2/11/2017 PSISSecurityGuardStudyGuideBasicSecurityProcedures|MinistryofCommunitySafetyandCorrectionalServices

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PrivateSecurityandInvestigativeServices

BasicTesting
SecurityGuardTestPreparationGuide

Section3BasicSecurityProcedures

Securityguardsneedtorespondtochangesintheirenvironment,whichincludesactionssuchas
trafficmovement,ensuringthesafetyofpersonsbetweenandwithinlocations,monitoringand
managingtheaccessanddepartureofpersonsandvehiclesandobservingandmonitoringpeople.
Securityguardsneedtobeawareofthecorrectwaytodealwiththesesituations.Theyshould
havetheknowledgeandskillsrequiredtoassessthesecurityofphysicalenvironments,toapply
basicaspectsofsecurityintheirrolesandtoassesstheimpactofdruguseinthecontextof
safetyforoneselfandothers.Thissectionrepresentsgenerallyacceptedpractices
throughoutthesecurityguardindustry.

ImportantNote:
Inthissectionanumberofactivitiesarediscussedwhicharegenerallyacceptedasgoodpractices
forsomeoneworkingasasecurityguard.Practicesmayvaryfromonesecuritycompanytothe
nextsoinadditiontounderstandingtherequirementsofthelegislationandregulationsitis
importantthesecurityguardisalsofamiliarwiththepoliciesoftheiremployerandnottorely
solelyonsubjectscoveredinthisguideortheministrysyllabus.

Dutiesofasecurityguard

Thedutiesandresponsibilitiesofaguardvaryfromsitetosite.Guardsmustbewellattunedto
changesanddevelopmentswithintheindustryandtheexpectationsandobligationsthatareowed
totheclient,thepublic,and/ortheiremployer.

Itistheroleofasecurityguardtoprotectpeople,propertyandinformation.

Thismayinvolvebutisnotlimitedto:

Ensuringpremisesandpropertyareprotectedinanappropriateandeffectivefashionagainsta
varietyofnaturalandmanmadethreats.
Preventing,detectingandreactingappropriatelytothecommissionofcriminalandquasi
criminalactionsonoragainstthepropertyoftheclient.
Interactingwithlawenforcementofficialsandthejusticesystem,wherenecessary,suchas
apprehendinganddetainingsomeonewhohascommittedacriminaloffence.Securitymaybe
abletosupplementtheeffortsofpolicebysecuringcrimescenesuntilthepolicecanarrive.
Securitypersonnelmayalsobeavaluablesourceofinformationtothepolice.
Providingleadershipanddirectioninemergenciesandassistingemergencypersonnelintimes
ofcrisis,e.g.directingfirefighterstotheeasiest/bestwaytogettothesceneofthefire.
Controllingaccesstoasite,includingmonitoringentrance&gatepassage,escortingpeople&
valuables,inspectingbags.
Controllingorrestoringordertoacrowd.
Preventingworkaccidentsbybeingawareofpotentialdangers,reportingsafetyhazardsand
followingdirectionstominimizetheriskposedtoothers.

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Whiletherecanbenodoubtthatsomesituationswillinvolvephysicalintervention,themajorityof
tasksassignedrequireasecurityguardtoobserve,deter,recordandreportonly.

AccessControl

Accesscontrolpoliciesvaryfromcompanytocompany.

Securityguardsmayberequiredtoobserveandrecordwhoentersandexitsasite.Acompleted
logsheetshouldrecordtheindividualsnameandthetimeofentranceto,andexitfromthesite.
Theinformationobtainedwillpermitguardstolocatevisitors,eitherwhileonthepropertyinthe
eventofanemergency,oratalatertimeaftertheyhaveleft.

Avisitorspassalsocontainsinformationwhichhelpstheguardstodeterminewhetheravisitorhas
tobeescorted,thenameofthepersonwhohasauthorizedthevisit,thestatusofthevisitorand
theirbusinesswhileonthesite.

MaterialAccess

Oneofthemostsensitivetasksthatasecurityguardwillhavetodealwithistheissueofthe
removalofmaterialsfromaworksite.Peopleroutinelyleaveasitewiththingslikecomputers,
computerdisks,andbriefcasesfullofmaterials.

