Gunshots reported at Cross Iron Mall

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

A better plan for the mall on how to handle such a situation is good.

But wanting "more professionalized private security officers"?

No, F off. Mall security exists to be a visible deterrent to would be shoplifters. Leave the whole "professionalized security guard" with a hero complex at home. They won't help anybody.

So proper training and being professional is bad?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

this couple from strathmore - not heroes wear capes. When everyone was running away, they embraced the danger and went to do something about it......i hope the mall gives them a lifetime discount card and a preferred parking spot

https://globalnews.ca/news/5915633/s...-alberta-mall/

I read the article and I feel like it was misinterpreted.

1. The Strathmore couple were annoyed the security guards were confused. I am assuming they were upset that security suggested something opposite of what CPS ultimately told everyone to do. I'm further thinking they were annoyed there wasn't a mall wide announcement what to do by the security personnel or something?
2. I don't see any hero complex at all with the couple. Just a bunch of individuals who ended up commenting more than perhaps necessary.
3. The comment about professionalized security officers thing was made by some researcher at MRU. I also feel like that comment was more along the lines of standardizing the protocols of what security should do in a plethora of situations. I think that comment is more about the idea that businesses shouldn't have a ton of different (or no) policies about security and that you could expect the same protocol downtown at an office to a mall anywhere in the city if the same circumstances occurred. (ie: A security course you go to to get a license).
4. Better equipment doesn't necessarily mean weapons. I've seen plenty of security officers in Calgary that don't even seem to have a walkie talkie or unified communications in the event of something happening.

[Northendzone]

i was being sarcastic about this couple. to me they are monday morning QB's.

to me this was the first incident like this to happen in calgary - so i would like to think that the malls here will learn from this.

the ratio of shoppers to guards has got to be low, so it would be hard for the guards to stem the stampede once it starts in a direction

at the end of the day, to me these guards are ultimately window dressing to make us feel safe as it seems that these days stores really don't do much to stem shop lifting. how may reports are there of folks walking into liquor stores, grabbing some goods and walking out

[Locke]

Originally Posted by nik-

Of course they're not heroes, they probably make like $16 an hour. They should be old hillbillies wandering around because that's what Crossiron is paying for.

"I left Jamba Juice for this...?"

[cznTiburon]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Or they have and it's human nature to be scared and panic.

I disagree that we need to have armed security officers.

No one said they have to be armed, just they should have better training on those situations. There are reasons that schools go through all kinds of drills and training with teachers for these situations. Should be no different with security guards. Whether they are scared or not they should be able to rely on training that can help lockdown a mall and provide direction to people

[WhiteTiger]

It does seem like that couple caught the security guard out, as it were. Which isn't a surprise. If he's walking around and just randomly 'patrolling', unless he sees what happens himself, or a different security guard does, and updates their dispatch, who then updates their officers, he's just as out of the loop as everyone else. He should have a basic level of understanding of "what to do" in a large scale movement situation, but it's unlikely he had any details himself.

I imagine that, like the airport, CIM will catch (deservedly so) some flak for this. When you are in the middle of an emergency is not the time to dust off and read the emergency protocol procedures. I imagine the same issue would have cropped up at any mall in Calgary.

I would recommend that you review your workplaces emergency protocols, and possible talk to someone about having an actual, real drill if you haven't in some time. It's also a good time to update protocols. I recall when I was working at a factory, I checked the protocols out of boredom one day (yeah, yeah...) and realized that we were supposed to take direction from a name I didn't recognize. Asked my boss about who that was, and he had to ask his boss, to find out that the guy 'in charge' of an emergency...had moved on from the company 10 years before.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by cznTiburon

No one said they have to be armed, just they should have better training on those situations. There are reasons that schools go through all kinds of drills and training with teachers for these situations. Should be no different with security guards. Whether they are scared or not they should be able to rely on training that can help lockdown a mall and provide direction to people

I agree, and they need training with large masses of people. Get at least 100 people there, and have a security guard try to 'direct' them. See if they can handle that amount of people, and keep in mind, those people may be panicking, and only voice amplification security tends to have is to yell louder. It's fantastic training, and if someone can't do it in a non-actual emergency, they should really question if they could do it during an emergency.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I can't imagine reading that article and thinking those people are heroes, so I assume Northend is joking.

They sound like old hillbillies who mindlessly wandered around wondering what was going on, getting progressively upset by being confused. So... basically just typical residents of Strathmore.

Like, you told a security guard someone had a gun and he ran off to deal with it instead of staying to talk to you? Seems like a pretty reasonable response.

I watched the clip on the news. As they're talking about being as close to it as they were, then heading off to seek out a security guard, it was like stereo in here with my entire family going "why the hell are you wandering around a mall there's just been a shooting in, looking for a security guard?" That seems counter intuitive. Myself, I'm hiding. Getting out of sight. If I was walking away from the area as it all starts to go down & I'm close enough to doors away from the scene, I'm now running out them to hide or leave the premises. But yeah, let's wander around somewhere it's possible there's someone who decides to shoot more than just the one person. That whole scenario makes zero sense to me, to go looking for security.

I do agree there needs to be some better communication from the mall - CIM is bad for this on a regular day, never mind during a situation like this, and their sound system is awful or their staff don't know how to use it. Even when they do announcements in the mall (it's the mall closest to us so it's where we go, if we go to any mall), it just sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher & in the midst of panic, I can see people thinking there wasn't an announcement - the way it echoes in that mall, combined with the crap sound system, it would be indecipherable from the crowds yelling/screaming.

I somewhat feel for the security guards. There's very little they can do, they're not really that much more equipped to deal with this than the average shopper. CIM needs to reiterate their protocols for situations like this, with the security guards - it isn't the first time a security incident like this has happened, it won't be the last. It should be covered weekly, even if it makes the SGs want to stick forks in their ears.

[dino7c]

wonder if I will be able to find a parking spot at the mall now