Experts: guards are ill-trained, ill-equipped to handle threats

WASHINGTON - In the aftermath of 9/11, private security officers are being asked to step into the breach and fill gaps in the nation's homeland security plans.* But experts warn that most of this 2 million person workforce receives little or no training, aren’t subjected to rigorous background checks for previous criminal behavior and are paid so poorly that many quickly leave for better paying jobs.

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Gotbaum’s report notes that a New York cosmetologist is required to have 40 times more training hours than a security guard.

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