[ULFGARD]

Okay, so I've done armed response security and door rattling security, as well as a gig doing (unlicensed) security in parking lots.

In reverse order: parking lot security.
I would drive from lot to lot (in a downtown area) from the time my shift started until it ended. If I found any problems, I had the discretion to deal with them myself or call the police. I found people trying to break into the money boxes a couple of times. Since I knew that the boxes had already been emptied, the justice system would do virtually nothing, so I confronted. Never saw 'em again. I also reported numerous car break ins and witnessed the aftermath of an armed robbery. (Later, after security ended, I worked as a parking attendant. The site that had been previously robbed, and where I, myself, had worked was hit by an armed robber who, for no reason, murdered the attendant. That wasn't a good day.) My only defense? A bottle of questionable mace spray and a cell phone. My biggest perk? I collected and retained fees from letting people into lots after hours. But this pretty much was break even, since I provided the "patrol" car (an old VW bug).

Door rattling:
This was boring. Stay awake all night, rattle door knobs, do standard rounds every so often, report anything "off". No mace. We were allowed to carry (but not use) night sticks. (Well, we could use them to touch questionable substances. Ick. That's why I carried min.) In various sites I dealt with drunks, car break-ins, light domestic violence, and the occasional irate owner who was angry that I would DARE question them. Since I worked for a company for whom these owners were clients, I didn't encounter whitestreak's issue of being fired for doing my job (nor did anyone shoot at me). Instead, I called a central base and verified the person's credentials. In some cases, they were sent away because they hadn't bothered to update important documents. I worked in office buildings, lab facilities, and min-malls all on graveyard. Never once did I feel any sort of threat. The most "important" part of my duty was writing reports. One thing I discovered is that most of the other security guards were marginally literate. My bosses really liked that I could write a good, coherent description of a incident, so eventually I got promoted.

Armed response:
For the most part, I had a regular patrol route. Clients payed for door rattling service during certain windows. So it'd be a series of 15 - 60 minute stops inside time windows, with the busiest time being between about 11 pm and 3 am. Once you got used to a specific location, the actual patrol would take about 30 - 60% of the time you had. A LOT of guards would use this to get extra breaks, so they'd do checks out of their time window as fast as they could and end up with 2 or even 3 free hours. My take? They were paying us to BE THERE, so I'd stop somewhere safe and visible. Worst case, I'd read or do paperwork. Best case? I'd drive around or redo the patrol.

The "exciting" part was the alarm responses. But really, they were usually repeat offenders. So I'd show up, follow the protocol for patrol, and then reset the alarm (or call the alarm company to do so). If there was any evidence of a real issue I would call the police. Of course, I ran into people who weren't on the magic list MANY times and detained them. They'd get irate, combative, and then I'd put my hand on my holster as I was calmly explaining to them that they weren't on the list and I needed to verify their identity, unsnap the retention strap, and put my hand on the grip. Well, needless to say that all but one person got really, really cooperative. A couple of them basically admitted they didn't belong there, and I called the cops, who took them away. One -- the smart one -- ran (no mandate to pursue, and no obvious felony in progress, so I reported his description and called it a day). One yelled at me (turned out to be a manager) until the police came and we sorted the issue out with HIS boss.

I also had people jump out at me. Drunks who thought I was someone else. I managed NOT to hit the first couple, but only just. But for the most part it was fairly mellow. No one was ever injured by violence on the job, but several were injured by wandering around various sketchy sites in the dark.

The good? Lots of free time broken up well. Also a directive to nap (15 - 20 minutes) if too sleepy to drive. The neutral? Experience wearing a vest. Man those things are hot and heavy during the summer. The bad? Making crappy salary. If it paid what I make now, I'd still be doing it.