Theclient(forexample,awarehouseowner)mustdeterminewhatstepsarenecessarytoprotect
his/herproperty.Securityshouldfollowtheseinstructionscarefully.Theguardshouldcomplywith
therulesofaccessandprotocolswhichshouldbeprovidedbythesecurityguardssupervisorwhen
introducingemployeestoanewsite.

CrowdControl

Onprivateproperty,asecurityguardmayhavearoleinmaintainingcrowdcontrolandifit
escalates,theremaybeanecessitytocallthepolice.Whencrowdcontrolisnecessary,effortsto
restorethepeaceortocontrolthecrowdshouldbemadewithseveralthingsinmind:

1.therisktolifeand/orpropertywhetherornotactionistaken.
2.thepersonalrisktothesecurityguard.
3.instructionsoftheguardssupervisorortheclient.
4.risksposedbyleavingthepost.
5.availabilityofsupportorbackup.
6.urgency.
7.developmentoftacticsorplansfordealingwiththesituation.

Afterconsideringthesefactorsandifthecrowdthreatenstogetoutofcontrolthesecurityguard
maywishtocontactthepolice.

TrafficControlandParking

Asecurityguardmaybecalledupontocontroltrafficonprivatepropertyatgatedentrancesto
buildingsorinparkinglots,toensuretrafficsafetyandtoassistinthemovementofvehicles.Itis
importantfortheguardtouseconventionalsignalsandmovementsinordertobeunderstoodand
seenbythedrivers.Guardsshouldbedressedcomfortablyaccordingtoweatherconditions.Proper
reflectivevestsorcuffsmustbeworntoensurevisibility.Thiscontrolshouldbedoneina
courteousandpersuasivemanner,tryingtomakepeopleunderstandthereasonsforthecontrol.

Patrolling

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Themainpurposeofapatrolistomaintainthesecurityofthepremisesunderthesecurityguards
authority.Preparationforapatrolshouldalwaysbeginwithanunderstandingregardingthepurpose
ofthepatrol.Forexample,isthesecurityguard:

Expectedtokeepintrudersaway?
Assistmembersofthepublicwhoappearconfusedorinneedofassistance?
Checkboilersandotherequipment,tomakesuretheyarestillfunctioningsafely?

Thepurposeofapatrolcanchangefromtimetotime,evenwithinasingleshift.Thefirsttimethat
apatrolismade,securitymayfocusonbreachesofthepropertybyanintruderthesecondtime,
tomakesurethatthesafetyequipmentonmachineryintheareaisfunctioningproperlythethird
time,tocheckagainforintrudersandbreachesoftheworksite,andsoon.

Athoroughknowledgeofthegeographyoftheareatobepatrolledisessential.Thesecurityguard
shoulddetermineinadvancewheretelephones,watershutoffvalves,electricalandalarmpanels
andlightswitchesarelocated,andwhereemergencylightingisprovided.Theguardshouldalso
knowwhereemergencyequipment,suchasbackupgenerators,firstaidkits,firealarms,
hydrants,andextinguishers,islocated.Theguardshouldknowthebestroutestofollowinan
emergency,selectingthesimplest,mostdirectroutewiththeleastnumberofsafetyhazards.

Theguardshouldmakealistofactivitiesthatneedtobedonewhileonaspecificpatroland
devisetherouteinadvance,includingamapofthemajorcheckpoints,passageways,rooms,
stairwells,doorsandwindows,andsoon.Alternateroutesshouldbeplannedincasespecificareas
aremadeinaccessibleduetoanemergencysuchasafire,explosion,orchemicalleak.Thetiming
androuteofthepatrolshouldbevariedtoensurethatitdoesnotbecometooroutineortoo
predictable.Theguardshouldmakesureheorshepossessestheproperequipment,including
appropriateclothing.

FootPatrol

Footpatrolisthemostcommonmethodofpatrolinthesecurityindustry.Itisnormallyutilized
whereitisnotpossibletoprovidethesameprotectivecoveragethroughothermethodssuchas
motorizedpatrolorelectronicsurveillance.Virtuallyallofthesensesofthesecurityguard(sight,
hearing,smell,andtouch)mayconceivablybeusedduringfootpatrol.

