Wake County security firm cited for false guard training records

A North Carolina security firm has been cited after state regulators said false training records were filed for its guards, raising questions about who was cleared to work and whether the state’s oversight caught the problem soon enough. The case centers on training certificates that were used in registration filings, records that determine whether guards can legally do the job in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Private Protective Services Board, which operates under the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, administers the licensing, education and training rules for private security firms and guards. State law requires companies to be licensed before they operate, and it sets separate registration and training rules for armed and unarmed guards before they can take regular assignments.

For armed guards, North Carolina General Statute 74C-13 requires a licensee or proprietary security organization to register the armed individual within 30 days of employment and to make sure required board-prescribed training is completed before the guard engages in private protective services work. For unarmed guards, North Carolina General Statute 74C-11 requires completion of the required training and registration steps before the worker can hold a regular position after the probationary period ends.

Regulators said the company was already under review last year after the board received a tip from Richard Roop-lal, a former employee who said he was fired after allegedly uploading some of the falsified certificates. Officials said dozens of guards were listed on paper as having completed a remote training course, but some may not have attended. One account said 35 certificates were issued for the class, and some were later falsified and used in state registration filings.

The implications reach beyond one firm’s paperwork. The board’s records are the gatekeeper for who may work armed or unarmed in private protective services across North Carolina, including in fast-growing Wake County, where security firms protect office parks, construction sites, apartment complexes and other high-traffic properties. If training records are wrong, the state’s registration system can be wrong too, putting employers, clients and the public at risk.

The board says its complaint process is open to anyone and generally takes three to six months to resolve. The Private Protective Services Act says its purpose is to increase integrity, competency and performance in the industry to safeguard public health, safety and welfare. In this case, that mission now hinges on how many bad certificates entered the system, who relied on them, and where those guards were deployed before the false records came to light.