Hired Guns

Still, Frederick acknowledges that he likely will have to change his 60 guards' uniforms to keep from losing his license.

"I think my guys look professional and, yes, they do look somewhat like officers in law-enforcement agencies," he says.

It's not just the uniforms that set Frederick's guards apart, though. Visit any of the stores where his officers are posted, and it becomes apparent that Frederick's employees aren't getting paid to stand sullenly by and watch what goes on.

They don't just look like cops; they act like cops, standing out front of the stores in full view and making eye contact with patrons. And they all carry guns, which Frederick considers a necessity.

"I've been in this business too long," Frederick says. "I've been shot at and I've had a bottle broken over my head. A security officer needs a firearm."

Such initiative is relatively new in the private-security business, which for years has embraced a policy called "observe and report" that calls on guards to do just that: watch what happens and call the police if anything serious starts to go down.

Given the increasing demands on police officers' time, Frederick says, such a doctrine is as antiquated as the snub-nosed .38.

"How can you protect your client that way?" he asks. "How can you tell the client, 'By the way, ma'am, if something happens to you on the way out to your car, we can't do anything about it because we're here strictly to observe and report'?"

Frederick says he wants his officers to get involved, to detain suspects and call police only in instances where they are truly needed. The rest, he says, his officers can deal with on their own.

"Of course," Frederick adds, "if something serious came up, we'd call the police for back-up."

So far, it appears Phoenix police have taken little notice of Phoenix Security.

"I haven't heard anything good or bad about them," says Torres, the Phoenix Police Department spokesman.

But Frederick's approach has its detractors in the industry. Jim Edmundson is the vice president of Anderson Security, one of the older names in Valley security. Edmundson says his company, which bid on the Circle K contract but lost out to Phoenix Security, avoids using armed guards whenever possible, preferring its officers instead to maintain the traditional "observe and report" stance.

"If people want armed guards, we can provide that, but it's going to cost a lot more," Edmundson says. "I keep telling people that good security isn't cheap and cheap security isn't good."

If that's the case, the best--certainly the most expensive--security available these days is being provided by off-duty cops.

Bonnie Lucas heads Law Enforcement Specialists Inc., one of a handful of local companies which dispatches police to watch over everything from construction sites to health clubs. Some of her largest clients include Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Salt River Project and Price Club.

Lucas, who works out of her home, says she has about 800 police officers from various Valley departments on her rolls, all of them eager to augment their incomes with extra work.

"A safe, happy, satisfied customer is a business's most important trademark," teases one of her company's promotional videos, which depicts friendly, uniformed officers patrolling parking lots, defusing "gang activity" and foiling shoplifters.

The voice-over continues:
"By placing a fully uniformed, off-duty police officer in your parking lot, you discourage vandals, carjackers and thieves."

But all that protection isn't cheap. Lucas says her cops-for-hire go for about $23 an hour, of which she gets a $4 hourly cut. Even the best-paid security officer would be lucky to make half that amount. At Anderson, which offers some of the highest pay in the industry, guards earn between $8 and $10 an hour. Starting pay at most other companies hovers around $6.50 an hour.

Circle K officials, who would not comment for this story, have opted for the cheaper version of what Lucas has to offer: officers who look like real cops, but who don't have the training or experience.

Besides pay, training is another critical issue as dozens of new guards are put into public places. Aside from requiring that armed guards receive eight hours of firearms training from a DPS-certified instructor, there are no other formal requirements mandated by the state.

By way of comparison, most police receive 900 hours of training, of which 80 hours are in firearms, while going through the academy. Once out of the academy, they receive 16 hours of refresher firearms training annually.

All of the companies interviewed for this story, including Frederick's, say they hire only qualified people and train them thoroughly. Edmundson touts his company's training requirements, saying the agency gives its new guards 72 hours' worth and runs extensive background checks.

That may be the case, but the fact is, no one really knows for sure. DPS' Turner says review and oversight of security companies are lax. She points to a single sheet of paper titled "Security Guard Training Program," which lists such categories as first aid, firearms, laws of arrest, search and seizure and criminal law.

Applicants are asked to fill in the blanks, listing the kinds of training their guards receive, as well as duration of training. They are required to have it signed and notarized before returning it to DPS.