New Jersey Armed Security Guard Training

New Jersey has many openings for security guard positions in its city. A person who wants to become a security guard in New Jersey can do provided he meets certain basic qualifications and requirements prescribed by the government.

The motivating factor for the candidate is that pay is quite reasonable and the work is as challenging as any other security guard job. A nice twist to this job is that recently the New Jersey government has decided to rename security guards as security officers. The word officer definitely has a nice ring to it. The laws that govern the security guards have also changed. Earlier they were ruled by the guidelines of Private Detective Act of 1939, however this underwent a change in 2007 and now they are governed by the Security Officer Registration Act (SORA).

Eligibility for becoming a security guard

To become a security guard, a candidate must be a US citizen and must have completed 18 years of age. He must have a valid social security number and should not have any criminal history. He should agree in writing for basic background checks, should have a valid passport photo, a New Jersey’s driver license, should be mentally competent to do the job, should agree to fingerprinting, should not have used weapons illegally before and should have completed the basic classroom and firearms training.

Approved training programs

For aspiring candidates, the state government has approved certain training programs that the candidate must complete within 30 days of joining. These programs are exhaustive lists that train on dealing with terrorist attacks, diffusing bombs, using firearms, theft prevention, emergency response, first aid, nabbing a culprit, ethics and principles etc.  As dealing with weapons is a must, a security guard must have a weapon permit that is authorized by the New Jersey policy department.

Each city’s norms and practices vary and hence the candidate must be fully aware of the New Jersey local laws and regulations that apply for a security guard equip himself accordingly and then apply for the course. The total fee for the whole exercise is around $150, out of which around $70 is for fingerprinting charges.

Leave a Comment