Security Guard Training

Live & Hybrid Group Training Solutions

AEGIS develops, delivers, and facilitates cutting edge training designed to amplify the effectiveness of individuals in their environments.

Guard Card & Refresher Training Course (8 Hours) – Live for groups/corporate clients  & Online for individuals

This is the introductory online guard card instructional class incorporating powers to arrest, terrorism, and WMD designed by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to qualify to start working in the security business. Our live guard card training for groups and corporate clients surpasses the state mandated content to include extra modules we see as indispensable in the field.

Modules contain: intro to the security business, injury/illness/heat avoidance program, sexual harassment, workplace violence, powers of arrest, essentials of searches, crisis management, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction. The additional 32 hours of online security training needed to be in compliance with the Business and Professions Code is offered online either as an individual set or within the 40 hour guard card course.

Within the first 30 days of hire, you must receive an additional 16 hours of training both mandatory and elective courses. For a detailed listing of the courses, CLICK HERE.

-Within the first six months of hire, you must receive an additional 16 hours of training of elective courses. For a detailed listing of the courses, CLICK HERE.

-This results in a total 40 hours of guard card verifiable training. You must also receive 8 hours of annual refresher training.

40 Hour Hybrid Group Training (Live On-Site for Groups & Online for Individuals)
Live instructors provide the initial 8 hour security guard card training at client sites to corporate or in-house security teams, Then the additional 32 hours of security guard card training is completed online at their own pace per BSIS requirements.

This complete online guard card training and certification program satisfies the Bureau of Security & Investigative Services prerequisite for guard card holders inside six months of employment. Modules contain: intro to the security business, injury/illness/heat avoidance program, sexual harassment, workplace violence, powers of arrest, essentials of searches, crisis management, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction. Beyond the first 8 hours  of guard card certification, the supplemental 32 hours of preparing needed to be compliant with the Business and Professions Code is offered online including over a dozen modules.

Individuals and corporate clients may also complete the 40 training entirely online.

Guard Card Outline

Initial 8 hour course to obtain a guard card: Powers to Arrest (4 Hours), Weapons of Mass Destruction / Terrorism ( 4 hours)

Additional 16 hours of training within 30 days: Public Relations (4 Hours), Observation & Documentation (4 hours), Communications & its Significance (4 hours), Liability / Legal Aspects (4 hours)

Additional 16 hours of electives within six months: Evacuation Procedures (2 Hours), Access Control (2 Hours), Handling Difficult People (3 Hours), Workplace Violence (3 Hours), Preserving the Incident Scene (3 Hours), Crowd Control (3 Hours), Management and Supervision (4 Hours), Fire Safety ( 2 Hours), Officer Safety (4 Hours)

Powers to Arrest (4 Hours)

The first four hours of the California security guard training is powers to arrest mandated by the State of California. This training is designed to teach new security guards about the law and how their job falls within the business and professions code. Included in this training are modules on the role and responsibilities of a security guard, basic observation techniques, where authority comes from, inspections and searches, arrestable offenses, private persons arrests, making arrests as well as reporting. In addition to the state standards, our basic powers to arrest security guard training includes areas identified as best practices including intro to sexual harassment, emergency preparedness, checking IDs as well as understanding body language. The culmination of the powers to arrest training for the California security guard training is a comprehensive final exam in which the student must achieve 100% to pass.

Weapons of Mass Destruction / Terrorism (4 Hours)

The second half of the initial 8 hour California security guard training is comprised of a module on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. The outline of the course as well as much of the content is mandated by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services and was developed in partnership with the private sector. The objective of the course to provide an introduction of identifying and reporting pre-incident indicators as well as assisting in controlling a scene after a terrorist incident. This training utilizes the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Weapons of Mass Destruction & Terrorism Awareness for Security Professionals student workbook and videos. In addition, our course includes an introduction to active shooter incidents.

Public Relations (4 Hours)

This course is a mandated component security guard training within the first 30 days of beginning work as a security guard. The purpose of a course on public relations is based on the necessity of security guards dealing with the public at large in a customer service role in addition to security. Topics include discrimination and harassment, respecting others and stereotyping, verbal de-escalation and crisis intervention, diversity, substance abuse, mental illness, ethics, physical manifestation of crime, perception, dealing with the disabled, managing incidents, technology, confidentiality, and reporting to the public.