Advantages:

Highlyvisible
Knowledgeofpatternsandcharacteristicsofanareamayhelptoanticipateanincidentbeforeit
becomesmoredifficulttocontrol
Allsensesmaybeused
Abilitytoaccesssmallerspacessuchasstairwells

Disadvantages:

Restrictedmobilityandareaofcoverage
Lengthoftimetopatrol
Inclementweatherpreventsorcurtailssomeactivities
Difficultyincarryingequipmentsuchasreports,forms,andfirstaidkits
Communicationmaypresentaproblem,unlessportableradioortelephoneequipmentisused
Supervisionoffootpatrolsisdifficult

VehiclePatrol

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Thistypeofpatrolnormallycoversareasthataretoogreattobecoveredonfoot.Thevehicles
maybeequippedwithradiosormobiletelephonesandcommonlyareinconstantcommunication
withthedispatcher.Preciseinstructionsaregivenaboutthetypeofpatrolrequired.Thepatrolswill
oftenincludeparkinglots,storageyards,perimeterfencelines,outerperimetersandareasthat
areimpracticaltopatrolonfoot.

Whenavehicleisusedforpatrol,securityguardshavetheaddedresponsibilitytocheckthatthe
vehicleisfunctioningproperlyandwillnotbecomeahindrancebeforetakingthevehicleforpatrol.

Advantages:

Motorpatrolishighlyvisible
Largerareascanbecoveredinashorterperiodoftime
Speedinrespondingtootherareasofthesiteincreased
Additionalequipmentmaybecarried
Protectionfrominclementweatherrain,snow,temperatureextremes

Disadvantages:

Thevehiclemayberestrictedtoparticularareas,suchasroadsorpaths
Visionmaybepartiallyrestrictedinsideavehicle
Inclementweathermaypreventorcurtailsomeactivities
Theenginenoisemadebyamotorvehiclemaymasksomenoisesoralertothersofthe
presenceofsecurity
Sealedcabsonsomevehiclesmaypreventthedetectionofsomedangeroussituations(for
example,thepotentiallyhazardousfumesthataguardonfootwouldsmellmightnotbenoticed
bysomeoneinsideavehicle)

Surveillance(NonmobilePatrol)

Alsoknownasvisualorfixedpatrols,withtheassistanceoftechnology,surveillanceenablesa
guardtoremainstationarybutkeepaconstantwatchoveraspecificarea.Forexample,an
entrance/exitpointmaybekeptundercontinuousobservation,oranentirecomplexcouldbekept
underguardwiththeassistanceofmirrors,securitycamerasandfences.

Advantages:

Accessandegress(entryandexit)ofthesitereadilycontrolled
Difficultforindividualstoenterthepremisesandphysicallyattacktheguard
Guardstationorhighlyvisiblecameraplacementacttodeterwouldbeperpetrators
Lowernumberofguardsrequiredtocontainthearea.

Disadvantages:

Camerasandfencesmaybecircumventedordefeated
Allareascannotbekeptundercontinuousobservationblindspotswillexistdespitecareful
planning
Relianceonequipmentthatmayfail,especiallyinadverseweatherconditions
Personnelmustconcentrateononeareaforlongperiodsoftime
Relianceononlyonesensevision
Responsemayberestrictedtocallingpoliceorinternalpersonnel,especiallyiftheguardisnot
onsitebutismonitoringfromadifferentlocation

DrugEffects
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Securityguardsmayencounterindividualsundertheinfluenceofdrugsoralcohol.Theyneedtobe
awareofthesignsofsubstanceabuseaswellastheimpactofdifferentdrugsonhumanbehaviour
(e.g.suspectgoingthroughwithdrawal)inordertodealwiththeseindividualsinamannerthatwill
ensurepersonalsafetyaswellasthatofthesuspect.Guardsshouldhaveanoverallunderstanding
ofdifferenttypesofdrugsandparaphernalia,theimpactofusingdrugsonhumanbehaviourand
howtoaddressindividualbehaviourdependingonthetypeofsubstance.

References/Resources

SaskatchewanJusticeCorrections,PublicSafetyandPolicing:PrivateInvestigatorand
SecurityGuardTrainingManual(2012)

Chapter2DutiesandResponsibilitiesofaSecurityGuard
Chapter5AccessControlandAlarmSystems

SeeAppendixB:AssociationofPublicSafetyCommunicationsOfficials(APCO)10codes

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