Patrol, Observation and Incident Reporting
Patrol is a method, not a walk
Patrol deters, detects, and documents. Vary routes and timing so you are unpredictable while still covering high-risk areas: cash rooms, loading docks, stairwells, parking, and after-hours entry points. Use all your senses, learn the baseline condition of your site so anomalies stand out, and check doors, lights, alarms, and hazards systematically rather than drifting.
Observation that survives scrutiny
Record what you perceive, not what you conclude. Instead of 'male acted suspiciously,' write 'male, approx. 30, dark jacket, walked north on Level 2, looked into three parked cars, tried two door handles, left at 02:14.' Time-stamp key observations and note your location and the lighting conditions.
Reports
Most formats answer who, what, when, where, how, and what you did. Write in the first person, past tense, chronologically, in neutral language. Separate fact from opinion and clearly label opinion. Note witnesses, evidence, and actions taken. Never alter a submitted report - add a dated supplement instead.
Traps
Opinions presented as fact, loaded adjectives like 'belligerent' without describing behavior, gaps in the timeline, 'nothing unusual' without coverage detail, and quoting others as though you saw it yourself.
Rule of thumb
'I saw, I heard, I did, and when.' If a sentence cannot be tied to one of those four, cut it or label it as opinion or secondhand information.