Whether Close Protection Officers Need to Complete Compulsory Fitness Tests - Research Paper Example

An Investigation into whether Close Protection Officers (CPO) need to complete compulsory fitness tests in order to obtain their Security Industry Authority (SIA) front line operative license. Name A research project Submitted in part fulfillment of the requirements for award of the degree of Foundation Degree in (Protective Security Management) of Buckinghamshire New University May 2012 Abstract With globalization, has come a significant increase in insecurity and a great need for security service for the very important persons. Of great importance is the effectiveness of the close protection officers who provide protection to the very important persons. This report evaluates the need for Close Protection Officers completing a compulsory fitness test as a requirement for Security Industry Authority front line operative license. The approach of the study was quantitative in nature with a non-probability purposive sampling method. Data was collected by use of interviews and questionnaires from the security firms, CPO’s and clients. The study found out that most of the security firms and Close protection Officers were in favour of including a compulsory physical fitness test as a pre-requisite for SIA front line license award. Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………2 Introduction and Literature Review…………………………………………………….. 4 Method …………………………………………………………………………………..8 Findings …………………………………………………………………………………11 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………..17 Recommendations ………………………………………………………………………18 References ……………………………………………………………………………....19 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………...21 Introduction and Literature Review With all the technological advances being made in the world today, security is being recognized globally as one of the areas which has greatly benefitted from these developments while at the same time suffered from it. Many people are becoming more aware of the security risks they face everyday. They seek the services of Close Protective Officers (CPO) who basically offer security services to anyone who feels that he/she is at risk and therefore in need of security services. As the need of security services increases, the effectiveness of CPO’s is coming under close scrutiny. It has been noted that physical fitness is one of the key areas that has the potential of increasing the overall effectiveness of CPO’s. In order for an individual to practice as a CPO, he/she has to be licensed. Security Industry Authority is the body mandated to award licenses to individuals who meet the criteria. Among the requirements for the award of a CPO license is a clean criminal record and undergoing CPO training. This study was conducted with an intention of evaluating whether CPO’s need to complete compulsory fitness tests in order for them to gain their Security Industry Authority (SIA) front line license. A brief background at this point would be of great value as it would assist contextualize this study. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) that was established under the PSIA Act of 2001. It is an independent body that has the mandate to license all the individuals who meet the criteria for licensing. Any individual who wants to work as a front line operative, they must have a clean criminal record, undergo an identity check and a competency requirement (Button, 2009). The competency requirement refers to an individual acquiring a minimum of one hundred and fifty hours of learning; alternatively the individual should undergo a continuous learning of up to sixteen days. This is followed by an online test and a practical assessment. A good example is security HR (2010), as part of the requirements for SIA license award, a candidate is required to attend SIA training which is classroom based focusing on the basic job training and the law in Wales and England as it relates to CPO’s. These security firms emphasize their programs on theoretical work and little of the physical work. Most of the stake holders hold the view that it is imperative that CPO’s are physically fit in order to perform their work effectively. They state that CPO’s have to be physical and fit in order to serve their purpose (Docstoc, 2011). With the SIA licensing individuals who have not had a physical test to assess their fitness, it is likely that persons who are unfit might qualify for licensing as CPO’s. But this would definitely affect their work performance and effectiveness. According to US department of health and Human services (2006), a physically fit person is one who is deemed to possess a certain set of attributes which enable him or her to engage in certain activities while at the same time have a low risk of contracting premature health problems. In a recent study, 53% of the respondents believed that the CPO’s operational effectiveness had actually improved under SIA standards. The remaining 47% felt that SIA had done little in an effort to improve the operational effectiveness and CPO standards. This finding actually suggested that almost half of the respondents felt that SIA had not done much to improve the operational effectiveness of CPO’s (Payton 1997). In order to improve CPO’s effectiveness then a critical and much broader multidimensional approach in the evaluation of the problem needs to be adopted. One of the avenues could then be to evaluate the need for fitness tests for all CPO’s and its impact on CPO’s effectiveness. Many CPO training programs emphasize on the theoretical aspect of training and give little focus to the physical aspects (physical tests). Many firms offering training for CPO’s are beginning to recognize the need for physical fitness of CPO’s especially those working in highly risky and dangerous environments. They