Introduction to Security Skills (LAWS 1005)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering legal frameworks (PSISA, OHSA, OLRA, PIPEDA, HTA), security guard duties, health and safety, cultural sensitivity, basic patrol operations, crowd and picket line management, and traffic control procedures.

Security Guard (PSISA Section 2(4))

A person who performs work, for remuneration, that consists primarily of guarding or patrolling for the purpose of protecting persons or property under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005.

Non-Security Occupations (PSISA Section 2(7))

Specific professions exempt from being classified as security guards, including barristers or solicitors, credit raters, insurance adjusters, peace officers, locksmiths, armoured vehicle services, and persons providing security advice.

Registered Employer (PSISA Section 5)

An employer who directly employs licensed private investigators or security guards in-house but does not sell security services to the public.

Prohibited Roles under PSISA Section 9(1)

Statutory restrictions preventing licensed security professionals from acting as account collectors, bailiffs, eviction officers, or being hired to track individuals enrolled in witness protection.

Clean Criminal Record Requirement (PSISA)

The condition that an applicant has not been convicted of a prescribed offence under the Criminal Code (Canada), the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, or other federal Acts, unless a formal pardon has been granted under the Criminal Records Act.

Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT)

The provincial administrative body responsible for hearing appeals filed by applicants or licensees following an unsuccessful show-cause hearing with the Registrar regarding a refused, revoked, or non-renewed security licence.

Uniform Standards of Practice (PSISA)

Mandated uniform regulations requiring visible identification of both the employer and the security guard (name or licence number), prohibiting navy blue or black shirts, disallowing rank chevrons, and barring police stripes on trousers to avoid confusion with peace officers.

Public Police vs. Private Security Roles

The primary operational distinction where public police enforce laws and protect public interests under the law, whereas private security personnel protect the specific interests, property, assets, information, and people of their employer.

Contract Security

Security professionals employed by an independent, licensed security company that contracts out guarding and protection services to external clients for varying durations.

Proprietary Security

An in-house security arrangement where guards are hired, employed, and managed directly by the organization whose property and personnel they protect, rather than through an external agency.

Special Constable

An individual appointed under provincial legislation who is granted limited, police-like powers (such as issuing tickets or specific law enforcement authorities) within an assigned territorial jurisdiction.

ASIS International

A global professional security organization offering professional accreditations such as the Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Professional Certified Investigator (PCI), Physical Security Professional (PSP), and Associate Protection Professional (APP).

IAHSS

The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety; a professional body granting healthcare-specific certifications including CHPA, CHSS, CAHSO, and CHSO.

Cocooning

A social trend characterized by individuals retreating into private, self-contained home environments, identified as one of the contributing factors to the expansion of the private security industry.

Worker Rights under OHSA

Fundamental statutory entitlements granted to all employees (unionized and non-unionized), consisting of the right to know about workplace hazards, the right to safe work training, the right to appropriate protective equipment, and the right to refuse unsafe work.

WHMIS

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System; a comprehensive national standard designed to inform workers of hazardous material properties through mandatory supplier labels, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and worker education programs.

Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

A legally mandated document that details the chemical and physical hazards, safe handling procedures, storage requirements, and spill response steps for hazardous materials stored or used on a job site.

Working Alone Measures

Occupational health and safety protections required for lone workers, including reliable communication devices (radios/telephones), regular check-in schedules, mobile supervisory check-ins, protective gear, and specialized safety training.

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment

A formal evaluation conducted on a work site to gauge exposure to violence by weighing the seriousness of potential harm against the likelihood of its occurrence under specific operational conditions.

OHSA Penalties (Section 66)

Legal punishments for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act: a maximum fine of up to $\$500{,}000$ or imprisonment up to $12\,\text{months}$ (or both) for an individual, and up to $\$2{,}000{,}000$ for a corporation.

Harassment

Unwelcome remarks or behavior directed at an individual that cause them to feel unfairly threatened, offended, or uncomfortable as a consequence of their membership in a protected group.

Discrimination

Disadvantageous or unequal treatment of an individual across protected areas (such as employment or public services) on prohibited grounds, including race, disability, religion, sex, age, or receipt of public assistance.

Stereotype

An oversimplified, generalized preconception about characteristics attributed to all individuals of a particular group, often contributing to inappropriate behavioral profiling.

