Guards with guns at work

[Pondoro]

I work in a large corporation. We make mechanical items that go in military vehicles. We do not make guns or ammo or bombs. There is no reason to try to steal our stuff unless you have a jet plane or a tank and need spare parts. But we are a "Defense Plant" with all of the signage and chain link fences and uniformed guards. No guns. The urban legend is that the guards were armed from the beginning (WWII) until the 1970's, but the guns left when a guard tried to shoot a sick and snarling possum. One version is that he missed the possum and hit a Chevy Camaro, the other version is that when reholstering he shot himself in the leg. Anyway no guns.

I recently visited a supplier, in Italy. Same deal they make defense "stuff", nothing worth stealing unless you own a plane. This was a few days after the French terror attack. Most of the guards were unarmed but one had a nice S&W slung in a loose holster on his hip. By loose I mean the holster had a retention strap but it was very non-tactical and dangled loose on his belt. It looked like something a farmer might throw on when he visited the cows, since he /might/ see a coyote and would be 200 yards from his bedroom. So one guard had a gun.

One wonders when he would be allowed to shoot? And what if terrorists truly showed up? And why only one guard? Did they all have the option to wear guns and only he chose to carry? Or did just the big boss guard wear a gun? He did not seem to be the boss by the way. Were the other guards carrying concealed? Was there an arms locker somewhere?


So lots of questions. And I cannot imagine an American manufacturing company allowing their employees to carry, maybe a bank or armored car service.


And I'd really like to have examined that S&W, it appeared to be a K frame with a 3 or 4 " barrel.

 

[italiansport]

When I worked at GE Navy Ordnance back in the 60s the guards were armed with Colt Official Police 38 revolvers. I doubt if any GE guards are armed today.
Jim

 

[BigBoy99]

I was at a plant and the guards had .38 Special Revolvers. They had them till the early 70's when one of the guards had an "accidental discharge" of his revolver when sitting in the John! Went through the partition and just missed a person washing his hands at the sink. The story goes he was playing with the revolver while doing other business. The next week the guns were gone and all the guards were all carrying wooden sticks.

 

[RJJ 1971]

Try going to the Bahamas (Cable Island). Guards at banks and liquor stores are dressed in BDU's and had AK's.
The Police rode around on lil red scooters with a light pole out the back, and 5" 38 special revolvers.
That made sense and made me feel real comfortable.

 

[Jack Flash]

I remember how banks used to have armed guards here in the US. No one thought anything of it.

 

[Peak53]

Try going to the Bahamas (Cable Island). Guards at banks and liquor stores are dressed in BDU's and had AK's.
The Police rode around on lil red scooters with a light pole out the back, and 5" 38 special revolvers.
That made sense and made me feel real comfortable.

Hmmm ... wonder what the 5" .38s could be?

 

[Pondoro]

I remember how banks used to have armed guards here in the US. No one thought anything of it.

I remember in a bank the armed guard had a 6" barreled stainless revolver. He was leaning against the wall, either sleeping or doing a very good imitation of sleep. If he had been Clint Eastwood in a Western movie I suspect he'd have been pretending. Since this was real life I will guess he was really sleeping.

 

[e3mrk]

When I worked in a Steel Mill in My younger days all the Guards were armed with Revolvers and most likely still are.

 

[k22fan]

The last time I spode with Boeing Aircraft Co. employees their guards had carried S&W .38 special six shooters for as long as anyone could remember. Their surplus Model 20s, stamped "BAC," were common in stores and at gun shows in Western Washington in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I'm not sure about the dates but I remember the Heavy Duties. Boeing replaced them with Model 15s some of which are in stores now. I'd be surprised to hear their guards are unarmed.

Armed guards are still fairly common. They only very rarely shoot anyone and that's how it should be.

 

[Iggy]

As a kid, I can remember going in to the bank and there was a steel kind of thing in an upper corner big enough for a man to sit in. There was a slot in it with a 30-30 sticking out.. It never moved in over 40 years until they renovated the bank. Now the 30-30 is on display in a show case on the way into the bank. No guards visible anywhere.

 

[vito]

There are two primary reasons that so-called guards do not carry a gun. One is cost. An unarmed security guard is relatively cheap, often not much above minimum wage. An armed security guard is quite expensive. Not only does the guard require more training and certifications, but the liability insurance for the company will be much, much higher. A second reason is that many companies want the appearance of security, but not real security. Guns make some company owners very nervous so they prefer to see uniformed guards appearing to provide security, which of course they can, but only against threats that are not armed themselves.

 

[retiredbadge8091]

In the 70'and 80's I worked at the Hercules plant where they produced rocket fuel for the MX missile, etc. I worked for a private contractor as a pipe fitter/welder. The unarmed security personnel who manned the gates to the plant were a mixture of misfits and senior citizens. When I became a police officer the plant was within our jurisdiction and the big wigs there initially wanted to deny us access unless we were disarmed. Needless to say that was a continuous point of contention.

 

[sceva]

I worked in an Ohio plant making aerospace gears / gearboxes. The story was that the guards there used to be armed. Until one thought he heard a noise in an office in the wee hours of the morning and let loose a cylinder full thru the door. No more armed guards after that.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

A famous maker tire plant in North Carolina is surrounded by double razor wire and all the guards are armed. Most top secret item manufactured are Corvette Tires. The same company has a tank tread plant and other items in Ohio for the M-1 and Bradley parts as well and , you guessed it - no guards are armed.

 

[RJJ 1971]

I remember how banks used to have armed guards here in the US. No one thought anything of it.

Was talking more towards private guards at liquor stores & banks had AK's. The Police only had revolvers.

 

[Jack Flash]

Was talking more towards private guards at liquor stores & banks had AK's. The Police only had revolvers.

I was just commenting on the topic in general, not on your post specifically.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Here Bank of America has armed guards(revolvers) standing outside the front doors.
Not a bad job in the summer, but when it's cold like now, forget it!

 

[RJJ 1971]

I was just commenting on the topic in general, not on your post specifically.

Oh ok gotcha

 

[Big Stick]

I work at least 6 months a year in Canada, and I'm always amazed at the fact that all the security guards for the most part are unarmed, but all wear heavy duty body armor. Considering there is not supposed to be any gun crime in Canada due to their strict laws(not true), its somewhat ironic.....

 

[DWalt]

I once worked at a chemical plant. All security guards were armed - with H&R .22 revolvers. I always thought it was a strange choice of weaponry. I once worked at at an ordnance research facility. All guards were armed, don't remember what they carried, but they were revolvers. I have worked at two military bases. Both civilian and military gate guards were always armed. I ran two Savings and Loan institutions at one time. Both had armed guards on the inside during business hours. One carried concealed and in plain clothes, the other carried openly and in uniform - he had a German P-38 in an original military holster. Back in the early 1970s, I worked in Colombia for a short time. Many stores with valuable merchandise had someone walking around inside with a shotgun.