are incorporating into their training programs certain training expertise aimed at equipping CPO’s with abilities to protect their clients and themselves. For instance Hunsicker (2010), gives a detailed training program for CPO’s that includes Close Combat Levels of Force, The Vital Targets in Combat, The Principles of Attack, Defensive Techniques, and Transition Techniques. All these are physical and require a high degree of fitness. According to Platinum Group (1999), one of their requirements for a CPO is to be physically fit. This means that there is an increasing awareness of the need for physically fit CPO’s and many more firms are establishing and implementing programs in this regard. This study apart from investigating on effectiveness of physical fitness after licensing, it also examined whether the security firms had any physical fitness programs within their training schedule. The study also assessed for the impact of the physical fitness programs. It assessed whether those companies which had integrated physical fitness into their training routine performed better than those security firms which lacked a provision for physical fitness training within their training program. A much more critical issue at hand and rapidly becoming a mind boggler is how much is fit? Many organizations have their own standards with which they use to assess the physical fitness levels of their members. For instance, the British Army has their own Fitness assessment methods referred to as the British Military Fitness Assessment (BMFA). This system comprises of 5 disciplines that are essential designed in a manner that will test for stamina and strength (British Military Fitness, 2012). These disciplines include: individual run, sit-ups, shuttle sprints, burpees, and press ups. These are all timed events and the amount of time you take to complete a particular task would reveal your fitness level. The individual run is on a 1500 meter course with an individual expected to give his personal best effort. The shuttle sprints are 15 * 20 meter sprints with the individual encouraged to give his personal best. As for the sit ups, burpees and press ups, the individual is encouraged to give his best number of repetitions over a two minute period. Each of the disciplines is then marked and assessed out of 100. The physical fitness is assessed and individual categorized into any of the three categories. The first category is the novice level of physical fitness. An individual at this level would have scored between 1-38 points on the assessment rated out of 100 and a time of 7.40 to 12.19 minutes for the 1500 meter run. As for the press ups, such individual would have a personal best of 1-20 repetitions with a score of 1-20 on the assessment marked out of 100. A novice would give a personal best of 1 to 37 repetitions within the 2 minute period and score between 1 and 37 on the assessment marked out of 100. The novice would also give a personal best of 1 to 14 reps with a score of 1-28 burpees when assessed out of 100. As for the shuttle sprints, a novice would take 99 to 200 seconds and with a score of 1-36 when assessed out of 100. The other two levels (categories) are intermediate level and the advanced level (refer to Table 1 in the appendix). Many other security companies have their own mechanisms for testing for fitness. The findings of this project seem to suggest that fitness training should be integrated into the CPO training requirements and that a need to harmonize the physical fitness training nationally, so that it is uniform across all the security providing firms. Perhaps SIA should make it a compulsory requirement for anyone who intends to acquire a CPO frontline operative license to take physical fitness tests. Method The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether Close protection Officers should complete a compulsory fitness test in order for them to gain their security Industry Authority front line operative license. Other objectives of the study included assessing whether the security firms had physical fitness training programs incorporated into their CPO training program. For those security companies that had physical fitness programs incorporated into their security training programs the study sought to find out the number of hours they spent on the physical fitness training. It was also important to note whether these companies had a particular point of reference that acted as their bench mark for the evaluation of the fitness level of their trainees. The study also sought to find out whether the security firms supported an idea of having a harmonized physical fitness training program, such that the physical fitness training program would be standardized nationally. The study also sought to find out from the security firms that lacked a physical fitness training program, whether they had intentions of incorporating physical fitness training into their CPO training routine. The study further sought to find out the reasons behind these security companies decision to incorporate of not incorporating physical fitness training within their CPO training routine. This information was to be of great benefit to the study as it provided a deeper understanding and a reliable framework of decision making. The study also sought to find out what the security firms and CPO’s felt about the effect of physical fitness on their effectiveness. The study obtained this information by interviewing the human resource managers of the security companies. Although the study was partially qualitative, the study was highly quantitative in nature. A quantitative study seeks to answer the question why. A quantitative study allowed us to measure, quantify and numerically express our findings (social phenomena). On the other hand a qualitative study would have given us an insight and a