Why security work carries so much risk

Most people are taught to avoid confrontation. Security officers, from nightclub doors to hospital emergency departments, are paid to manage it.

An Australian study published in 2011 examined national workers' compensation data from 2000 to 2008. It found that security and police were in the top three highest claiming occupations for work-related injuries and deaths from occupational violence, with security officers at number one in both. Security officers were also twice as likely as police to sustain a head injury.

In August 2023 a security guard at a Helensvale shopping centre on the Gold Coast was stabbed with a meat cleaver after a group allegedly attacked him.

The risks are built into the work:

• Confrontation is the job. Refusing entry, cutting off service and stopping a suspected thief all mean telling people what they do not want to hear.
• Alcohol and drugs. Intoxicated people are unpredictable, feel less pain and can swing from friendly to violent in seconds.
• Groups. Removing one patron often means dealing with their friends, and a guard focused on one person can miss the second or third.
• Edged weapons. Knives and improvised weapons are a real risk in retail, nightlife and hospitals, and are often seen late.
• Lone patrols at night. Mobile patrol officers check empty car parks and building sites alone, a long way from backup.

Licensing, use of force and the camera that never blinks

In Queensland, security work is licensed under the Security Providers Act 1993, which defines a crowd controller as a person who, for reward, is at a public place principally for keeping order, and a security officer as a person who, for reward, guards, patrols or watches another person's property. Crowd controllers need a security provider class 1 licence, which requires police fingerprinting, a criminal history check and a required training course.

A licence is permission to work, not permission to use force. Any force a guard uses must be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances, and excessive force can lead to criminal charges, civil claims and loss of licence.

Responsibility does not end once someone is restrained. Restraint carries real medical risk, including positional asphyxia, where a person's position (for example face down with weight on their back) makes it hard to breathe. Intoxication, exhaustion and a long struggle all add to the danger. A guard who restrains someone has a duty of care for that person until they are released or handed to police or paramedics.

And everything is recorded, often without the lead-up that explains it. A guard who looks calm and proportionate on the footage is far better protected than one who looks rushed or angry, even if both meant well.

A realistic scenario: the door at 1am

You refuse entry to a man who is clearly intoxicated. He steps closer, starts filming you on his phone and insists he has been inside all night. Two of his mates drift in on either side of you. Your partner is inside dealing with a fight on the dance floor. One of the group puts a hand in his jacket pocket.

Nothing physical has happened. But in a few seconds you have lost your partner, your distance and your view of three sets of hands. A guard who has practised this will reposition to see everyone, set a clear boundary with voice and posture, call for backup early and keep enough space to react if that hand comes out holding something. A guard who has not may lock onto the phone and miss the person moving behind them.

Why a licence course and a policy are not enough on their own

Employers have a legal duty to manage the risk of workplace violence and aggression, which Safe Work Australia describes as incidents where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted at work. In Queensland, the Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 makes violence and aggression a hazard businesses must identify and control.

Security providers and venues respond with use-of-force policies, radios, body cameras and procedures for calling police. All of them matter. But a policy written in a quiet office is applied by a person full of adrenaline, in noise and a crowd, with a second or two to decide.

Under stress, people freeze, rush or fix on one threat. A once-off licence course rarely changes that; regular practice under realistic pressure does. The aim is not a guard who is quicker to go hands-on, but one calm enough to choose the least forceful option that will work.

The benefits of learning effective self defence

For security officers, effective self defence is less about winning a fight and more about controlling a situation so it never becomes one. Good training builds five practical skills:

• Awareness. Reading body language, watching hands, noticing who arrived with whom and spotting the person drifting behind you.
• Positioning and distance. Standing where you can see everyone, keeping your partner in view and never letting a group form around you.
• De-escalation with authority. A calm voice, open hands and clear instructions, giving people a way to save face and leave, and knowing when to step back and wait for police.
• Controlled physical skills as a last resort. Protecting your head, breaking a grab and creating space. Where control is necessary, doing it with balance, avoiding positions that restrict breathing and releasing pressure as soon as the risk has passed.
• Composure that holds up on camera. Deliberate, proportionate movement that matches what you later write in the incident report.

How Arakan helps security teams

Arakan Martial Art has been teaching for more than 30 years and has trained tens of thousands of people, from children to executives, professional athletes, law enforcement and military personnel. Our approach to frontline work centres on control without unnecessary escalation: protecting yourself, colleagues and the public while managing a person responsibly until help arrives.

A workshop for a security team can focus on:

• refusing entry or service and holding a firm boundary without inflaming it;
• working as a pair or team so no one is isolated or surrounded;
• managing groups and watching for the second or third person;
• recognising the signs of a concealed weapon and prioritising distance;
• close-contact control that protects your balance and the safety of the person being controlled;
• staying composed on a lone patrol, and functioning when tired at the end of a night shift.

Sessions are led by full time professional instructors, are trauma-aware and safety-first, and suit every age and fitness level. Formats range from 90 to 120 minute intensives to half day and full day workshops and ongoing team programs, and can be built into a team day, conference or wellness program. They complement licence training rather than replace it.

How Arakan is different from a traditional dojo or the ring

A security incident is not a bout, and habits that win in a ring can look very different on CCTV.

• Not a ring sport. Arakan is a Burmese martial art that has never been a ring or competition style. A door has no rounds, no referee and often more than one opponent.
• Control, not knockouts. Sport rewards dominating an opponent. Security work rewards resolving the situation with the least force that works.
• Real environments. Training covers confined spaces, doorways, vehicles and multiple people, because that is where incidents happen.
• Adaptable principles, not memorised routines. Movement and body mechanics that work from awkward positions and when plans change.
• No egos, no aggression. Awareness, de-escalation and legal responsibility are built in, so officers become more composed, not more combative.

This article is general information only and is not legal, safety or professional advice. Security officers should always follow the law, their licence conditions, their employer's procedures and site instructions, and contact police on 000 in an emergency.