Benjamin is an SIA licensed security guard from London. He was a winner at the 2022 ACS Pacesetters Security Officer of Distinction Awards. He reflects on his long service in the private security industry and responding to serious incidents such as knife violence and attempted sexual assault.
My name is Benjamin but everyone at work calls me ‘Benji’. I wanted to work in private security because security people are needed – always.
When I started, the SIA wasn’t a thing. Now, I have been around for a while! I started at train stations. Then events and corporate security. I have moved from one place to another. Sometimes because my company changed a contract. Sometimes because I wanted to upgrade my wages.
I have seen a lot of interesting things since I started. We used to have no internet, then suddenly IT was part of our jobs. I needed to become computer literate. They also introduced the first aid training. If you compare these times to back then, security has changed a lot for the better.
Most recently, I was at a university site for about 4 to 5 years. Then I went to a new site at a technical college. Working with young people, safeguarding is very important. We try to talk to them supportively, and protect them from harm.
I am proud to be a private security officer. We are not the police, but when it comes to certain incidents we are the first on site. Sadly, knife crime is a serious issue in London. One day I was on duty as normal, and I saw a student running very fast. He ran through the glass turnstiles at the reception. I saw he had a cut. He was being chased by another group of young people who were not from the college. The guys chasing ran away when they saw security were there and realised we had called the police. If we were not there to protect this boy, only God knows what could have happened.
On another day, I was at reception, and it was around 8 pm. I heard a shouting voice. It was a female shouting “Help! Help!”. Straight away I radioed my supervisor. Then I rushed to where the sound was coming from. There was a tall man and a lady in distress. There were signs of an attempted sexual assault taking place. I scared the man off and he ran away and left us.
My supervisor came and we called the police, and supported the lady. Afterwards, I thought – what if the guy had something dangerous on him? At the time, I did not think or care about that. The lady needed my help.
The woman’s husband came quickly to support her. We convinced them to wait as the police were coming. They needed to catch the guy. When it’s fresh in your mind, it’s important to share the details. I told the police everything.
It was this incident that prompted me getting the award. I was very grateful to my manager for recommending me. It was amazing to be recognised. I am proud to be part of a team that helps people and keeps property safe.