Wheelchair Guiding Protocol

The professional customer service procedure requiring security guards to first ask permission before assisting and to always navigate downward ramps, curbs, and elevators backward.

Vision Impairment Assistance Protocol

The procedure of identifying oneself in a normal voice, lightly touching the back of the person's hand to offer an arm, describing oncoming hazards, and remaining one step ahead on stairs while explaining directional grade changes.

Post Orders

Written operational documents establishing a security guard's general site duties, emergency contact personnel, specific instructions, and applicable organizational policies for an assigned post.

Patrol Methodologies

Structured patrol strategies including reactive patrols (incident-driven), proactive patrols (preventative deterrence), directed patrols (defined predetermined routes), and random patrols (unpredictable, self-directed rounds).

Four Categories of Observation Skills

The core functional application of security observation: identifying objects and persons (lost individuals, suspects), collecting evidence for court, noting environmental changes (unattended items, bomb locations), and detecting violent threat behaviors.

Four Levels of Awareness

The mental readiness framework consisting of Level 1: Vegetable (unaware), Level 2: Cautious & Alert, Level 3: Fight or Flight Response, and Level 4: In-Progress Conflict.

Hypervigilance

A persistent psychological state of heightened alertness characterized by viewing environmental events through a threat-based perspective and assessing surroundings as potentially hazardous.

Four Levels of Access Control

The structural security framework comprising Perimeter protection (property boundary), Building protection (entryways), Area protection (designated interior zones), and Object protection (specific files, assets, or hardware).

Ingress and Egress

The controlled physical processes of entering (ingress) and exiting (egress) a designated facility, property, or restricted area.

CPTED

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design; a multidisciplinary approach using landscaping, lighting, physical barriers, and architectural layout to deter unwanted entry and criminal behavior without creating impassable walls.

PIPEDA

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act; the federal statute governing the lawful collection, access, use, and disclosure of personal data by commercial private sector organizations in Canada.

Alarm Response Principle

The universal security practice of treating every alarm as genuine and life-threatening until on-scene investigation definitively proves it to be false.

Crowd

Any large assembly of people gathered in close physical proximity, susceptible to collective behavior, perceived anonymity, and rapid emotional or panic contagion.

Crowd Egress Principle

The critical crowd control safety protocol directing security personnel never to fence people in, but rather maintain an unobstructed avenue of escape if disorder arises.

Collective Bargaining

The formal negotiation process between an organized labor union representing employees and an employer to establish terms and conditions of employment.

Strike vs. Lockout

A strike is an employee-initiated work stoppage to pressure management during contract negotiations, whereas a lockout is an employer-initiated action barring workers from the workplace to enforce terms.

Picket Line Legal Limits

The legal boundary establishing that picketers have a protected right to assemble on public accessways, but cannot trespass onto private property, physically obstruct ingress or egress, or engage in assault or intimidation.

Professional Strike Breaker (OLRA Section 78(2))

A person not involved in a labor dispute whose primary objective is to interfere with, obstruct, prevent, restrain, or disrupt rights under the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 via intimidation, coercion, undue influence, or provocation.

Highway Traffic Act (HTA) Jurisdiction

The legal reality that the Ontario Highway Traffic Act governs public roadways but does not apply to private roadways or parking lots, depriving private security guards of traffic authority on public highways unless specifically requested by police during emergencies.

Traffic Hand Signal: Stopping

The standardized traffic directive involving making direct eye contact, pointing at the driver with an outstretched arm, keeping the palm upright facing them until motion ceases, and repeating the sequence for opposing traffic.

Traffic Hand Signal: Starting

The standardized traffic directive involving turning parallel to waiting traffic, making eye contact, pointing at the vehicle, and bringing the forearm across the chest to motion drivers forward.

Traffic Hand Signal: Left Turn

The standardized traffic directive where the traffic controller halts oncoming traffic with one outstretched arm and palm, using the other arm to sweep and guide the turning vehicle across the lane.

Emergency Vehicle Definition

Police, fire, paramedic, or ambulance vehicles that actively display flashing lights or sound sirens, entitling them to absolute right-of-way over other traffic.

Private Property Collision Reporting Threshold

The mandatory legal threshold requiring security personnel to notify public police for incidents on private property involving personal injury, suspected alcohol or drug impairment, failure to stop and share information, or combined property damage exceeding $\$2{,}000.00$.