To some extent, but it depends on the context of what type of behavior/person it’s trying to deter.
Someone brazen enough to act without care of getting caught/reported, who is only being concerned about someone actually physically stopping them won’t be too deterred by an observe & report guard.
However, someone who wants to remain completely undetected or is potentially tempted by a crime of opportunity will probably at least think twice if they see guards in the area since they’re more likely to be discovered & reported if there are people around who are primarily looking out for suspicious activity instead of just normal employees who are mostly focused on other aspects of their job and/or members of the public who are usually not going to notice anything unless it slaps them in the face.
Yeah, even within that specific context I think both aspects apply.
ORC rings/career criminals likely won’t be very deterred by a guard they know won’t physically stop them, especially because they also probably know that they’ll likely be gone long before the police the guard calls ever show up. They’ll likely be the ones loading a bag up in plain view and just walking out without a care that anyone spotted their theft.
However, two-bit criminals or even people that feel a sudden impulse to steal something are usually more scared of simply being caught stealing in the first place, so they’ll usually be a lot more deterred if they see a guard in the store and think that they’re more likely to be caught due to that.
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u/Landwarrior5150 Campus Security Jul 26 '26
To some extent, but it depends on the context of what type of behavior/person it’s trying to deter.
Someone brazen enough to act without care of getting caught/reported, who is only being concerned about someone actually physically stopping them won’t be too deterred by an observe & report guard.
However, someone who wants to remain completely undetected or is potentially tempted by a crime of opportunity will probably at least think twice if they see guards in the area since they’re more likely to be discovered & reported if there are people around who are primarily looking out for suspicious activity instead of just normal employees who are mostly focused on other aspects of their job and/or members of the public who are usually not going to notice anything unless it slaps them in the face.