Private Security & Investigative Services

Training & Testing

Security Guard Test Preparation Guide

Section 10 - Sensitivity Training

Section Overview

Security guards interact with the public on a daily basis. It is important that individuals are approached with respect.

Security guards should have an understanding of the different types of prejudice that exist as a result of differences between people, including (but not limited to):

• ethnic background
• education
• religion
• gender
• sexual orientation
• physical or mental disabilities.

Security guards should learn to identify their own biases in order to prevent them from affecting the way they interact professionally with members of the public. They should also understand the ways in which miscommunication and misinterpretation can take place between two people who come from different backgrounds, and should therefore be sensitive to differences when dealing with a person.

Legally, security guards must comply with the Code of Conduct Regulation under the PSISA as well as the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), and are therefore obliged to treat all persons equally and without discrimination.

The OHRC is a provincial law that gives everybody equal rights and opportunities without discrimination.

Security guards should also be aware of the requirements and standards in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) in order to ensure they provide appropriate service to those with disabilities.

References/Resources

Saskatchewan Justice – Corrections, Public Safety and Policing: Private Investigator and Security Guard Training Manual (2008), http://www.cpsp.gov.sk.ca/PISG-Manual-07.pdf

• Chapter 3 – Conduct of Security: Professionalism and Public Relations

Code of Conduct Regulation under the PSISA:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_070363_e.htm

Ontario Human Rights Code:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h19_e.htm

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_05a11_e.htm