Unarmed security guards fill an essential role in protecting people, property, and assets from threats and crime. Although these guards do not carry traditional firearms – there are self-defense weapons that can enhance their safety and effectiveness on the job.
In this article, we’ll explore the best self-defense options for unarmed guards. We’ll consider legal issues, ethical concerns, required training, and practical advice. If you’re looking to hire guards, you can refer to the recommended website.
Table of Contents
Factors to Consider Before Choosing Self-Defence Weapons
Before choosing self-defense weapons on the job, unarmed guards need to carefully consider several things. First and most importantly, they need to understand local laws regarding these tools.
Different areas have different rules about owning and using weapons. What’s allowed in one place may be illegal in another. Guards must follow these laws to avoid legal trouble for simply trying to protect themselves at work.
Unarmed guards should get proper training and certification for any self-defense weapons. Training ensures they know how to safely and effectively use these tools and evaluate threats. Guards also need to understand any workplace policies around weapons to comply with their company.
Finally, unarmed guards should evaluate the specific security risks they face in their jobs. Understanding common threats, they encounter can help them choose self-defense options that suit their needs and allow them to protect others effectively.
Non-Lethal Self-Defence Weapons
- Pepper Spray
Pepper spray is a commonly used non-lethal self-defense option. It contains an irritant made from chili peppers that causes intense pain, blindness, and breathing difficulty in attackers. This gives guards enough time to escape.
Pepper spray is compact and easy for guards to carry. It’s effective against different types of threats from a distance. However, it does have drawbacks. The spray can be blown off target by the wind. If not used properly, guards could accidentally spray themselves. The spray can also stop working over time if not checked regularly.
Security guards must receive training on how to correctly use pepper spray. This includes aiming tactics, controlling spray bursts, and decontaminating sprayed individuals. Guards learn how to deploy pepper spray safely and effectively to incapacitate threats without causing permanent harm.
- Stun Guns
Stun guns are electroshock weapons that can deliver a non-lethal electric shock, disrupting an attacker’s muscles functions. The intense pain and confusion caused give the guard time to create distance from the threat.
Stun guns come in different forms, like handheld and baton styles. They work even through thick clothes. But remember, stun guns require close contact with the attacker. They may not work on people with high pain tolerance or under the influence.
Security guards must be properly trained to safely and confidently use stun guns. Guards learn how to avoid accidents and effectively handle threats. Training ensures guards know how to deploy stun guns humanely without causing permanent harm.
- Tactical Batons
Tactical batons are collapsible metal or composite rods that extend for self-defense. They’re easy for guards to carry and provide a versatile tool for protection and control.
Batons can strike, block and apply pressure to attackers’ pressure points. But proper training is critical for safely and effectively using batons with minimal risk of unnecessary harm.
Security guards must receive certification to know how to strike correctly, avoid vital areas and minimize long-term injury. Training ensures guards understand baton techniques that maximize control and protection without excessive force.
Improvised Self-Defence Tools for Unarmed Security Guards
- Flashlights
A flashlight is a simple, everyday item that can become a handy self-defense tool for unarmed guards.
High-intensity flashlights can temporarily blind attackers, giving the guard time to flee or gain the advantage. Some security flashlights combine illumination and defense, with features like strobe modes or strike edges for hitting threats.
While a basic flashlight won’t cause serious harm, it can distract and disorient attackers long enough for the guard to escape or seek real help. Flashlights are lightweight, portable self-defense weapons guards likely already have. They require no special permits and are unlikely to cause permanent injury if properly used.
While flashlights have limitations as a true weapon, they represent a simple, legal option already at most guards’ disposal. By practicing tactical flashlight techniques that maximize disorientation and escape routes, unarmed guards can boost their security with a tool they carry daily.
- Keychains and Personal Alarms
Unarmed security guards have options for improvised self-defense weapons using everyday carry items.
Keychains with sharp or pointed ends can strike pressure points on attackers’ bodies. Keys make impromptu knuckledusters for punching threats.
Personal alarm tools produce deafening sirens to attract attention, discourage attackers and annoy them into stopping.
While improvised weapons have limitations, they provide unarmed guards with solutions they always have on hand. Guards can practice keychain striking techniques and alarm deployment tactics for maximum effect.
Keys and alarms likely won’t cause serious harm, but they represent simple, legal self-defense choices already in guards’ pockets. With proper training, guards can boost security through the tactical use of these humble tools during dangerous situations.
Training and Skill Development
Having self-defense weapons isn’t enough – unarmed security guards need proper training to use these tools safely and effectively.
Training programs should include hands-on practice, realistic role plays, and instruction on de-escalation techniques. Regularly rehearsing skills through scenarios helps guards develop muscle memory and confidence for real situations.
Guards learn how to deploy weapons humanely to control threats without causing permanent harm. They practice tactics like targeting movements, striking angles, and pressure points.
Training teaches guards tactics beyond just using weapons. They learn verbal de-escalation, ways to create distance and how to calmly call for backup.
Regular refreshers and scenario training keep guards’ self-defense skills sharp. Practicing reaction times and deployment routines builds the familiarity needed in stressful moments.
Psychological Preparedness and Situational Awareness
Psychological preparedness and situational awareness are just as important as physical skills for unarmed security guard self-defense.
Being mentally ready for threats allows guards to respond effectively in stressful moments. Training in spotting danger signs and increasing environmental awareness helps guards identify and stop issues before they worsen.
Understanding natural fight-or-flight responses and learning verbal de-escalation tactics helps guards respond appropriately to different conflict levels without immediately resorting to weapons.
Training reinforces that self-awareness, discipline, and clear thinking – not just weapons – keep guards safer. Guards practice focusing attention, minimizing distractions, and remaining calm under pressure.
Situational awareness extends beyond seeing threats – it means anticipating how individuals and environments may change. Guards learn to prepare for multiple scenarios and options for diffusing tensions.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Using force should always be a last resort after exhausting all de-escalation attempts, and someone’s life is genuinely threatened.
It’s critical to report whenever self-defense weapons are used, providing a clear, accurate account of the situation and actions taken. Proper documentation demonstrates guards acted in justified self-defense within the law, protecting them legally and ethically.
Even when weapons use is necessary, guards must minimize harm to assailants. Excessive or unreasonable force is unacceptable.
Guards learn tactical restraint, targeting subdual areas and using only the minimal force needed to neutralize threats safely. Training emphasizes — security guards are responsible for using weapons rationally and proportionally in dangerous situations.
Summing it up
Unarmed security guards perform an important job keeping people and property safe. The right self-defense tools can significantly boost their ability to do so.
By understanding laws, getting certification, and practicing techniques, unarmed guards can protect themselves and others from threats.
Being psychologically ready and situationally aware empowers guards to respond calmly and effectively in stressful moments.
With a lawful and ethical approach focused on minimal harm, unarmed guards can fulfill their crucial role protecting communities while staying safe themselves.
In the end, while weapons may be needed in rare situations, discipline, thinking skills, communication, and warding off dangers before escalation remain the keys to success for unarmed guards. They should handle any authorized self-defense tools with great responsibility, keeping in mind their duty is to de-escalate tensions, resolve issues peacefully wherever possible, and only deploy weapons as an absolute last resort to genuinely protect life.
If you hire security guards for your business, ensuring they receive proper training and tools, as discussed here, can help them operate as safely and effectively as possible while fulfilling their role with discipline, integrity, and good judgment.
Hopefully, this advice helps both security guards and those who employ them see the holistic, lawful, and ethical approach required for upholding safety and security responsibly, with or without weapons.