deeper understanding by answering the question how (Mamia 2010). The data collection methods were by use of questionnaires and interviews. These methods were chosen as the preferred method of data collection because they were faster compared to other methods like using mail. Again, the use of these data collection methods allowed or provided a forum for the respondents (security firm management, clients, CPO’s) to ask questions in order to get clarification on the matters that were not clear and in the process more accurate data was collected. The management of the security firms were interviewed while the clients and the CPO’s were administered with questionnaires. The CPO’s were to give their honest rating of their effectiveness. They were also required to state some of the course of actions that they believe if they were implemented then, it would be possible to improve on their effectiveness. They were alto to state the kind of incidences (Incidences included situations that required combat, chasing a suspect, handling a suspect, dialogue etc) that they came across while at work and whether they thought the kind of training that they had affected or equipped the for such encounters. The clients were to also rate the effectiveness of the CPO’s and state what they saw as weaknesses and strengths. The clients basically indicated their level of service satisfaction evaluated on a range of one to five with one being least satisfaction and five being most satisfaction. Incase of dissatisfaction, they (clients) were given a list of options to choose from as the reasons for dissatisfaction with physical fitness associated problems being one of them. They were to state all the problems they encountered with CPO’s e.g. lateness, poor communications skills, substance abuse and lateness. The study targeted the management of the security companies via the Human resources management. The human resource managers on the other hand will be granted interviews. A semi-structured form of interview was used. The idea in this case was to get the human resource manager to expand on his or her answers. There were five security companies, five CPO’s and five clients. The study would have been much better had it targeted a bigger pool of respondents, but due to the financial constraints the study could only focus on a small research sample. Perhaps in future there is need for a bigger study on a much wider scale that can give better outcomes. The study encountered other difficulties which carrying out the investigation, for example some managers were reluctant to give information that was key. This resulted in loss of time. The sampling method of choice was non-probability purposive sampling method. This is because the study had predetermined respondents and was not random as is the case in probability sampling. With purposive sampling, the sampling is done with a particular purpose in mind and with specific predefined groups in mind (Research Methods knowledge Base 2006). Findings The following scale was used in the study to rate the various aspects of the study that were to be rated. Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Rate 1 2 3 4 5 It is important at this point to note that the research focused on five security firms. Five CPO’s were administered with Questionnaires, with the security management being interviewed. The clients were also administered with questionnaires. This study was not as large and therefore the kind of information obtained may not necessarily reflect the position of the whole country in this matter. The study was carried out in a highly controlled manner such that the interview process was carried out according to standard practice. The measurements were accurate and reliable. The respondents/ subjects were all from within the same town (a form of a bias); perhaps a study that would have comprised of security firms from wide apart areas would have yielded better results. However, that does not make the study insignificant. The data was obtained with observation of highest possible standards, consequently, the conclusions and recommendations made are viable. The findings of this study were divided into the three target respondent groups for ease of presentation, clarity and organization. The findings were categorized into: The Human resource managers findings The CPO’s findings The clients findings 1. Human resource manager findings The study found out that most of the security firms were in favour of incorporating physical fitness into their CPO training program. The study also found out that, of the five security firms that were interviewed, two (40%) had physical fitness training programs incorporated into their training routines. This indeed gave an indication that despite the lack of a framework that oversees the physical fitness component within the legal requirement of CPO’s, there are security firms that identify and acknowledge the critical role played by the physical fitness in discharging of duty by CPO’s. The other three (60%) lacked any form of physical fitness training within their CPO training routines/ programs. This was a good indication that more than 50% of the security firms did not include a physical training program within their regular training schedule. The study further found out that one of the two companies spent 8 hours per week on physical fitness training. The other company spent 6hours on physical fitness training. Although these two companies had incorporated physical fitness training into their regular CPO training programs, they did not have any form of an internationally recognized physical fitness assessment which could act as their benchmark for assessing CPO’s physical fitness levels. This echoes the sentiments given by many stakeholders for a need to incorporate physical fitness training within the CPO training program and have an