Do security guards have enough training to handle crises?

Recent incidents involving security guards in Saskatchewan have raised wider questions about how they're trained to handle conflict.

In Prince Albert, an investigation is looking into the reasons why an intoxicated man was left lying in the snow last month outside Victoria Hospital. Video footage showed three security officers wheeling his chair outside in the snow and leaving him there.

In Saskatoon, city police are investigating the death of a cancer patient at Royal University Hospital (RUH) after an altercation with security. Police have said security was called to the patient's room after someone reported seeing a firearm there, but his family says it was a pink plastic cigarette case shaped like a gun.

“It really comes down to [the fact] that there shouldn't be any more force [used] than is necessary,” said Joel Pederson, founder of Security 2J2, one of several companies in the province that train security guards.

Getting a licence to work as a security guard in the province requires completing a 40-hour private investigator and security guard (PISG) training course, offered through security companies or Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

The course covers the legal responsibilities of the job and the basics of how to perform duties. Applicants then have to pass an exam with a grade of at least 75 per cent.

“It is a theory program,” Pederson said. “There's really no hands-on applications, and there aren't really any scenario-based trainings put into this portion.”

The course does not cover de-escalation techniques, how to use batons or handcuffs, or how to deal with someone in a mental health or addictions crisis.

That type of training can be obtained through additional courses, but it's not required.

“Once they've successfully completed that exam, then they can move on to some other training, like expanded defensive tactics," Pederson said.

Security SJ2 offers a separate 40-hour course that goes over de-escalation and safety techniques. Other companies would provide similar optional additional training, he said.

It’s up to the institution that hires security guards to decide if they want to cover that additional training.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority declined CBC’s request for an interview, but in a statement said all of its in-house protective services officers receive a minimum of 100 hours of training, with ongoing training as needed. The SHA also uses guards employed by private contracting companies.

“The level of service provided by both SHA officers and contracted providers varies by facility based on size, hours of operation, patterns of risk and patient and visitor volumes,” the SHA said in a statement.