Hawaii Unarmed Security Guard Training

Hawaii unarmed security guard training is not as big an issue than it is in some other States.  That is because Hawaii does not require that an unarmed security guard obtain a license prior to providing his or her services.  Under Hawaiian law, "guard" means a uniformed or non-uniformed person who for compensation, reward, or by employment, is responsible for the safekeeping of a client's person and property within contractually prescribed boundaries, and for observation and reporting relative to the safekeeping of that person or property. This includes companies that respond to alarms by sending out employees or assistants to physically safeguard and secure the premise or property.  

"Guard" includes individuals, persons, corporations, partnerships, or agencies who provide guard services to associations of apartment owners, provided an employer-employee relationship does not exist between the association of apartment owners and the individual guarding the property.

However, the term does not include a person employed solely by an employer in connection with the affairs of the employer; nor does it include any lawful activity of any board, body, commission, agency, state, territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof. 

Unarmed Security Guard Requirements

As stated above, unarmed security guards are not required to be licensed due, in large part, to the fact that the security guard agencies must have proper licensing. With that said, however, there are some mimimum criteria that must be met for employment.  These include being at least eighteen years old, and lawfully employable in the United States.  This is accomplished by being a United States citizen or a qualified alien under the Federal Immigration & Naturalization Act.

Please note that effective July 1, 2013, all security guards in Hawaii employed by a guard agency, private business entity, or government agency who act in a guard capacity will be required to apply to register with the board. 

They will also be required to meet certain re gistration, instruction, and training requirements prior to acting as a security guard.

Initial Training And Licensing Requirements
TO BECOME AN UNARMED SECURITY GUARD IN HAWAII  

INITIAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A HAWAII UNARMED SECURITY GUARD:

Starting July 1, 2013, Hawaii unarmed security guard training requries that any guards and individuals acting in a guard capacity need to complete certain classroom instruction, as well as pass a written test.  The applicant must also undergo at least four hours of on-the-job training supervised by an individual who has successfully completed all of the training requirements or who has otherwise been approved by the Board for on-the-job training.

This initial training includes successfully completing an eight hour classroom training course prior to the first day of employment as a security guard.

This classroom training must include the following content:

(1) State and federal law regarding the legal limitations on the actions of guards, including instruction in the law concerning arrest, search and seizure, and the use of force as these issues relate to guard work;  

(2) Access control, safety, fire detection and reporting, and emergency response; 

(3) Homeland security issues and procedures; 

(4) When and how to notify public authorities; 

(5) Techniques of observation and reporting of incidents, including how to prepare an incident report; 

(6) The fundamentals of patrolling; 

(7) Professional ethics; and 

(8) Professional image and aloha training.

Prior to July 1, 2013, most security guard agencies will provide the above-referenced training to its security guards as the legislature has deemed this training to be the minimum acceptable training program to be an effective security guard in Hawaii.
    
INITIAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A HAWAII UNARMED SECURITY GUARD:

Prior to July 1, 2013, a security guard agency is permitted to hire as many guards as it deems necessary for the conduct of business.  However, the principal guard of the agency is held responsible for the acts of those guards while acting within the scope and purpose of the licensee's business. 

However, the security guard agency is prohibited from hiring any person who has been convicted in any jurisdiction of a crime which reflects unfavorably on the fitness of the person to engage in the profession, unless there has been an order annulling or expunging that convicted person's sentence.

Additinoally, each security guard agency is requried to attest to the Board that each of its newly hired employee's educational, criminal, psychiatric, and psychological histories have been verified in accordance with the requirements of Hawaiian law, prior to being hired.