3 Biggest Guard Card Training Myths Exposed
Valley Guard has been in the security training business for over 20 years. We’ve helped over 10,000 people get a California Guard Card. And to this day, we’re still surprised by one thing:
Almost nobody knows what Guard Card classes are really about.
That’s why we’ve decided to bust the three biggest myths associated with California Guard Card training and, in the process, put you ahead of the curve. After you read this, you’ll know more than just about anybody who comes to our facility.
So let’s get started…
Myth 1: Guard Card classes teach you physical stuff like how to hand-cuff people
When you hear the words “guard training”, a few things probably come to mind. You’ll learn a bunch of techniques, like how to slap on hand-cuffs or how to subdue a perpetrator with pepper spray and some well-placed shots of a baton. Then you’ll have to get up in front of a class and demonstrate them.
Not True.
Guard Card classes in the State of California have nothing to do with physical training. They’re actually about the laws you need to know and uphold as a security guard.
Let’s use the Power to Arrest class as an example. It’s one of two courses you need to take before you can apply for a California Guard Card. Even though “arrest” is in the name, you don’t actually learn how to arrest someone. Instead, you learn the legal definition of an “arrest”. What are the consequences for you, the person you arrest, and the company you work for? What does it mean to use “excessive force”? If you use it, what legal ramifications does it have?
Plain and simple, California Guard Card classes teach you California laws. There’s no physical activity required. What a relief, right?
Myth 2: Training must be done in-person in a classroom environment
This myth is connected to the first one. Since most people think Guard Card classes involve physical activity, they believe the training has to be done in-person. And, once again…
Not True.
When you take your Guard Card course at Valley Guard Training—or any approved training facility in California—the process is designed to help you clearly understand the material and successfully complete the required training.
At Valley Guard Training, the Power to Arrest portion of the course and selected Appropriate Use of Force topics are completed online at your convenience. This allows you to review the material at your own pace before coming to our training facility.
Once you arrive at our facility, you will complete the remaining Appropriate Use of Force topics that BSIS requires to be conducted in person. After finishing the instruction, you will take a written test based on the material you just learned.
The test is open-book and open-note, so the goal is not to trick you—it’s to make sure you understand the information and know where to find it. Our focus is on helping you learn the material and giving you the knowledge and confidence needed to succeed as a security professional.
That’s why you do not need to attend Guard Card classes entirely in person. To make the process easier and more convenient.
Valley Guard Online allows you to complete the same BSIS-certified training we provide at our facility from the comfort of your desktop, laptop, or smartphone. You can study the material, review the lessons, and complete the required coursework at your own pace, wherever it’s most convenient for you.
Our goal is to make the training accessible, straightforward, and focused on helping you understand the material, while still meeting all California BSIS training requirements needed to obtain your Guard Card.
Myth 3: Forty hours of training?!! That’ll take forever!
BSIS requires eight hours of training before you can apply for a California Guard Card and another thirty-two hours of continuing education within six months from the date the Guard Card is issued. (If you’re not familiar with these rules, learn more about the BSIS Guard Card requirements here.) Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?
Here’s the truth: all those hours are based on how classes used to work.
Guard Card training used to involve live classes that had to be taken in-person. You had to drive to a training facility, sit through a bunch of lectures, and take exams. It was a serious commitment that really did take about forty hours over the span of several days.
Over the years, the process became simpler and more streamlined until we got to where we are today. If you take your Guard Card classes at Valley Guard Training, you can go through the required training at your own pace in your spare time.
And that’s about it.
Hopefully all of this has shown you how California Guard Card classes and training actually work. The classes don’t involve anything physical, which means you don’t have to take most of them in-person. And even though that forty-hour number sounds like a lot, the Guard Card training of today is nothing like it used to be. You can even get most of your required courses completed online whenever it’s convenient for you.
If you’d like to learn more about our own BSIS-certified, online Guard Card training, visit Valley Guard Training.
