2. 2
Incident reports
Security officers get involved in a wide range of activities
during the course of their daily duties, some of which may
result in:
Formal investigations
Criminal proceedings
Civil proceedings
Disciplinary hearings.
NEXT
3. 3
Incident reports
Details of incidents must be
recorded accurately and promptly,
so that they can be referred to by
any interested parties at a later date
Incident reports create a permanent
written record of what happened
They are used to inform line
management and other security
officers of the incident.
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4. 4
Incident reports
They can be used:
To assist outside agencies, like the police, to investigate
incidents
As evidence in legal or disciplinary
proceedings
To monitor levels of crime or
problem areas on a site
To protect security officers by
justifying what they have done.
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5. 5
Incident reports
● Show clearly whom the report is
intended for
● Show who wrote it
● Provide an accurate description of what
happened during the incident.
Security officers use incident reports and a variety of
other documents to record matters of interest.
If these records are to be taken seriously,
they must be written professionally and
with integrity.
Incident reports should:
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6. 6
Types of reports
● Incident reports
● Log books
● Personal notebooks
● Search registers
● Visitor registers
● Key registers
● Duty sheets
● Accident reports
● Lost/found property
registers
● Alarm activation/fault
reports
● Message books
● Handover reports
● Police statements
● Other site-specific
reports.
Security officers may be required to fill out:
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7. 7
Report writing
● Because of their importance,
incident reports should be
completed as soon after the
incident as possible
● The earlier you can write the report,
the more you will remember about it,
which will help make it an accurate
account of what happened
● Your report should be legible, and written in black ink.
Report writing techniques
Security officers need to ensure that they know what records
they are required to use on the site, where they are kept and
how to complete them. Details can be found in the site’s A.I.s.
NEXT
8. 8
Report writing
All incident reports should include:
● Whom the report is for
● Whom it was written by
● Day, date, time and place of incident
● How you were alerted to the incident
● What you saw and/or what you were told
● What happened
● What action you took
● What the result was
● Details of any other witnesses or people involved
● Any descriptions of people/injuries/property.
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10. 10
Report writing
They should be purely factual, without personal opinion, and
each separate report should be signed, dated and timed.
Remember
A
B
C
ACCURATE
BRIEF
CLEAR
Reports should be ACCURATE, BRIEF and CLEAR.
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11. 11
Using notebooks
● For making accurate, timely notes whilst
working at the scene
● Ensure that sufficient details about a routine
or unusual event are taken at the time
● Fuller report can be made of the
incident later
● Notebooks are still official documents
● Must be used properly at all times
● Only used to record work-related matters
● Must be kept securely as they may contain
confidential information.
Notebooks
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12. 12
Leaves (pages) torn out
Erasers
Notebook rules
No
No
Blank spacesNo
OverwritingNo
Writing between the linesNo
Statements in direct speechAnd
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13. 13
Handover reports and briefings
On sites or assignments where one security officer takes over
from another at the end of each shift, it is important that a
proper handover procedure takes place, so that:
The on-coming security officer is aware of what happened
during the previous shift
The on-coming security officer is better prepared for
their own shift
Where a full team of security officers comes on shift at the
same time a more formal briefing may be required.
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14. 14
Handover reports and briefings
● People still on site
● Secure and insecure areas
● Areas of vulnerability
● Incidents during last shift
● Details of on-going incidents
● Missing or outstanding equipment
● Any hazards or dangers on site
● Expected visitors/deliveries
● Messages to action/pass on
● Any particular duties/tasks for the next shift
● Handover of necessary equipment/keys.
Areas to cover on handovers and/or briefings include:
NEXT
Editor's Notes
REPORTING AND RECORD KEEPING
Incident reports
Security officers get involved in a wide range of activities during the course of their daily duties, some of which may result in formal investigations, criminal proceedings, civil proceedings or disciplinary hearings.
It is important, therefore, that details of these incidents are recorded accurately and promptly, so that they can be referred to by any interested parties at a later date.
Incident reports create a permanent written record of what happened, and they are used to inform line management and other security officers of the incident.
Outside the security team they can be used to assist outside agencies, like the police, to investigate incidents, and they can be used as evidence in legal or disciplinary proceedings. They are also extremely useful in monitoring levels of crime or problem areas on a site.
Most importantly perhaps, security officers should use incident reports to protect themselves by justifying what they have done.
Security officers use incident reports and a variety of other documents to record matters of interest. If these records are to be taken seriously, they must be written professionally and with integrity.
Incident reports should show clearly whom the report is intended for, who wrote it, and should provide an accurate chronological description of what happened during the incident.
Different types of reports
Depending on the type of site a security officer is working on, and what duties need to be performed, there are numerous types of reports that may need to be completed.
Security officers may be required to fill out:
Incident reports;
Log books;
Personal notebooks;
Search registers;
Visitor registers;
Key registers;
Duty sheets;
Lost/found property registers;
Alarm activation/fault reports;
Message books;
Handover reports;
Police statements; and
Other site-specific reports.
Security officers need to ensure that they know what records they are required to use on the site, where they are kept and how to complete them. Details can be found in the site’s A.I.s.
Report writing techniques
Because of their importance, incident reports should be completed as soon after the incident as possible. The earlier you can write the report, the more you will remember about it, which will help make it an accurate account of what happened.
Your report should be legible, and written in black ink.
All incident reports should include:
Whom the report is for;
Whom it was written by;
Day, date, time and place of incident;
How you were alerted to the incident;
What you saw and/or what you were told;
What happened;
What action you took;
What the result was;
Details of any other witnesses or people involved; and
Any descriptions of people/injuries/property.
Incident reports should explain:
HOW WHAT WHERE WHEN WHY WHO
Remember ……. ABC
Reports should be: Accurate Brief and Clear
They should be purely factual, without personal opinion, and each separate report should be signed, dated and timed.
Using notebooks
Whilst full incident reports can be completed in the relative comfort of an office or staff room, there are occasions when security officers may need to make accurate, timely notes whilst working at the scene of an incident. To ensure that sufficient details about a routine or unusual event are taken at the time, security officers will often need to use notebooks. A fuller report can be made of the incident later, using the information in the notebook taken at the time.
Security notebooks are still official documents, however, so should be used properly at all times. They should only be used to record work-related matters. For these reasons notebooks should be kept securely as they may contain confidential information about the venue, the client, the security company or operational procedures.
Notebooks need to be completed in black ink, and notebook rules should apply. The mnemonic ‘NO ELBOWS’ is a useful way of understanding and remembering the general rules for when using notebooks.
No Erasures
No Leaves (pages) torn out
No Blank spaces
No Overwriting
No Writing between the lines
-and Statements in direct speech
Handover reports and briefings
On sites or assignments where one security officer takes over from another at the end of each shift, it is important that a proper handover procedure takes place so that the on-coming security officer is aware of what happened during the previous shift, so that they are better prepared for their own.
Where a full team of security officers comes on shift at the same time a more formal briefing may be required.
Areas to cover on handovers and/or briefings include:
People still on site;
Secure and insecure areas;
Areas of vulnerability;
Incidents during last shift;
Details of on-going incidents;
Missing or outstanding equipment;
Any hazards or dangers on site;
Expected visitors/deliveries;
Messages to action/pass on;
Any particular duties/tasks for the next shift; and
Handover of necessary equipment/keys.
