Results from a cooperative global data collection project by the leading security companies of the world indicate a slight uptick in the frequency of injuries to frontline security professionals, with slips, trips, and falls still the primary cause of injuries followed by overexertion/bodily reaction injuries, such as those caused by lifting and repetitive motion. The new data, covering 2022 and 2023, strongly underscores the need for sustained attention and investment in employee safety in the security services industry.
For every 1,000 security officers, security firms might expect 6.9 yearly to experience a lost-time injury (an injury sufficiently significant to cause them to miss work), according to benchmarks derived from more than 1.2 million security officers worldwide. The global average in 2023 for recordable injuries was 12.8 per 1,000 security officers, an increase from 11.2 in 2022.
Sampling of insights:
• Since 2021, lost-time injuries in Europe and North America have been basically flat.
• In Cash Management divisions, injuries have plateaued in recent years but are well below benchmarks established in the first year of data collection (2019); fatalities in cash divisions are on a sharp downward trend.
• Recordable injury rates fell in 2023 in three regions: Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The latest data were self-reported by members of the International Security Ligue for 2022 and 2023 and build on previous data collection, offering insight into trends over the last five years for injuries and fatalities in security, cash, and facility management divisions at private security services companies.
“With the data from the Ligue, we are pleased to have access to data that is focused on our industry,” noted a representative on Ligue’s Safety & Security Working Group, which spearheaded the data collection effort. “Even if the measurement of specific criteria is different in the various regions of the world and the data therefore cannot be compared exactly across regions, the data helps us to recognize relevant trends. This gives us the opportunity to manage occupational safety measures at an early stage.”
Exactly why injury rates have not seen greater declines is a subject of discussion and analysis among Ligue members, although greater awareness and better reporting may be a significant contributor. As data capture grows more robust, especially in some regions of the world, rates may indicate an increase even as the actual number of adverse safety events may be on decline.
“As gatekeepers to the world’s assets and like other essential workers, security officers can face significant and unique safety risks, and our members are committed to progress by gaining insight through benchmarking and sharing best practices with one another and the industry,” said Stefan Huber, the Ligue’s Director General.
Our members are competitors in the global marketplace but are working together to improve the safety and health of security workers. — Stefan Huber, Ligue Director General
About the Ligue’s Safety Initiative
The International Security Ligue collects data on worker injuries to provide a valuable source of benchmarking; disseminates valuable information and best practices through the Ligue’s Safety & Security Working Group; regularly conducts safety roundtables to exchange perspectives on key safety issues; promotes case studies to spread the success of member companies to others in the security industry; and consults with global union and international labor organizations in an effort to extend the reach of lessons learned.
Ligue members can access the members-only report here. (For access, employees of member companies can email info@security-ligue.org from their company account to obtain a password.)
