Patrols and Incident Reporting
This domain tests how patrols are planned and carried out, and how the resulting incidents are recorded so they stand up in a disciplinary hearing or a court.
Purpose of patrols
Deter by visible presence, detect hazards and intrusion, reassure staff and visitors, and provide a timely response.
Patrol practice
- Vary route, direction and timing so you are not predictable.
- Check doors, windows, shutters, fire exits, extinguishers, leaks, lights, unattended bags, suspicious vehicles, and people in unauthorised areas.
- Use clocking points or tour systems and record time and place in 24-hour format.
- Listen, look and smell; keep radio and torch discipline; do a radio check before leaving post.
- If you suspect an intruder is inside, do not search alone. Withdraw, observe, call for support and police.
Incident report content
Who, what, when, where, how it became known, witnesses, description, action taken, evidence preserved, your name, signature, date and time. Record facts, not opinions. Write 'appeared to be intoxicated', not 'was drunk'. Write 'the door was ajar', not 'someone had broken in'.
Worked example
At 02:14 you find the padlock on Store 3 broken and the door ajar. You do not enter. You withdraw, radio control, seal the area from a distance and call police and the supervisor. The report reads: 02:14, Store 3, hasp cut, door ajar about 10cm, no persons seen, no entry made, area sealed 02:20, control informed 02:15, police arrived 02:41. Everything goes into the OB.
Traps
Opinion and conclusions in reports; writing another officer's report; moving items before police arrive; late reporting; stating 'no sign of forced entry' when you were not present; omitting the time.