Duties and responsibilities
A campus security officer is responsible for providing personal, equipment, and real property security for faculty, staff, students, and visitors within an assigned area of the University campus. They will perform routine security and patrol duties and will be the first-line of response in emergency situations in that assigned area. Their typical duties and responsibilities include:
- Patrolling assigned areas ensure personal, building, and equipment security
- Examining doors, windows, and gates to ensure security
- Informing and warning violators of rule infractions, such as loitering, smoking, or carrying forbidden articles
- Providing escort services for visitors, students, staff, and faculty, as necessary
- Watching for and reporting irregularities, such as security breaches, facility and safety hazards, and emergency situations
- Approaching suspicious persons
- Informing police of suspicious activity, as appropriate
- Patrolling and monitoring assigned parking areas and/or parking garages to provide public security and assistance
- Preparing routine, standardized reports.
Qualifications
To become a campus security officer, you will normally need a high school diploma or equivalent. However, some jobs may not require formal educational credentials. You should then receive on the job training.
Depending on what state you live in, you will need to be license. Generally, to become licensed, security guards must be at least 18 years old, pass a background check and complete relevant training.
Skills and relevant work experience
As well as the certification requirements, campus security officers will need skills such as:
- Decision making skills, as they will often need to be able to make on the spot decisions. Some of the decisions could save their lives, or the lives of their colleagues
- Interpersonal skills, as campus security officers will work with members of the public and must protect the image of the company they work for
- Organization skills are essential as campus security officers must make sure that they complete all scheduled and routine tasks on time
- Communication skills, as campus security officers will need to communicate with university staff, students and other security staff. They also need written communication skills to maintain written documents with accuracy and ease
Hours
Most campus security officers work full time hours. Campus security officers usually work in shifts of about 8 hours, with rotating schedules. As security is often needed around the clock, they may have to work nights, evenings and weekends.
Salary
According to the Salary.com the median annual wage for a campus security officer was $48,400 in 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $36,364 and the highest 10% earned more than $64,639.
Progression
Overall, the employment of all security guards is projected to grow 3% over the coming years. Therefore, there will be lots of exciting opportunities for campus security officers. They may progress to more senior roles, such as leading a team of other security guards or managing the office.