Security guard nuances: 警備員 vs. 守衛


In looking up a few words for security guard, I came across four words:
守衛{しゅえい}, ガードマン, 警備員{けいびいん}, and 警備人{けいびにん}. From what I can tell, ガードマン seems
to be similar to 'rent-a-cop' - that is to say, it seems like a less
respectful term for a security guard, and something a person would be less
likely to call themselves than to be called. 警備員 and 警備人 appear to simply be
variant kanji for the same word (with a preference towards 警備人), but I can't
quite make out the difference between 警備員 and 守衛. Can anyone help clear this
up?




警備員 and ガードマン are both common, while the former sounds a bit more formal, and
the latter is commonly used in conversations. I don't think ガードマン is less
respectful at least in Japanese. 守衛 is not the most common word.

Strictly speaking, 警備員 and 守衛 are legally different (see the third question in
[this page](http://www.nekko.co.jp/q_and_a.html#q3)). [警備員 is the official
name of a certain
profession](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AD%A6%E5%82%99%E5%93%A1) which
is regulated by a law called 警備業法. They are usually employed by 警備会社 (security
firms) and sent to each facility, and are allowed to bear a small arm such as
a baton. On the other hand, 守衛 refer to security guards privately/directly
employed by a certain facility, and not regulated by 警備業法. That said, I think
many people are not aware of this legal difference.

警備人 makes sense, but I would say it's very uncommon.




警備員 and ガードマン are both common, while the former sounds a bit more formal, and
the latter is commonly used in conversations. I don't think ガードマン is less
respectful at least in Japanese. 守衛 is not the most common word.

Strictly speaking, 警備員 and 守衛 are legally different (see the third question in
[this page](http://www.nekko.co.jp/q_and_a.html#q3)). [警備員 is the official
name of a certain
profession](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AD%A6%E5%82%99%E5%93%A1) which
is regulated by a law called 警備業法. They are usually employed by 警備会社 (security
firms) and sent to each facility, and are allowed to bear a small arm such as
a baton. On the other hand, 守衛 refer to security guards privately/directly
employed by a certain facility, and not regulated by 警備業法. That said, I think
many people are not aware of this legal difference.

警備人 makes sense, but I would say it's very uncommon.

