Practical Security Skills and Field Procedures
Practical Security Skills and Field Procedures tests the routine actions of a shift: takeover, patrol, search, response and handover.
Shift routine
- Muster and turnout: on time, correct uniform, ID card, training certificate, notebook, torch and radio; receive the briefing on VIP movement, prohibitions and pending items.
- Takeover: inspect the post, count keys under signature, check the last register entry, test the radio and equipment, then sign.
- Patrol: vary timings and routes so you are unpredictable; use the clock-face method around a building; check doors, windows, locks, lights, fire equipment, water tanks and blind spots; use a torch and clock-in points; never patrol a dark area without informing the control room.
- Frisking: same-sex searcher, ask permission and explain, use the back of the hand over sensitive areas, check cap, collar, waist, pockets and shoes; keep a witness present.
- Vehicle search: driver out, engine off, check cabin, boot, under-seat, wheel arches, spare tyre and fuel-tank side.
- Suspicious object: do not touch, do not transmit on the radio close to it, cordon, evacuate, and inform the police and control room.
- Bomb threat call: keep the caller talking, note exact words, background noise, language and time; do not use a mobile phone near a suspected device.
- Escalation ladder: guard → shift supervisor → control room → client → police and emergency services.
- Handover: write and sign pending items; never leave a post unmanned without relief.
Worked example
You see a bag under a seat in a crowded hall. Reasoning: an unattended bag in a crowd may be harmless or may be an explosive device; assume the worst until it is cleared. Action: ask loudly whether it belongs to anyone nearby, do not open or move it, keep radio transmission away from it, cordon the area, evacuate calmly, and call the police.
Traps that cost marks
- Touching or opening found property.
- Recording patrols from the guard room instead of actually doing the beat.