Observation & Documentation (4 Hours)

This course is a mandated component security guard training within the first 30 days of beginning work as a security guard. The purpose of this course is to train guards to be more effective in observing their environment and documentation through both written and oral reports. Topics include observation, environmental awareness, patrols, witness questions, group characteristics, report writing, note taking, narrative reporting, and reporting types.

Communication and its Significance (4 Hours)

This course is a mandated component security guard training within the first 30 days of beginning work as a security guard. The purpose of the communication and its significance course within the guard card training is to help security professionals communicate better with employees, clients, and the public. Topics include how to ask questions, body language, deception, barriers to communication, written communication, communicating through technology, communicating with the press and government, phonetic alphabet and ten codes, as well as de-escalation.

Liability and Legal Aspects (4 Hours)

This course is a mandated component security guard training within the first 30 days of beginning work as a security guard. The purpose of this training is to ensure security guards are well educated of the laws, rules and regulations that govern their actions as a security officer. Topics include an overview of the constitution, California law, description of crimes, liability, and the role of the security officer.

Guard Card Training Electives
The Bureau of Security and Investigative Services mandates an additional sixteen (16) hours of security training within the first six months of working.

Evacuation Procedures (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to understand how to react and facilitate evacuations during and after emergencies.

Access Control (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to provide the guard an understanding of identification, CCTV, access control processes, procedures and technology.

Handling Difficult People (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to enhance the guard’s skills in managing encounters with difficult people.

Workplace Violence (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to help security guards understand the precursors to workplace violence, reporting, as well as how to react in various situations.

Preserving the Incident Scene (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to provide instruction to guards on how to maintain an incident scene until law enforcement arrives.

Crowd Control (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to instruct security guards on best practices on how to manage large crowds.

Management & Supervision (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to enhance the security guards ability to work in capacities as a supervisor and upper management.

Fire Safety Course (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to teach the security guard characteristics of the different types of fires as well as how to extinguish them.

Officer Safety (2 Hours) – The purpose of this topic within the security guard training is to instruct the security guard on how to maintain personal and team safety at all times.

SB 1626/390 Requires school security training be completed by security officers working and assigned to schools in California. This includes all public schools and establishes a standard for charter school security programs, private school security teams, and private colleges and universities public safety departments.

All school staff tasked with managing or involved with a school security program will benefit from taking this online course.

Proprietary security officer certifications are required by every employee that performs in-house security services. AEGIS Security & Investigations is authorized by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to provide Proprietary Security Officer Training and Certification on behalf Proprietary Security Employers. The security guard training we provide mirrors the full service guard card certification, but condenses the program in order to be compliant with the BSIS mandated syllabus.

This course is available both online and on-site for corporate clients.

Online Active Shooter Training
1 Hour 

This program is modeled after our one hour live lecture +  live fire demo and has been expanded to include additional information regarding pre-incident indicators, workplace violence, and terrorism. It has been adapted for a unique immersive online delivery that challenges participants to make split second decisions that could be the difference between life and death.

Participants will learn proven techniques on how to survive an active shooter taught by a security expert and professional instructor. This online active shooter training is designed for civilians and private sector professionals to increase their personal resiliency and the likelihood of surviving an incident before the police arrive. By the end of the online course, participants will have a thorough understanding of how active shooter incidents evolve by interpreting their individual threat profiles.

Additional topics include:

  • Pre-incident indicators
  • Situational awareness
  • Workplace violence
  • Terrorism
  • How to escape during an incident
  • How to barricade and lock down
  • How to report to law enforcement
  • How to fight back using improvised weapons

Students will learn how to deploy the concepts taught during this online active shooter course in a simulated environment with gunmen that will test their skills and thought processes, challenging them to react faster under stressful situations. This kind of training is as real as it gets, particularly in an online format.

This online active shooter training is designed for individuals from the public and private sector. The goal of this training is to establish a baseline reaction as a victim to active shooter incidents, retrain the instinctual reactions, and offer practical solutions to countering the threat. Participants will be required to in good health and to sign a liability and medical waiver prior to participating in this workshop.

Why Complete an Online Guard Card Training Program?

