What kind of security jobs have guards operate in plain clothes?
The only ones I'm familiar with are loss prevention agents and executive protection. Any others you can think of?
Posted May 8, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC
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Retail loss prevention uses plainclothes security/detectives
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Music and sporting events where you are looking for scalpers and people using or selling drugs.
Corporations who want it low key unless something happens, or when they are afraid of say an ex-husband but don't want to scare everyone.
Occasionally speeches or presentations where there will be a couple plain clothes spread out in the crowd.
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Unless it's short term contracts like a smaller rave in a smaller town.
I've only done a few of those in the past. Most of the plain clothes things I've done have been in a suit and tie at a corporation or corporate event. Or casual/business casual while in a company office or transporting jewelry/gems, or escorting the jeweler from store to store.
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Did some plain clothes work under Pinkerton at a hospital. Pay was alright.
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When I did event security we switched between uniforms and plainclothes depending on the venue. Also, hotels.
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I work for a government agency in the venue security department. We have convention centers, exposition facilities, zoo's, and arts centers. I've done plainclothes work to hide in protester crowds and to sit in on public forums where threats were levied against elected or public officials.
It was always boring.
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Not contract security.
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A lot of big theme parks, most notably the disney parks. They don’t want too many uniformed guards around breaking the “magical” experience so most of the guards patrolling in the park are in plainclothes, although you can usually spot them by their earpieces or the fact that they’re primarily single men by themselves in a park full of families. I know some smaller parks have them too. For example when I worked for a national chain of parks we had plainclothes LP to deal with shoplifting and catching people sneaking in without paying, but there were also plainclothes security officers walking around who focused on other stuff.
Former Disney CM here. There’s actually not as many as you think, at least not anymore. They’re mostly outside the parks now before the corona. Only about 10% are plain clothes.
Hi! If you don't mind, do they hire externally for these positions or do you need to work uniformed first? Thanks!
It’s what they consider a premium so, at least when I was with them, you need to be with the department a year without any issues.
Awesome, thanks!
I’m friends with an Orange County (FL) deputy who I used to work with at a previous LE job. He claims that they’re still all over the place inside the park, and apparently they’ve started deploying a lot of plainclothes cops too. Of course he doesn’t work directly for Disney but he does a lot of off-duty security work there.