The Business of Security has little to do with Security.

Energy giant Exelon has announced the firing of the private company they had hired to provide security to their nuclear power plants throughout the Northeast and Midwest. The actions came on the heels of a report by a Pennsylvania television station that included video tape of security guards sleeping on the job at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in that state.

The news report, filed this fall, was finally addressed by Exelon this week with the announcement that they would take over security matters at their plants in-house.

It has been disclosed that the security company that was fired had information on their employee’s failure to stay awake on the job as early as this March. Rather than remedy the situation the corporation told employees who had divulged the lapses to remain quiet. It seems bringing to light the fact security wasn’t actually securing anything would be bad for a corporation’s bottom line.

Exelon, a public corporation has now advised the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they will provide their own security at the power plants using some of the previous guards who have a record of being able to stay awake along with new hires giving them better control of guarding these important locations.

This isn’t the first story of poor or incompetent security in our nation. This summer the city of Chicago fired the security firm hired to protect their huge water treatment facilities when it was found out guards were not only sleeping on the job but leaving the premises to run errands or go shopping. Again in this case, the city has decided to take over the security operations themselves.

For years there have been complaints concerning erratic behavior and poor security at our airports by screeners and little has been done except lip service of how things are improving. I imagine if a disaster happens at a nuclear plant or a water treatment facility or an airport we will hear all the diatribes about how we need to spend more money on security but the issue isn’t funding. The issue is where the funds are directed.

Just as in the expenses of the infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan, huge sums of money are being directed to corporate offices dealing in security with far less being expended in the field of operations. Security firms, with their huge high priced offices, staffing and exorbitantly paid directors are keeping as much of a contract’s money as possible meaning security staff at the level of where true professionals need to be in place cannot be afforded.

According to an industry source, security guards are paid poorly with the median wage in Chicago being less than $11.00 per hour and less than $13.00 in New York. How is it we spend billions on security and yet those actually in charge of our security get paid so poorly? It’s simple. Security is a business having nothing to do with its initial creation which was our protection.

In a bizarre twist of reasoning we are being told the security of our national infrastructure is one of the most important and costliest expenses we all must bear. The security guards who must protect us however won’t get paid more than someone working in a grocery store stocking shelves.

   In the cases of Exelon and the City of Chicago taking over their own security, a light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine. It is simple math. Paying for security guards but not paying for major corporations’ costs that are not an essential part of the security model means better paid people which means better qualified employees.

Now if we could just do this in Iraq and Afghanistan we might not have a $2 billion a week war to fund.