Burley.

In addition to the police case, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission is opening an investigation of its own into any possible administrative violations related to the shooting.

full article

When bombing suspect Nathaniel McGuire tossed a homemade explosive device into the lobby of Santa Maria Superior Court Department 9 Wednesday, security guard Stephen Neil was at his post in Building G.

https://www.ttownmedia.com/news/state/local-security-guards-quick-actions-prevent-bomb-suspect-from-fleeing/article_65996282-f5d3-5e8d-a2ac-1ad4953fd451.html

Local security guard's quick actions prevent bomb suspect from fleeing

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/20-million-verdict-fatal-shooting-lowes-security-guard/283-0dd5f582-10c4-4b51-8485-80127d6920be

https://www.unionesarda.it/en/italy/hospital-security-guard-shows-colleague-gun-shot-fires-injures-patient-ba20cl04

I'm in California, and I want to obtain my firearms license. What is the process like, and what are the shooting qualification target ranges?

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/video-shows-inmate-sneaking-past-guard-students-be-charged-school-threats-morning-news-brief

I thought this would be a good place to begin asking for armed guard paths in NYC. I have a concealed carry. I don't have military or police experience but I've shot a few times at firing range.

Are there good known companies to work for here in the city?