international standard acting as a bench mark. The study further sought the opinion of the two security firms on whether they thought there was a need for a single harmonized physical fitness training program and assessment. The study found out that the two firms were in agreement that it would be great if a single harmonized system for training and assessing CPO’s for physical fitness was developed and implemented. These two forms had a similarity in their core values. They held that for any one to become an effective CPO, he or she had to work hard, be obedient, act wisely and meet the physical fitness requirement of the job. They held that physical fitness was a critical component of the training program of a CPO and could not be disregarded. As for the three security firms that lacked a physical fitness program, the study sought to find out why they did not have one in place. All the three companies stated an increase in cost of offering the training as one of the major reasons for the lack. For example it now cots about 1,762.50 British pounds to acquire an advanced close protection training (Counter Threat Group, 2011). One firm of the three stated little time as another of the reasons as to why they lack the physical fitness program. The remaining two companies both cited a lack of international or national system established by law specifically for CPO’s that gave the framework necessary to oversee the effective and satisfactory training of the CPO’s and their assessment criteria. In responding to the impact of the physical fitness training on their staff (CPO), the two firms believed that the physical fitness training contributed to a large extent to the effectiveness of their staff. Two of the three security firms without a physical fitness program were categorical about incorporating the physical fitness program into their regular CPO training program. They felt that it would only be viable to include such an activity into their training program if it were proven to increase effectiveness and was required by law. The remaining firm had plans to incorporate the physical fitness program into their regular CPO training schedule. 2. CPO findings Five CPO’s per security firm were administered with questionnaires. All (100%) the CPO’s rated themselves to be good or excellent on the grading scale. Twenty one (84%) of the twenty five CPO’s rated themselves as being good with the remaining four (16%) rating themselves as being excellent. Fourteen of the twenty five CPO’s (56%) attributed their effectiveness in work as being the result of good training. Five of the remainder (20%) attributed their effectiveness to experience rather than training with the remaining six (24%) attributing their effectiveness to both good training and experience. Of the fourteen CPO’s who attributed their effectiveness to good training, four (29%) were of the opinion that the effectiveness was largely due to the theoretical training that they had received. Three others (21%) felt that their effectiveness was attributable to physical fitness training with the rest (50%) holding that it was a combination of both theoretical and physical fitness training. Of the twenty five CPO’s, eighteen (72%) noted that they frequently encountered incidences at work that required combat, chasing a suspect and handling a suspect. The remainder (28%) noted that although they encountered these incidences at work, it was at a much lower frequency. The study also found out that seventeen of the CPO’s felt that the training that they had received was inadequate and did not meet their job requirements satisfactorily (68%). The remaining eight (32%) felt that the training that they had received was adequate and met their job requirements. 3. The client findings The clients also rated the effectiveness (satisfaction) of the security firms as being fair in general. Although the CPO’s and the security firms felt that their service was of high quality clients had a different opinion. It is possible this low rating by the client is associated with the lack of/ or inadequate physical fitness training received by the CPO’s while being trained. The CPO’s (72%) noted that they encountered incidences at work that required combat and chasing a suspect down the street. Combat and chasing suspects are physically intense activities. If indeed the CPO’s met these incidences at work at such a high rate, and 68% felt that their training did not adequately meet their job requirements satisfactorily, it is possible that this was largely due to the lack of physical fitness programs within the training routines of CPO’s in many firms. The specific rating for the two firms that had incorporated physical fitness training into their regular training schedule were rated as good and fair. It is possible that the client was happy with the service due to factors associated with physical fitness, in the case of the company that was rated as being good and had physical fitness incorporated into their systems. One of the other three without a physical training program had an excellent rating with the remaining two being rated fair. Table 2: Client ratings of security firms Company Company A Company B Company C Company D Company E Rate 3 4 3 5 3 See graph 1 under Appendices Those that rated the firms as fair gave reasons such as lateness, substance abuse, and inability to communicate effectively in crisis situations. These reasons cast a lot of doubt on the effectiveness of the SIA licensing. Part of the reason why SIA was established was to bring sanity into the profession and eliminate individuals with certain undesirable practices including substance abuse. One of the clients having complained that there were CPO’s who were abusing substances while at work reflects a failure on the part of SIA. Two of the five clients (40%) of substance abuse ineffective