Private security guards in Cleveland could soon have more firepower and bullets in their holsters.

City Council's Public Safety Committee discussed a proposal Wednesday that would allow security guards to upgrade their weapons from .38-caliber revolvers to 9 mm semiautomatic pistols. The committee tabled the proposal until it can be amended to include a training requirement and a more specific description of the guns that would be allowed.

Currently, security guards can carry the revolvers and must qualify every year at the Police Department shooting range. That city ordinance was passed in 1976. Those licensed to carry the guns number 957.

The proposed new policy states that security guards cannot carry a firearm greater than a 9 mm, which is the standard weapon carried by Cleveland cops. Also, they would have up to two days to notify the city if they fired their weapons. Councilman Anthony Brancatelli sponsored the proposal and acknowledged the request came on behalf of private firms. The new policy would allow security guards to carry the same weapons Cleveland police use, he said.

Safety Director Martin Flask opposed the proposal and said it needs two changes before the mayor's office can support it: to require increased safety training and to require guards to notify police immediately if the weapons are fired outside a training range.

When Cleveland police switched to semiautomatic pistols in 1989, officers needed 32 hours of training before getting their upgraded gun, he said.

It is rare that security guards shoot their guns for work-related incidents, Flask said.

Flask noted that nothing in the proposed ordinance would allow people to sidestep any other city, state or federal requirement for carrying firearms.