Chicago

My name is Anthony Hamblet. I've been a security officer for 24 years, with 22 of them securing the same building. Despite my experience, I still work about 20 hours a month of overtime to help make ends meet. My son just graduated from college and I still help my daughter, who is raising my granddaughter, but I've missed important times in their lives because I was working overtime to provide for them. Most recently, I missed my fathers 72nd birthday because I had to work overtime.

Having to work extra hours to have money to help pay for my son's college education or to buy diapers for my granddaughter is completely incompatible with the important work security officers do every day.

I don't think people realize how often we prevent crimes and emergencies in the buildings where we work. Regularly, my coworkers and I find people hiding the bathrooms or the stairways of the building where I work. If we weren't paying attention, doing our patrols well, and detaining those suspicious people, what would they be able to do in our building?

A large law firm is one of the major tenants in our building and they have unhappy clients that we have to keep from getting upstairs. I have had to physically restrain people who push past us and rush for the elevators. I've had to stop people stealing lap tops and other valuables simply by watching carefully and knowing when to be suspicious. In fact, we've been able to ensure that our building hasn't seen a successful theft in 8 years.

When we are in a building lobby, we aren't just sitting around greeting tenants and giving directions. We have to use our judgment and experience to assess everyone who walks in the door and could be a threat.

If the work we do looks invisible to the public, that's because it should be. Skilled security officers know how to avoid creating a panic. When we spot a problem, we try to keep everyone unaware so we can resolve the problem without worrying anyone. We don't use force unless we are seriously threatened, but we are able to maintain order and keep our buildings safe.

But still, many of us aren't respected for the important work we do. We risk our lives to protect the public, but we do it so well that no one notices. We need to stand up and say security officers should be respect and valued. The work we do is too important to ignore.