Security My Passion: General Duties &Responsibilities of security staff

General Duties &Responsibilities

1. Observing and reporting

2. Deterring and detecting crime

3. Keeping good public relations

4. Responding to emergencies

5. Controlling access and using alarm systems

6. Patrolling

7. Controlling traffic

8. Finding and reporting safety hazards

9. Protection of

10. people

11. Property

12. Information

13. Confidentiality

14. – computer crime

15. Post orders

Observing and reporting

Observing is not just seeing, but watching very carefully and noting what you see. It
means noticing things that you might not usually notice, paying careful attention.
Observing carefully will be a big help when you make your notes or prepare a report.
Reporting involves telling the proper people about what you’ve observed. You may do
this by phone, in a conversation or by a written report. You should report anything
unusual that happens during your shift, as well as any instances where rules are not being
obeyed. It is important that you keep very careful notes and reports as they may be used
as evidence.

Deterring and detecting crime

Your very presence will deter most criminals from doing something illegal on your site

Keeping good public relations

On some sites, such as a mall, you will be in constant contact with the public. The client
may expect you to give help and information. People may also turn to you if they have a
problem. It is important that you always act in a professional manner.

Responding to emergencies

If an emergency happens on your site you may be the first person that other people turn
to for guidance. You will need to respond in the right way. Every site should have an
emergency procedures plan and a fire safety plan that outline what to do if these
situations happen.
You may need to evacuate a building as in the case of a fire. If you know what to do and
are able to act quickly, others will have more trust in you. You may also be called upon
to deal with other emergencies such as a bomb threat. Bomb threats are not very
common but if one does happen on your site you will probably be the person who has to
take charge. You must know how to respond in these situations.

Controlling access and using alarm systems

Security guards often have to control the movement of people, vehicles and materials
coming into their site, within the site and leaving the site. This may require checking
people’s ID cards, using an alarm system, and inspecting packages and vehicles.
Sometimes clients are concerned that their workers are taking goods or information from
the site. In these situations you may be asked to do searches of employees as they are
leaving the site.
You will also need to be on the lookout for any intruders that try to enter the site.

Patrolling

When you patrol you can observe a much larger area than if you just stay in one place.
This helps you to see what is going on and to find hazards at many parts of your site. It
also means that you are seen by more people. Someone who is thinking of doing
something illegal may change their mind because you are in the area. In this way you
help to deter crime.

Controlling traffic

One of your duties may be to direct traffic within your site. Also, in an emergency, you
may be asked to help the police by directing traffic in a public area.
Finding and reporting safety hazards
Your patrols will involve doing safety inspections on your site and reporting any
problems right away. A hazard that is detected and fixed quickly cannot cause an
accident or injury. You may save lives by spotting fire hazards or dangerous work habits.
As you can see, you will be responsible for a variety of duties. However, your main
duties in all situations are to observe, deter and report.

Finding and reporting safety hazards

Your patrols will involve doing safety inspections on your site and reporting any
problems right away. A hazard that is detected and fixed quickly cannot cause an
accident or injury. You may save lives by spotting fire hazards or dangerous work habits.

As you can see, you will be responsible for a variety of duties. However, your main
duties in all situations are to observe, deter and report.

Protection of People, Property and Information

How do security guards protect people?

A large part of your job may be to protect people. You do this in many ways, such as
patrolling the site, finding hazards, and controlling who can enter the site. You may also
be asked to escort employees, particularly if they are going to their cars late at night. It
will be your job to look for anything that might cause a fire or an accident. It is important
to make sure that employees are working safely so that no one is put in danger. Also, if a
crowd gathers at your site, you may be the person who takes control to make sure that no
one is hurt.

What do guards do to protect property?

One of your main responsibilities is to protect property. In fact, sometimes you may be
the only person on a site. This might happen in the case of a warehouse or yard where
you are on duty at night to protect the area. Property can be damaged or stolen. Damage
can happen in many ways. A fire can completely destroy a building if it isn't detected
very quickly. Floods or water damage can result from melting snow or frozen pipes.
During your patrols you will see problems while they are still small and be able to report
them quickly.
Intruders can damage equipment or set fires. They may also steal things. Your presence
will deter many intruders from coming onto the site and you can take action right away if
someone does enter the site illegally.

How do I protect information?

Protection of information is becoming more important all the time with computers and
new privacy laws. A big part of protecting information is knowing when it’s okay to talk
about something and when it is not okay.

Confidentiality

Keeping secret things secret is called confidentiality. Part of your job is to protect
information, so you don’t want to be the cause of an “information leak.” As a security
guard you are placed in a position of trust and must always act in ways that keep that
trust. Guards often carry keys and have access to areas that other people cannot enter.
Because of your duties you will see and hear many things that you must keep secret or
share only with certain members of the company or with others in the security
department. It is very important that you do not talk about these things with other people.

