The Unlocked Storage Room and the Missing Pallets
You are on a retail distribution site doing a closing patrol at 22:15. You find the rear storage-room door propped open with a wooden wedge, the interior light off, and a stack of pallets that the day log shows as 14 units now reading 11. The door has a badge reader, but the wedge defeats it. There is no sign of forced entry. A forklift is parked nearby with the key still in the ignition. The night crew of four is somewhere in the building; two of them have badge access to that room. Your post orders require you to report losses over $500 and to preserve the scene, but also to complete the patrol route by 22:30. You have no camera in the room and no camera covering the door.
1. What do you do in the next five minutes, and in what order?
Read the worked answer
Prioritize safety, then preservation, then the clock.
- Do not enter alone into a dark room with an unknown person possibly inside. Announce yourself from the doorway, use your light, and if there is any indication of someone present, withdraw and call for backup/police per policy.
- Stop the loss from continuing: remove the wedge and secure the door if it is safe to do so, or post yourself at the door so no one else enters/exits until a supervisor arrives.
- Preserve the scene: do not move the pallets, the wedge, or the forklift. Photograph the wedge and the door state if permitted.
- Report immediately to the supervisor - this is a suspected theft, not a housekeeping issue.
- Handle the forklift key: a key left in the ignition is a separate control failure. Note it; do not pocket it without logging.
The patrol-route deadline is the lowest priority. A missed checkpoint is a documented exception; a contaminated theft scene is a lost investigation.
2. The supervisor asks you to 'just finish the route and write it up in the morning.' How do you respond?
Read the worked answer
Push back with reasons, not attitude. The scene is time-sensitive: the wedge, the door state, and the pallet count are all evidence that changes the moment anyone touches them. Overnight, the night crew could move pallets, the wedge could disappear, and the count becomes your word against theirs.
Say something like: 'I can finish the route, but the storage room needs to be secured and documented now or we lose the evidence. Can someone relieve me at the door for ten minutes?'
If the supervisor still directs you to defer, comply with the lawful direction but document the direction and your objection in your log - time, who said it, what you recommended. That protects you and the company. A guard is not required to win the argument, but is required to create a record.
3. How do you write the incident report so it holds up?
Read the worked answer
Facts, sequence, and no conclusions you cannot support.
- Objective observations only: 'door propped open with a wooden wedge,' 'interior light off,' 'pallet count 11; day log 14.' Avoid 'someone stole three pallets' - you observed a discrepancy, not the theft.
- Times and identities: when found, who you notified, when they arrived.
- What you did and did not touch, and why.
- Access facts: two night-crew members have badge access; no camera coverage. That is relevant and belongs in the report.
- Separate the forklift key as its own finding.
Do not speculate about which employee did it. Name the discrepancy, the controls that failed (wedge defeats badge reader, no camera, key left in ignition), and the recommended fixes. A report that accuses gets discounted; a report that documents gets acted on.