One of the biggest dangers to casino assets and liabilities to the casino is complacency among its employees. These employees are typically most insidious within the Surveillance and Security departments. As an employee, this is also where they can do the most damage to the business, its assets, reputation, and guests.
Within the Surveillance and Security departments, it is easy to fall into a repetitive daily routine without being alert and observant at all times during operations.
These typical functions include:
- Checking specific areas of the property
- Patrols
- Escorting fills to specific games
- Slots drops
These actions become so routine the employee begins to get to know those individuals they interact with, even the less desirable employees. This type of repetitive activity dulls the sense causing the employee to be less alert and less ready to spot wrongdoers. This also creates procedural sloppiness and tolerance of error.
For example, if an officer carries money at a predictable time on a predictable route that puts them in reach of criminals and the money is stolen, the officer is likely to be responsible for the theft. The insurance company could also be hesitant to cover any injuries the officer may incur. This is because that employee did not follow the procedure for transporting money which consists of using a pre-determined back-halls route.
From a corporate viewpoint, the company could be partially liable for the officer’s injuries if they had not been properly trained and corrected following the incident. For the same reason, corporate insurance could hesitate in paying most of the medical bills. As a society, the United States is considered complacent and vulnerable to sneak attacks and this is a perfect example.
However, since alertness and awareness are the jobs of a Security or Surveillance officer, there is no excuse for complacency. The job entails being responsible for the assets of the casino and the safety of its employees and patrons. Without these job functions, the balance would disappear and disorder would ensue.
Complacency is a serious issue in the security and surveillance world in the industry. Since they are hired to protect the company, its services, and its guests, the acquired routine can become the enemy. Any type of error by either department due to complacency can have catastrophic results for the business. This is one of the primary reasons Surveillance and Security Officers and staff are being constantly trained and retrained.