Computer crime

Computer crime is stealing or damaging computer information. This is becoming a big
problem. There are many ways in which computer crimes happen.
Data that has been stolen can be used to get goods or services or it can be sold for a
profit. For example, financial records can be used to access accounts or credit cards.
Data can be stolen or damaged in many ways. An intruder may find confidential
information such as passwords or special codes by going through someone’s desk or
simply looking in garbage cans. If an employee doesn’t log off of their computer when
they should, someone else can use it to see private information or make changes to files.
Someone can put a virus into a program in one computer and this can cause damage to
many computers in many different sites. People from outside as well as people from
within the company can be involved in computer crimes at your site. One of your jobs
may be to escort people through restricted areas to make sure that they don’t have access
to confidential information.
It is not easy to know if someone is involved in computer crimes. However, there are
some signs that may mean that computer crimes could be happening on your site.

Watch for any of the following:

• Employees who are angry at the company or who have been fired
• Private information such as pass codes that have been left out in an area where
they can easily be seen
• People using computers that belong to someone else
• Someone who works at home a lot and comes into work at odd hours or at times
when you don’t expect them
• Employees who arrive early or leave late but don’t seem to do much company
work during these times
• Employees who talk too freely about things that they should keep secret
• People from outside who are allowed to work in a restricted area where no one is
watching them
You will need to use your common sense when deciding if something that you see may
mean that someone is involved in computer crimes. If you see something that you are
concerned about, report it.

Post Orders

Your duties will be outlined in your post orders. You will also need to know the
company’s standard operating procedures.

Standard operating procedures

Standard operating procedures cover company policies and ways of doing things. These
relate to all sites in the company. These may include expectations such as dressing
neatly, being honest and treating the public politely. They may also tell about company
rules as well as health and safety issues for the workplace.
Post orders

Post orders are sometimes called standing orders. They are the procedures and rules for a
specific area or post. They may vary from area to area within the company. Each post
has its own post orders.
Post orders are your most important reference. They tell in detail what is involved in your
job.

Here are some things that post orders may include:

• Contact numbers for emergency personnel
• Where the post is
• What hours the shifts are
• How and when to do patrols
• When to lock and unlock doors
• How to report problems, etc.
• Specific instructions about what to do in an emergency such as a bomb threat, a
fire, intruders, injured employees
• What to do if there is a power failure, flood, or equipment breakdown, etc.
• Wpecial duties, such as deliveries, and when to perform them
• rules about who you should let into your area and how you should control the
entrance

Be sure to carefully read all updates or changes in your post orders. Sometimes you may
see that something is missing from your post orders or that something needs to be
changed. You should report these things to your supervisor or manager.
You will also receive memos or notices with special instructions that are not included in
your post orders. These may be for a specific event or a situation that will only last for a
short time, such as an open house.
Your post orders will also outline the way in which you are expected to do your duties.
You may be given a fixed post where you stand or sit in one place or you may be
expected to do patrols where you check a certain area on foot or in a vehicle.

Words to Know

Ø ACCESS ROUTES= THE WAYS IN AND OUT OF A BUILDING OR SITE

Ø CLIENT =THE OWNER OR LANDLORD AT THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE WORKING

Ø CONFIDENTIAL =PRIVATE

Ø DATA =FACTS OR INFORMATION

Ø TO DETECT =TO NOTICE, TO BECOME AWARE OF

Ø TO DETER= TO PREVENT OR DISCOURAGE

Ø TO ENFORCE= TO MAKE SURE THAT A RULE OR REGULATION IS FOLLOWED

Ø TO EVACUATE =TO EMPTY, TO GET PEOPLE TO LEAVE AN AREA

Ø EVIDENCE =ANYTHING THAT PROVES SOMETHING OR GIVES A REASON FOR

Ø BELIEVINGSOMETHING

Ø GUIDANCE =ADVICE OR INFORMATION FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM OR DIFFICULTY

Ø HAZARD =DANGER

Ø ILLEGAL =AGAINST THE LAW

Ø TO INSPECT =TO LOOK AT CAREFULLY

Ø INTRUDER =SOMEONE WHO HAS ENTERED AN AREA WHERE THEY ARE NOT

Ø SUPPOSED TO BE

Ø PROCEDURE =WAY OF DOING THINGS

Ø RESPONSIBILITY= SOMETHING THAT YOU MUST DO, WATCH OVER OR TAKE CARE OF

Ø RESPONSIBLE= IN CHARGE AND LIKELY TO TAKE THE BLAME IF ANYTHING GOES

Ø WRONG

Ø RESTRICTED =LIMITED TO ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE, NOT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Ø SITE= THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE GUARDING

Security My Passion

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General Duties &Responsibilities of security staff