There are numerous reasons which benefit students of online guard card programs in accordance with and surpassing the benchmarks set by the Bureau of Security & Investigative Services. While there are absolutely similarities between online guard card security and live guard card classes, if it is at a security training school or furnished by an association, corporation, or other group, completing the project online is a great opportunity for you. Whether you are a steady learner or need to take a breather to absorb the substance of the course, online guard card training is self paced. It has been noted that students who work through the material at their own particular rate comprehend, retain the informative content introduced and execute it properly at work.

This is the explanation for why numerous security training schools are presently taking off with completely online guard card security training programs and schools are putting effort and resources in to developing quality programs. A few programs, for instance American Military University, are totally online while others like Fredricks Community College honor the FEMA institute’s online emergency management courses toward a degree.

When beginning any online training program, including the guard card course, there are some enter elements to remember to guarantee success in a program.

  • Don’t spread the preparation over an excessive amount of time. An eight hour guard card course ought to be finished in no more then two to three days.
  • Don’t have a TV, radio, or music on while finalizing the course substance.
  • Make a point to take complete notes while advancing through the online guard card instructional content.
  • Download and read all of the materials mandated by the course including the WMD Student Guide and Bureau of Security & Investigative Services Powers to Arrest training manual.
  • Realize that paying careful consideration throughout the online guard card course will help you pass the tests and test in which you should get 100%.

After completing your guard card training, the second step is to complete a Live Scan form and get your finger prints submitted to the state by a Live Scan Operator. For a copy of the Live Scan Form, CLICK HERE. To view a detailed list of Live Scan Operators, CLICK HERE. You must bring a completed Live Scan form with you when you get your finger prints taken. Live Scan is usually between $65-$80 depending on the provider.

The third and final step is to complete online guard card registration through the State of California. To access the state’s online portal, CLICK HERE. Make sure to use the information printed on the downloaded certificate at the end of your course when submitting your application. The application fee payable to the state is $51. If you have any questions, call the State of California Bureau of Security & Investigative Services at 916-322-4000 or 800-952-5210.

  • Does the course need to be completed at one time? No – the benefit of taking an online guard card course is that you get to complete it on your schedule.
  • How long do I have to finish the course? As long as you need – however, it is recommended you finish the 8 hour course in 2-3 days and the 40 hour course in 2-3 weeks.
  • How do I finish the process to get my guard card when I’m done? Print your certificate from the program, download and complete the LivesScan Form, get finger printed and submit your application to BSIS online. (see above for details)
  • I’ve been waiting! How long before I get my guard card? The State of California is historically hard to predict when it comes to processing times. You can receive it in as little as 7 days and as much as 2-3 months, if not longer!
  • I have a record… Does that mean I can’t get a guard card? The answer is, it depends. The state takes in to account your record on a case by case basis. If you have a record, you may get denied initially, but will have the chance to appeal before a board. There are cases of which people with felonies have obtained guard cards because they were able to show the board they have reformed.
  • How do I start? Click the link above to start your training today!
  • What do I do with my certificate when I am done? Simply print them out and give them to your employer as well as keep a copy for yourself.
  • What if I don’t pass a test? Don’t worry! The system will give you a chance to study and re-take the test!
  • Can I work as an independent contractor? No – only licensed Private Patrol Operators carrying general liability insurance may work as independent contractors.
  • Can I take a cash gig? No – taking a cash gig is the same as working as an independent contractor. You must be employed by a Private Patrol Operator security company.
  • Can I put together a team and sell our security services? No – only licensed Private Patrol Operators may contract guard services. You must be employed by a security company.
  • Can I work as a bodyguard? – No – only licensed Private Patrol Operators may contract bodyguard services. You must be directly employed by the client or by a security company.
  • What if I am a retired or off duty law enforcement officer? You may be exempt from certain training requirements, however to contract your services, you must be a licensed Private Patrol Operator. If not, you must be directly classified as a W2 employee by the client or work for a security company.
  • Is it okay to be an independent contract security guard, 1099, or accept cash jobs? See the answer here.

Completion of the online guard card security course does guarantee employment by Aegis Security & Investigations Inc. or does not constitute an offer of job. Workers regularly are solicited to have one or more years of experience notwithstanding finishing the online security preparing system and getting their guard card.

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