Analysis of Factors Determining the Competence of Guards

Abstract

It is actual to elucidate the contribution of each factor to the professional competence of guards and the infl uence
of these factors on their superior’s appraisal. Therefore we hypothesize that assessment of the contribution of the
guard’s personal features into his professional competence and their infl uence on their appraisal by superiors will
be helpful in staffi ng private security services and improving their working qualities. The object of the current study
was the psychobiological and professional factors determining the professional competence of a security worker.
The aim of the work was to establish the role of separate factors determining the professional competence of security
workers, as well as to study the professional competence of security workers in formativeness of superior’s appraisal
and psychobiological factors, qualitative indices and their analysis. The study subject was 118 security workers and
their four direct superiors.
Factor analysis applied for competence assessment of security workers has shown that in internal appraisal (of
summarized identifi ed variables) the highest value belongs to psychic qualities (22%) as well as age and physical
development (20%), followed by physical preparedness (16%), professional activity (15%), theoretical and practical
preparedness (14%) and fi ghting abilities (13%). The (external) appraisal by security service superiors, when only
the observation and questioning methods are applied, are not suffi ciently informative and reliable. The factor of the-
oretical and practical preparedness has been found to have a similar weight both in external and internal appraisal,
however, a number of factors, such as psychic qualities, physical preparedness and fi ghting abilities, in internal and
external appraisal have a cardinally opposite value.

Keywords: security service, competence, factors.