communication while at work. One of the clients (20%) felt that some of the CPO’s were fat and unable to function well. This was a good indicator that there are CPO’s who need to under physical fitness training in order to improve their effectiveness. Perhaps if CPO’s were made to undergo a physical fitness test as a prerequisite for the award of a SIA front line license, then the overall outlook of the CPO’s would be greatly improved. The client that gave an excellent rating noted that the CPO’s from that company were good keepers of time, were friendly, were clean, obedient, and acted calmly in crises Conclusions There is need for CPO’s undergoing a compulsory physical fitness test as a requirement for the award of a SIA frontline license. Many of the industry stakeholders are of the general opinion that by introducing physical fitness into the regular training schedules, it would be possible to improve on their effectiveness. The study found out that there are many other factors that would affect the effectiveness of CPO’s. Some of these factors include: substance abuse, inability to communicate effectively and coherently, and rudeness/ disobedience. This brings to light the shortcomings/ failures of the SIA. Not many security forms had succeeded in incorporating physical training programs within their regular training programs. Many security firms cite the increased costs in training, a lack of time and essentially, a need for research based evidence of the significance of implementing such a change within their training routines. CPO’s recognized and were in agreement that there was need to introduce physical fitness as part of their training. This would greatly improve their effectiveness at work as most of them (72%) encounter incidences that require a physically fit individual. Many of them (68%) are of the opinion that their current training falls short of meeting their job requirements. Recommendations and Suggestions There is a need to carry out a much bigger and multidimensional research focusing on the same subject. This can then be used as a basis for the policy makers who then would formulate a law that requires the security firm to incorporate physical fitness training within their regular training schedules. The should also be a stakeholders conference or meeting convened for the purposes of discussing a national standard that would become a bench mark for the security firms such that CPO’s can be evaluated for physical fitness by the SIA before being awarded their front line license. There should be another study conducted with an objective of finding out how best the CPO’s can be trained on all the key aspects including physical fitness with the cost being kept as low as possible. A nationwide education initiative targeting the security firms should be effected. This is to be done in an effort to educate the firms of the benefits of having physically fit CPO’s. This can be achieved by use of workshops and conferences. During the conferences, a study demonstrating the importance can be presented in order to achieve objective. SIA needs to review its laws and ensure that CPO’s that fail to meet the standards are denied access and are not allowed to practice. This action would help reduce the number of CPO’s out there abusing substance. References British Military Fitness, 2012. Fitness Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.britmilfit.com/why-bmf/fitness-assessment/ [Accessed 23 March 2012] Button, M., 2011, The Private Security Industry Act 2001 and the security management gap in the united kingdom. Security Journal, 24, pp.118-132. Counter Threat Group, 2011. Advanced bodyguard training- Close protection Training- VIP protection Training- Counter Threat group. Retrieved from: http://www.counterthreatgroup.com/close-protection-training_team-leader.htm [Accessed 23 March 2012]. Department of Health and Human services, 2012. Definitions: Health, Fitness, and Physical activity. Retrieved from: http://www.fitness.gov/digest_mar2000.htm [Accessed 23 March 2012] Dostoc, 2011. Bodyguard training must be physical. Close protection Officers must be fit for purpose. Retrieved from: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/76045237/Bodyguard-Training-Must-be-Physical-Close-Protection-Officers-Must-Be-Fit-For-Purpose [Accessed 23 March 2012] Fraser, P., 2009. An evaluation of the impact of the security industry authority on the operational effectiveness of close protection operatives, Journal of Crowd Safety and Security Management, Available at: http://www.platinumops.com/bodyguard-information.php [Accessed 23 March 2012]. Hunsicker, A., 2010. Advanced skills in executive protection.Florida: Universal publishers. Platinum Group Limited, 2002. C.P.O Information [online] Available at: http://www.platinumops.com/bodyguard-information.php [Accessed 23 March 2012]. Research Methods Knowledge base, 2006. Nonprobability sampling [online] (updated on 20 October 2006) retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampnon.php [Accessed 23 March 2012]. Security HR, 2010. SIA license requirements. Retrieved from http://www.securityhr.co.uk/sia-licence-requirements.html [Accessed 23 March 2012]. Appendices Table 1: Scoring System Exercise 1500M run Press Ups Sit ups Burpees Shuttle sprints Highest possible score 100 100 100 1001 100 Level: Novice 12.19 to 7.90 min 1 to 20 reps 1to 37 reps 1-14 reps 200 to 99 seconds points 1 to 38 1 to 20 1 to 37 1 to 28 1 to 36 Level: Intermediate 7.39 to 6.19min 21 to 45 reps 38-65 reps 15 to 30 reps 98 to 86 secs Points 38-71 21 - 45 38 -65 29 - 72 38 - 72 Level: Advanced 4.22- 6.18 minutes 46 – 100 reps 65 – 100 reps 30 – 50 reps 86 - 62 Points 72 - 100 46 - 100 65 - 100 72 - 100 72 -100 Source: British Military Fitness, 2012* Appendix Graph 1: A representation of the rating of the security firms by Clients Read More