Security Communication, Reporting and Documentation
Security Communication, Reporting and Documentation tests how a guard passes information accurately and leaves a written trail that survives legal scrutiny.
Radio and speech
- Keep transmissions short: identify, state the message, wait for acknowledgement.
- Use plain language, and the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie…) for letters and digit-by-digit numbers when clarity matters.
- Never transmit passwords, personal data or speculation on an open channel; use a landline for sensitive detail.
- Acknowledge every instruction and repeat back critical details.
Records
- Occurrence/duty register: time-stamped, sequential, no blank spaces or torn pages, corrections signed rather than overwritten.
- Incident report must answer: what happened, when (24-hour clock), where (exact location), who (names, designations, witnesses, contacts), what action was taken, who was informed, and what remains pending.
- Separate fact from opinion. Write 'the door was open and the lock was broken', not 'the night guard was careless'.
- CCTV export: note camera, date and time, duration, format, who copied it, and the chain of custody.
- Handover: outgoing and incoming guard both sign; pending items are listed.
- Confidentiality: reports go only to authorised persons.
Worked example
You find a broken window at 02:40. Reasoning: a report must let a reader reconstruct events without asking you questions. Weak entry: 'Window broken, informed sir.' Strong entry: '02:40 hrs - during beat round found store-room window (north side, room 4) glass broken, pane partly removed, no person inside, no entry made. Supervisor informed 02:43, control room informed. Area cordoned, police intimated 02:50, photographs taken.'
Traps that cost marks
- Writing after the shift from memory, so the times are wrong.
- Recording opinion as fact, which will be demolished in court.