SECURITY AGENCIES FLOURISH OF LATE

CHAFFEE -- Jerry Wolsey's security agency has been so busy of late, he plans to add six more guards to the staff as soon as they clear background checks.

This will enable him to take several of his full-time employees off an overtime schedule.

Wolsey, owner of Wolsey Investigative Service Inc. in Chaffee, can pinpoint the date when business began to blossom like never before.

The specter of American terrorism, such as the April 19 Oklahoma City bombing incident, has become something of a windfall for security agencies. It has also shed a more serious light nationally on an industry once deemed a luxury rather than a necessity.

Wolsey's workload picked up right after the Oklahoma City bombing and has doubled in the last month or so.

"I think once people realized that this wasn't the work of foreign terrorists and that it could take place by our own people right at home, they became more concerned about security," Wolsey said.

Wolsey, who plans to hire six full-time security guards to complement a staff of 50 full-time employees, said he doesn't think the trend will diminish soon.

"It's going to stay like this past the year 2,000," he predicted.

"I think more and more companies are realizing that it takes more than a night watchman to protect lives and property," he said.

An Associated Press story probing the reason for more companies hiring security agencies supported Wolsey's claim.

Security industry analyst Randall Svedbeck said, "Much of the industry is driven on the psychology of what could happen."

Svedbeck, who works for a corporate research concern in Portland, Ore., said the security industry thrives on "what ifs."

Svedbeck said the Oklahoma City bombing will probably become the biggest boost for the security agency industry, which generates $10 billion annually.

"It happened in America's heartland, where it is supposedly safe," he said.

Shirley Max, who owns AA Security in Cape Girardeau, said her business has seen an increase in its workload since the Oklahoma City bombing.

"It hasn't been a dramatic increase, but I can tell that people are taking security more seriously now," Max said. "What happened in Oklahoma City made everybody stop and check what they have to protect themselves and to evaluate if it's enough."

With the heightened awareness of security comes a demand for a higher standard of operation. "It's going to make security companies become more professional because there is more to know about the job," Wolsey said.

Security guards must understand their liabilities in given situations and what kind of risks they are allowed to take to protect lives and property, he said.

"We try to do as much in-house training as we can," Wolsey said. "I want to make sure my guards are evaluating the situation at all times and are reporting what is going on to the main office."

He said he keeps constant tabs on his security guards through car phones and two-way radios.

"We had a situation in Scott County where one of our guards interrupted a burglary," he said. "The person who was attempting to rob the place knocked our guy out and then fled. Through the use of the radio he was able to call us and get immediate medical attention when he regained consciousness."

State security and law enforcement agencies are pushing for a Private Security Services Regulatory Statute for 1997. The statute, if passed next year, would require security guards to attend an academy for training. It would also require guards to register with the state and show proof of competency.

Security guards are only required to have a background check and pay $10 for city license to work in Cape Girardeau. Wolsey said the background check, which is processed in Jefferson City, has taken as long as three weeks.

"We've got six people we want to hire who are going to be out of work for a month because of the lengthy turnaround time," he said. In addition, the increase in work means more security companies are going to be hiring and that just slows the whole process down.

"Once this law is passed, though, we'll have a better situation because the entire industry will become more professional."