Ontario Security Guard flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Allan Pinkerton

Founder of the first private detective agency in the United States in 1850, widely treated as the starting point of the modern contract security industry.

CPTED

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: a planning approach using natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial reinforcement and maintenance to reduce opportunities for crime.

Guard's legal authority

A security guard holds no special police powers and may act only as any private citizen, using the Criminal Code, the Trespass to Property Act and the client's authority as occupier.

Loss prevention

The set of procedures that reduce shrinkage caused by external theft, internal theft, vendor fraud and administrative or paperwork error in a business or facility.

Agent of the occupier

A guard hired by a property owner or manager to act on the occupier's behalf, including directing people to leave under the Trespass to Property Act.

Layered security model

A defence strategy that uses successive controls to deter, detect, delay and respond, so each layer buys time and gives responders information about an intrusion.

PSISA, 2005

Ontario's Private Security and Investigative Services Act, the statute that licenses and regulates security guards, private investigators and security agencies in the province.

Security guard definition

Under PSISA section 2, a person who performs work for remuneration consisting mainly of guarding or protecting persons or property.

Licence production rule

A licensed security guard must carry the licence while on duty and show it when asked by a police officer or a Ministry of the Solicitor General inspector.

Basic training requirement

Before being licensed in Ontario, a security guard must complete 40 hours of Ministry-approved basic training and hold valid first aid and CPR certification.

Code of Conduct regulation

Ontario Regulation 160/10 under PSISA, requiring honesty, fairness and respect, confidentiality, avoidance of conflicts of interest, lawful conduct and no excessive force.

Prohibited titles and insignia

Security guards may not call themselves police, use police ranks, or wear badges, insignia or uniforms that suggest they are police officers.

Confidentiality duty

Client, personal and operational information learned while on duty may not be disclosed except where the law requires or permits it.

Lawful use of force

A guard may use only the force that the law allows, such as self-defence or defence of property, and only to the extent reasonably necessary in the situation.

Post orders

Site-specific written instructions that set out a guard's duties, patrols, access control, emergency procedures and reporting requirements for that particular location.

Shift handover

The process of briefing the incoming guard on incidents, keys, radio, notebook entries and outstanding issues before leaving the post.

Access control sequence

Verify identity, verify authorization to enter, issue a pass or escort, record entry and exit times, and recover the pass on departure.

Key control

A system of signing keys in and out, never leaving keys unattended, restricting master keys, and reporting lost or missing keys immediately.

Alarm response rule

On an unverified alarm, check the exterior for signs of forced entry and do not enter alone; request police or backup while recording observations.

Patrol unpredictability

Effective patrol is visible but irregular, varying route, direction and timing so that a person with criminal intent cannot plan around the guard's movements.

Perimeter check

A documented inspection of doors, windows, locks, lighting, alarm zones, fire exits and hazards along a set route, with findings recorded.

Notebook correction method

Errors are struck with a single line so the original remains readable, then initialled and dated; erasing, correction fluid and removed pages are prohibited.

24-hour clock entry

Times are written as four digits with no a.m. or p.m., so 2:30 in the afternoon is recorded as 1430 hours.

Report essentials

Every incident report answers who, what, when, where, why and how, presented factually and in chronological order.

Radio 'over' and 'out'

'Over' signals the speaker has finished and expects a reply; 'out' signals the exchange is finished and no reply is expected.

Phonetic alphabet

A standard word list such as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie used over the radio to spell names, licence plates and codes without confusion.

Objective report writing

Recording only observable facts, measurements and direct quotations, and leaving out personal opinions, guesses, labels and assumptions about motive.

RACE

Fire response sequence: Remove people in danger, Alarm, Contain the fire by closing doors, then Evacuate or Extinguish if it is safe.

PASS

Extinguisher technique: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle and Sweep the nozzle side to side.

Emergency priority order

The order followed at any incident: your own safety first, then the life safety of others, then protection of property, then the environment.

Bomb threat radio rule

Radios and cell phones must not be used near a suspected explosive device, because transmitted signals may trigger it; record caller details instead.

Right to refuse unsafe work

Under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, a worker may refuse work they believe is unsafe, alongside the rights to know and to participate.

Evacuation assembly point

The designated outdoor meeting location where evacuees are counted and persons unaccounted for are reported; elevators are never used during a fire evacuation.