My Smart Goal Defined

Latisha McKellar

AC1608408

EN110.8.2 Achieving Academic Excellence

Assignment 5

December 21, 2016

My SMART Goal Defined

        My career goal is to start a Private Security Firm, this has led me to complete my Criminal Justice degree. To make this a SMART goal, I must first understand SMART goals and how it will apply to my effectively accomplishing my goal. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Starting a Private Security Firm is a very specific, clear and easy to measure.

The tasks needed to achieve my goal are: 1. obtain my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice; 2. Obtain liability insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000; 3. apply for the Private Security Company License with the Georgia Secretary of State; lastly, take to licensing exam with to Secretary of State. Measuring my progress to achieving this goal will begin with my first task of completing my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice with the number of courses taken and passed each term. I am confident and certain that I can obtain my degree within the next eighteen to twenty-four months based on the number of credits previously earned and the number of credits remaining to complete my coursework and graduate. Completing my degree is the first and essential step in accomplishing my goal. I have the support and encouragement of my family, which makes returning to school a little easier. It can be difficult to manage my time at moments and continue to meet the needs of my family as well as responsibilities at work. This is my environment and that cannot be changed but I can set specific times aside and enforce the importance of my quiet time to my children.

Owning and operating a private security firm is a realistic goal. The attacks on 11 September 2001 influenced the nature and growth of the private security and protection services industry in America. Although traditionally thought of as uniformed security guards, the image and responsibilities of private security and protection services personnel are changing (Collins, S. C., Britto, S., & Britto, M., 2008, p.1). There are three times as many private officers as public ones. America spends about $90 billion a year on private security and $40 billion through tax dollars on public police. The United States government even spends more on private guards than for police forces (Welcome to the new world of private security, 2016). We have the largest private security sector from all the western countries. Nearly everywhere in the world there are more private security than public officers.  The private sector has rushed into demand for law and order left unfulfilled by the public police force. The changing of the public police as well as the desire to protect one’s self from crime has caused businesses and citizens to seek other means of protection. During this Nation’s high priority struggle to prevent and reduce crime, a massive resource exists for crime prevention and reduction that holds promise of great assistance to the traditional criminal justice agencies. That resource is the private security industry (Private Security Task Force Report, 1976, p. 1). Ultimately, owning and operating a private security firm is realistic as well as profitable goal to have.