This past week, a fight broke out on a cruise ship in the South Pacific.
Apparently a group or family boarded the ship, and according to other passengers, their goal of the vacation seemed to be to wreak general havoc on board.
They picked fights and made threats.
It got to the point where they were getting involved in huge physical fights where Security had to step in. However – not only was Security stepping in, they were also caught on cell phone video getting physical as well.
In the Security industry, keeping oneself level headed could probably be one of the more challenging aspects. Especially in a case like this.
When you have a group of people roaming around, ruining other peoples vacations, odds are probably greater that given an opportunity, you may want to throw the odd punch around as well. In todays society, you have to live like you’re being watched at all times – and in the Security industry, everything you do or say, can and will be held against you. Basically everyone carries a cellphone now that has a recording feature – and everyone wants to be the next news reporter. While your goal may be to diffuse a situation as quickly and efficiently as possible, there are sometimes people around you looking to be ‘insta-famous’. Forget even the fact that they’re possibly doing this to get the most likes and followers, they’re trying to provide backup for the ‘victim’. Right or wrong, this happens on an almost daily basis.
In the case of this cruise ship, fellow passengers recorded this group as yet another brawl broke out and security stepped in. Not only could you see this group kicking and punching people, but security got a few kicks and punches in themselves.
Obviously the cruise line has noted that they will be doing an investigation into this event and the security staff involved. Meanwhile, they made an early stop to have this group met by authorities and removed from the boat.
There were numerous clips online showing various events with this group all around different areas of the cruise ship. They would fight in the middle of the day by the pool, at night in the lounges, there didn’t seem to be any specific location or time they favoured.
They threatened other guests even in front of their children. Their attitude and complete disregard for other people showed no boundaries.
Whether or not they were charged in the end, I have yet to hear. The cruise ship wanting to obviously save grace (although no fault of their own), has issued discounts to the remaining passengers affected.
Although these events were not instigated or endorsed by the cruise line, some could argue that the fact this group got away with things as long as they did was partly in fault of the cruise ship company. If cruise lines had a zero policy – or a stricter policy in place to deal with rowdy guests, further damages could be reduced by immediate removal from the ship.
While this could obviously be a costly measure, damage control does come at a price, and often the price of limiting damage is fair less then allowing it to continue and reoccur.
Security needs to step in and take control as soon as issues arise. If you have a problem guest and its possible to remove them, doing so might be one of the better options.
On a cruise ship, in a bar, in a store – Security’s responsibility is to keep everyone safe and maintain a threat free environment.
The sooner you can reduce and eliminate threats, the better it will be for everyone else.
Allowing a group to wreak havoc and terrorize and threaten other families is unacceptable.
As much as this group are paying customers just like anyone else in this case, their rights greatly diminish the moment they turn on other people.
This being said – while stepping in, Security needs to be aware of the laws that also still apply to them. Being in security unfortunately doesn’t make you above the law. So becoming aggressive and physical can land you in as much trouble as the person that started it all. So always making sure of the laws that are in place to protect you and others, and always acting in their favour is huge part of the job. Acting in self defence is obviously one thing – but becoming overly aggressive is another.
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Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and 
experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent. She currently is on maternity leave and providing daily close protection for a baby and a toddler and spending time with her husband who is a Police Officer.
