Security Guard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A security guard or security officer is usually a privately and formally employed person who is paid to protect property, assets, and/or people. Often, security officers are uniformed and act to protect property by maintaining a high visibility presence to deter illegal and/or inappropriate actions, observing (either directly, through patrols, or by watching alarm systems or video cameras) for signs of crime, fire or disorder; then taking action and/or reporting any incidents to their client, employer and emergency services as appropriate. Since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, the term watchman was more commonly applied to this function.

== History ==

The ''[[vigiles]]'' were soldiers assigned to guard the city of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], often credited as the origin of both security personnel and police, although their principal duty was as a [[firefighter|fire brigade]]. There have been night watchmen since at least the [[Middle Ages]] in Europe; walled cities of ancient times also had watchmen. A special chair appeared in Europe sometime in the late Middle Ages, called the [[watchman's chair]]; this unupolstered wooden chair had a forward slanting seat to prevent the watchman from dozing off during his watch.