The presence of an armed security guard is supposed to make citizens feel safer. And often, it does.

But the local security industry’s reputation has been tarnished, says Bennie Cobb, owner of Eagle Eye Security and Training Services in Bartlett, after the State of Tennessee fined Allied Universal Security Services nearly $200,000 for using 309 unlicensed guards. One of them is alleged to have fatally shot a man in August 2021 at a Kroger gas station on Poplar Avenue.

Allied said in a statement that the issue was part of an administrative delay in the onboarding processes and that problems have been corrected. The statement also said Universal’s problems were confined to the Memphis branch.

State fines Allied Universal Security for unlicensed guards

Still, Cobb said the situation with Universal has “given us a major black eye.” 

“That’s a national company,” she said, “but a lot of companies are springing up. And if they can walk, talk or breathe, they’re hiring them for a body. The state’s approving these companies because there’s a need (for security).”

His comments highlight the needs of private security firms as crime, particularly in Memphis, seems to be spiraling out of control. 

Cobb retired from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office after a 30-year career. He does a lot of corporate security guard training, and he rattled off the names of clients that include one of the city’s largest employers, a respected hospital and high-end entertainment venues.

Courtney Simpson, a military veteran, launched Black Flag Security in 2022. Long-term, she hopes to develop her own training academy as part of a mission to change the security industry for the better from the inside.

Trial for former Kroger security guard accused in killing pushed again

“There are 97 security companies in Memphis,” she said. “Probably 12 are legitimate.”

And by “legitimate,” she means not just meeting the minimum requirements, but also paying officers fairly and carrying all the appropriate insurance so contracted officers are covered against claims of liability and not just the security company that employs them.

Both Cobb and Simpson only send out armed guards, believing the current crime climate in the city is too dangerous for unarmed guards. The armed guards’ training covers everything from active shooter situations to the use of tasers and pepper spray, though Cobb says the core part of the job is to “observe, deter and report.”

Simpson’s company has armed guards working at private schools. Cobb’s company has many churches as clients.

Both said they have had guards working at apartment complexes but are moving away from that practice.

“There are 97 security companies in Memphis. Probably 12 are legitimate.”

Courtney Simpson
Black Flag Security LLC

“Because you don’t know who’s visiting,” Cobb said.

Since she started Black Flag, Simpson says only one guard has fired a weapon. It happened, she says, when the officer was attacked by three people and whipped with the butt of an AK-47 at an apartment complex.

“He got a round off and scared them off,” she said.

In another apartment complex incident, Simpson says a female officer pepper sprayed two aggressive suspects.

Simpson has a trainer with Homeland Security experience and several officers with military and/or law enforcement backgrounds. But she doesn’t mind training new officers that don’t have that history, as long as their pasts are clear of trouble.

Bonner beefs up security in jail, courts after fatal stabbing

“Clean slate,” she said. “I don’t have any bad habits I have to fix.”

The security industry has the same challenge as law enforcement: a scarcity of qualified applicants.

“People just don’t want to get into the business of public safety,” Cobb said.

When they do get into the business of public safety, they don’t tend to stay in one place very long.

“The turnover rate for a six-month period is 427% nationally,” Simpson said. “Officers have been a disposable commodity.

“One officer (from another company) came to me after he worked a 32-hour shift at $14 an hour. He did it because he has kids, no one showed up to replace him and he wasn’t going to walk away and leave the client uncovered.”

Airport begins first step to remake ticketing terminal, security

Retaining guards is challenging, Cobb says, because many are not in it for a career, but rather treat it as in-the-moment paycheck. And the best guards, he says, often are poached by bigger companies that can pay better: FedEx, Nike or area hospitals.

Despite this, Simpson has plans to open another office in Atlanta and if things are going well, she may expand into other cities. For now, she sees untapped opportunities right here.

“I’m in a growth industry,” she said in a nod to the crime fears in the community, “but we’re still struggling for the most part because people don’t see the value” of private armed security.

On the other hand, Cobb believes private security is in the process of extending from commercial venues and affluent neighborhoods with well-funded HOAs to more middle-class neighborhoods — places where residents no longer feel comfortable depending on an overworked and understaffed police department for protection and patrols.

“New Orleans is doing it full scale,” Cobb said. “In Memphis, I really believe it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”