The security business in Texas is a lot like organized crime. A conflict of interest is the primary culprit for this situation. First off, a lot of the security business in Texas is controlled by contractors. Second, a large portion of that contracted business is owned or managed by people who were in former law enforcement. Yet, the philosophies of both the security business and law enforcement differ. To show vast improvement in both, states should prevent law enforcement from controlling the security business. Indeed, the right hand of law enforcement shouldn't be allowed to know what the left hand of security is reporting.
In history, we can see how distinctions developed between what is a security guard and a police officer. In order to protect the people in their homes during the Revolutionary War, a militia (guard) was formed. In contrast, in order to protect the new Federal government, an official military, it being the American Continental Army, was formed. Understand, during that time, the Federal government was having to flee for its life from an invading British army.
Even before the American Revolutionary war, back in ancient Greece, Socrates was an exemplary example of a guard. Not just any hoplite guard, mind you, but the bravest as his life was once spared by none other than the military command of the Spartan army. From their vantage point during the battle, Socrates showed no fear for his own life. He was an Athenian first and foremost and a Greek second. Athens was a city-state much like Singapore today meaning that it was a legitimate nation in and of itself. Unlike Singapore, this city-state was located at the heart of its very own kingdom. During that ancient time, the world did not yet have any overriding existing empires. On the occasion when the Greek "world" was invaded by other outside worlds, hoplite guards from the many Greek city-states would unite together in order to fight and expel them (a United Greece). One can see something like a military officer evolving here. The *Spartan 300, when they were doing battle against over a hundred thousand Persians are an excellent example of how the Greek states would unite forces together into a single force. In that war, it is believed that a force of 7000 Greek hoplites helped stand behind and support the Spartan army. This involved the other Greek hoplites literally standing behind them to help prop up and keep them from being pushed backwards during battle.) These other Greek hoplites would have included the Thespians, from the city state of Thespiae, and the Thebans, from the city of Thebes, and so on.
These kingdoms of city-states lasted until the world's first tyranny which originated because of the military campaigns of Alexander the Great (He was trained under the tutor of Aristotle). We see here the beginning of the end for the individual kingdom states as they were now vulnerable to being conquered and forced into servitude to a ruling tyranny and the rule of a single dictating tyrant.
The main threat today
As the situation is today, we are all faced with a monster of a problem. This beast is a threat to us because the public police and fire departments of the cities were allowed to form unions. It has gotten to a point that any person daring to strip away their union certifications will, as a result, become vulnerable to abuse. This may involve the union police members themselves setting houses on fire while the union firefighter members stand around allowing them to burn to the ground. This dire situation in
authority needs circumcision.
My own personal experience
During my time as a security guard, the Sargent overlooking my post would oftentimes review the personal information I had written down in my logs. Problem is, this Sargent was a former peace officer and still had contacts within law enforcement. Around at about that same time, a Deputy sheriff in the area had started picking on a homeless man by a tactic of turning all the other homeless people against him. After a few days, the homeless man disappeared from the area altogether which, along with the bullying done by the deputy sheriff, I had noted in my logs. Upon reviewing the logs, my Sargent deemed my observations to be unnecessary as they weren't part of my duty status.
Think about it for a second. As a security guard, should I have recorded this incident of a wayward deputy picking on a homeless man? Should I have recorded the situation of him disappearing from the neighborhood a few days later?
By weeding out anyone having anything to do with law enforcement from the business of security, when we divide official business from the people's business in this way, then each function is allowed to keep watch over the other. Indeed, information gathered by police officers should remain separate from information gathered by security guards. Perhaps the information gathered by police officers could be fed up to the Attorney General's office of Texas? Meanwhile, with he or she also being one of five administers within the executive branch, perhaps the information gathered by security guards could instead be fed to the governor of Texas?
The security business is a legitimate business. Law enforcement today is bullying the business to the detriment of all Texans. It is time to circumcise this authority to an extent which is will be most beneficial to society.